A Cold Shoulder

Visiting Madrid started our trek through Spain off well. We were only there two days so we had to cram a lot into a little time. Surprisingly, the temperature dropped into the 50s, and we were not prepared. It was a chilly few days. Still, there was a lot to see and we enjoyed it. Madrid has a huge botanical garden that we wandered through and Rocky was in heaven. He now has decided he wants our backyard to look like the garden. That might be interesting! We also discovered that the economy here is suffering similar issues as in the US. As a result, new college graduates are unable to find jobs so they are now protesting in the middle of the city. They have set up an entire community of tents and have been there for three weeks.

We also found the market where there are a million different tapas to try and tons of wine.  They are set up in a big pavillion and you just wander around trying a little bit of everything.  Food has definitely been one of the highlights to the trip. 

Sevilla has not impressed us as much as we had hoped. Set in the old country, they receive fewer “outsiders” than most places and they were less than friendly. We stumbled through as best we could with our broken Spanish and managed to get a meal and some ice cream. While having some wine in the Alameda de Hercules, a drunken homeless man came up behind us and began to rub up and down my arms while sputtering what was obviously slurred Spanish and showering me in spit as he talked. He then pulled up a chair to our table and continued to have a one-sided conversation. Finally, someone came from the bar and threatened to call the policia if he did not leave. Gross!
Today we took a day trip to Granada to see an old palace that originally belonged to the Muslims, but was taken over by the Christians when Isabella and Ferdinand began conquering for Spain. It stretched for miles and was pretty interesting and some of the decor was amazing. We aren't convinced it was worth the 3 hour bus ride, but it was a way to fill the day and it worked out. On the way back, my small bladder got the best of me and we had to have the tour bus pull over so I could use the restroom while the rest of the bus waited on me. There was no way I could make it to our rest stop at the midway point. Not my finest moment.

We are looking forward to getting to Barcelona tomorrow. I see a lot of beach time in our future. On a side note, Rocky now speaks English with a Spanish accent.