Today we had almost no set plans in Madrid. We did decide to book tickets to the Museo National del Prado – the must-do that we hadn’t yet done. Other than that we wanted to eat a few special things and see the neighborhoods immediately surrounding Madrid.

First things first, I wanted a pastry from Pastelería La Mallorquina, which had been recommended by multiple people and websites. There are two of these in Madrid, we decided to go to the one further away from the center of the city. I thought this place was great. Adorable little shop with many pastries both sweet and savory. It is not as extensive, however, as the one on Puerto del Sol – worth noting. I ordered Palmera Glass and John got a Caracola. Caracola translates to snail 🙂

Nacho had told us to check out the Temple of Debod so we made our way there to start the day. This temple is unique because it dates back to the 2nd century BC(!). It was originally erected in Egypt but in the 1960’s was gifted to Spain because of their help saving the temple from floods following the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. It was transported to Spain and reconstructed stone by stone.

It is located in a lovely little park – there are so many of these in Madrid – called Parque de la Montaña. There is a great view from there of the cathedral and the Royal Palace.

From there we wandered through Plaza de Espana. We’d seen this plaza from the 360-degree Rooftop Bar last night but didn’t get a chance to explore it. This plaza houses the monument to Miguel de Cervantes, which includes statues of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza. It’s a gorgeous plaza where locals can see many concerts, films and celebrations.

From there we headed in the direction of the Prado Museum, as we had tickets for 12:45 but really wanted to stop for a shot of the traditional liquor of Madrid, called Madroño. It is named after the strawberry tree that grows in abundance in Madrid but has a much longer history. At the Taberna el Madrono, it is served in a cup made of a wafer with a chocolate rim. Yes, please! We made our way there and, unfortunately, it was closed 🙁 SO SAD.

More wandering around the city and doing a little shopping along the way, we finally made it to the must-do – the Prado Museum. We did not have to queue because we’d bought a ticket online so we got right in. We purchased the audio guide and tried to get our bearings on how we’d handle this absolutely massive art museum that houses art from the 12th through the 20th centuries.

Works from the following famous artists are collected here: Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez. Per Wikipedia, the museum currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures. Yes, massive. We decided to to the 1-hour audio guide of the Prado which would include it’s most famous paintings. This art was fascinating. While I am not a traditional art aficionado, I do really appreciate the work. The paintings are incredible and each piece contains so much meaning. My favorite artists was Hieronymus Bosch – whose paintings are wild and weird and have so much going on. You could spend hours just looking at and learning about one painting of his.

Our 1-hour tour lasted two. By that time we were starving and both really wanted to try Cocido Madrileño which is a traditional Spanish dish. It is a thick soup with chick peas, some vegetables and a LOT of meat. We went to Taberna de la Daniela, a recommendation by Javier. It is an adorable little tavern with no English spoken. John managed to figure out that cocido was for 4 people and we’d have to wait for another 2 people to come so that we could share. We waited a bit and the waitress told us they’d do a dish for just 2. This food is a must-eat in Madrid!

Cocido, in this restaurant at least, is served in 3 courses and the napkin also serves as a bib. The first course is soup which tastes like a spicy broth and has tiny pasta in it. Second, a large plate of chick peas and vegetables served with a tomato sauce and third, a large plate of meat – so much meat. The meats included chorizo, chicken, beef, blood sausage and pork in it’s bone.

We tried the food individually but eventually I mixed all three – soup, chick peas and veggies and meat. It was delicious and hearty. Just what we wanted.

Feeling fat and happy we decided to go for a rest at our sweet apartment and head back out on the town later.

A little bit rested, we ventured back out. There were two neighborhoods I wanted to walk through – Lavapies and Malasana.

I’d read that Lavapies was the most multi-cultural area of Madrid and had great street art. Made up of 88 different nationalities, it was definitely full of locals, with small food restaurants, theaters, and more. Unfortunately, a lot of the businesses were closed (maybe due to it being a Monday) so we made our way to Malasana.

I’d asked Javier to recommend a wine and tapas bar in either Lavapies or Malasana. He recommended 3 different ones – all in Malasana. Malasana is a hip, bohemian neighborhood filled with stores (lots of vintage) and many bars and restaurants. Of the 3 recommendations, we chose Maricastana. We sat at the bar and had wine and tapas. The food was absolutely delicious but did seem modern and not too traditional. We chose turmeric hummus served with chick peas and vegetables and fresh burrata with confit tomatoes, pesto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So, so good!

We were tired but John indulged me for a short walk to the main square of Malasana, Plaza del Dos de Mayo. It was quite dark but still children were playing and locals were eating and drinking. It was a lively place. I’m so glad we did the walk; we decided we’d live in this neighborhood if we ever moved to Madrid.

Just one more stop on our final night here. Instead of going home, we stopped at Puerto del Sol, a spot we’d found to be one of the most touristy. The square was lit up and filled with people. We happened upon a group of Spanish dancers entertaining the crowd. They were so athletic hopping around on their hands!

Exhausted we finally made our way home. This has been an incredible trip in so many ways. But I need a vacation from my vacation! John and I do so much during these trips. Perhaps next time we’ll relax but I doubt it.

If you’re still reading, thank you for sharing my journey.

Ready to put yesterday behind us, we woke to an incredible day. Sunny and just a little bit chilly. We made our way via metro to our morning free tour (of course!). We got to Puerta del Sol (where we were to meet the guide for the tour John booked. As John got us coffee – from Starbucks (we were desperate!), I searched for the tour guide. I could not find his yellow umbrella but I did find a yellow and orange umbrella. We were not booked with this tour but the nice man told me to come back if I couldn’t find our tour.

Well, our tour got cancelled at the last minute so, again, a bit of kismet that we found Javiar at Tourstilla who allowed us to join his tour. He, and it, were both incredible. We really enjoyed his tour. He was clearly passionate about his job and educated in the history of Madrid and he was very funny and dynamic.

A couple of anecdotes from Javiar. At one point during the tour, he was showing a picture of one of the kings in the 17th century (I honestly cannot remember which one) and he called him “the Brad Pitt of kings”. He also told us about the tradition of las doce uvas de la suerte, the 12 grapes of luck. This is a New Year’s Eve tradition dating back to 1895 where each person eats one grape each for the 12 seconds prior to midnight. If you eat all the grapes you’ll have a year of prosperity and good luck.

Javiar was dynamic and fun. We learned a lot, saw a lot of historic sights, got a lot of recommendations and really enjoyed 2.5 hours of our day.

We had booked lunch with a local prior to arriving so we were off next to Nacho’s house. Per the tour, this young man would cook us lunch and we’d just chat and spend time together. We’d done a similar tour in Bruges, Belgium and thought it was fabulous. This one was as well!

We met Nacho and his brother, Guille at their 3rd floor apartment in a neighborhood outside of the city center. We were immediately invited to sit down and chat with Nacho’s brother while Nacho cooked our meal.

Nacho and Guille’s family are from Valencia where their parents and two twin sisters still reside. Both came to Madrid for work and additional education. Nacho is 26 and his Guille is 23. They were lovely young men. We ate some traditional food and chatted for two hours.

Nacho served a few things worth noting. First, sliced salami with picos de pan, which are mini-breadsticks. That was nothing new to us and we all know I love salami.

Second, angulas on bread. Now, I did not know what this was. Which I am glad of. What it looked like was baby eels on toasted bread. It was quite tasty! Nacho called it elver fish. I didn’t know what that meant. It is only researching for this blog that I know it is, in fact, baby eels. And it is considered a delicacy in Spain and, come to find out, pretty darned expensive.

Third, traditional tortilla, a delicious dish of eggs, potatoes and olive oil that looks very similar to an omelet but tastes much better.

Finally, morcilla, which is….blood sausage. I did know what this was although I’d never tried it. On purpose, to be honest. But I would not refuse food that our host cooked for us and I did want to try it. When in Madrid, right? It was ok! The texture was a little strange to me but served on bread with a red pepper on top, I can see why some like it.

Outside of the food, we really enjoyed our conversation with these two young men. We talked about family and jobs and dreams and more politics(!). We discussed their social lives and what their futures looked like. It was a wonderful way to spend time in this city getting to know two locals and hearing straight from them what is important to them and other Spaniards. Interestingly, they are interested in and focused on many of the same things we, as Americans, are. People are people, no matter what their background, I believe. We care about our family and friends and making the best life possible. The time with them was priceless.

We were close to Calle Ponzano, a street in the Chamberi neighborhood that was recommended to me by multiple people and blogs. It was described as a great place to shop or have drinks and tapas. Although we were stuffed, we were so close we decided to take a look. Yes, there were tons of very hip looking restaurants and bars. Also a lot of boutiques. Unfortunately most were closed either due to it being a Sunday or due to the holiday. Still a great place to have a stroll. Perhaps tomorrow we’ll return.

We decided to head back down to the central area of Madrid and try to go to the Museo Nacional del Prado, the main Spanish art museum and another place that multiple people said was a must-do. They offer 2 hours free entry every day which is pretty cool. We got there and…just didn’t want to wait in a queue for an hour. We didn’t do the must-do.

Instead we headed North just a few blocks to Parque de El Retiro, a massive park in the middle of Madrid. It boasts 15,000 trees and the “Great Pond”, which is a small lake in the middle of the park. You can rent a row boat and relax on the lake surrounded by beauty. The lake is also surrounded by many people along with vendors, artists, locals, kids running around, musicians. It is very cool. There is also a huge monument dedicated to Alfonso XII that looks over the lake.

It was such a gorgeous day and we’d been on our feet so long that we decided to pick a shady spot near the lake, lay down my jacket and have a little rest. Much needed and what a wonderful place to be.

John and I both wanted to get a drink at this point and of course I wanted to go to a rooftop. Javiar, our tour guide, had recommended a few and I had a few others on my list. We ended up at the 360-degree Rooftop Bar on top of the Riu Plaza Espana hotel on Gran Via.

We had to pay 10 euro per person just to go to the roof. And we should have known it would be nuts up there with the amount of people in the queue to go up. Don’t get me wrong – it was a super cool spot to be. But there were SO MANY PEOPLE! It did have a 360 degree view of the city from 27 floors up and we managed to get a few great pictures at sunset but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Just not my scene. Lots of people, cologne, smoking and DJ music. Nope! And we didn’t even get a glass of wine…

At this point we were thirsty (see above and no wine) and hungry and just wanted to get off our feet. So we did what I was trying not to do. Just stopped in a restaurant that happened to be off the main street. This time it worked out fine. Taberna Rincon de Reyes had just what we needed. A place to sit, a decent glass of wine and some good tapas. More meat, cheese and bread. All good with me.

We are at the point in the trip where we’ve managed to forget about our worries from home and enjoy each other and this place. This is one of the joys of travel. I love seeing the world, of course, but I love seeing this side of the man I love as well. What a blessing.

Today was mostly a travel day to Madrid and we managed to get here without incident. We even figured out the metro to get to our sweet apartment.

When I first saw this apartment online months ago I was so intrigued. And it lived up to the hype! Called The Greenhouse, it’s a tiny studio and it literally houses a greenhouse draped with white lights in the middle of it. That serves as the bedroom. It’s absolutely adorable! The host met us there and explained various intricacies about the place. She has covered every single detail here – including USB and USB-C outlets so that you don’t need an adapter.

Here is where the very low, low comes in. When John and I booked this trip months ago we talked about going to a traditional bullfight. We decided that, because it was of such cultural significance, we should go. I mean, talk about doing what the locals do, right?

I will post a few pictures here of the Toros Las Ventas Madrid bullfighting ring and the pomp and circumstance before the fight but I cannot write more about it or post pictures from after that. In a word, it was horrific. Suffice it to say that they wounded the bull, in my opinion in a cowardly fashion, to the point where it could no longer fight and then they killed it. Awful, simply awful. We did stay for the whole first fight – about 20 minutes – because I was afraid to disturb the very rowdy, excited fans around us. My mistake. When we finally got out of the stands, I cried.

I will never unsee what happened there. And that is my fault for thinking I could handle it. If you are an animal lover in ANY way, this is not for you.

We decided to go to a rooftop bar, of course. This one was on the roof of Circulo de Bella Artes, which is private, non-profit, cultural organization right in the center of the historic city. I’d read about this on multiple websites and blogs and it did not disappoint.

The rooftop itself is called Azotea del Círculo, or Circle Rooftop, because it has a 360 degree view of the city. The view is absolutely spectacular from all areas! You can have a meal here – they have a small, fancy restaurant – or just grab a drink and apps and enjoy the fantastic views.

Of course we did the latter and managed to snag a table right on the edge, a beautiful view of the Bank of Spain building and the Cibeles Fountain in the background. The fountain is a place where numerous celebrations are had in Madrid, including when the Real Madrid football club wins important victories.

As we were sitting there, me enjoying my wine, a crowd began to form on the edges of the streets surrounding the fountain. Traffic was still flowing, but slowly, and there were police directing traffic and people. We tried to find out what was happening (Reddit) but could not.

The crowd kept getting bigger and bigger. I got a message from our host on events going on to celebrate the National day of Spain which happened to be TODAY. This holiday is part of a larger, week-long celebration called Hispanidad. And come to find out, there were to be fireworks over the fountain and the bank building at 21:30.

Honestly, these are the types of god-winks that I live for! After an absolutely horrible experience, we just happened upon a view of a local celebration. This has happened to me a few times in my travels and I am just so grateful for it. So, rather than head to a tapas bar out of the city center, we stayed where we were and paid way too much for tapas on the roof surrounded by tourists and locals who actually knew why they were there 🙂

The fireworks were worth it! They shot out from a terrace on the Bank of Spain building for a good 30 minutes. We sat in awe, on a beautiful night, celebrating the kismet of being in the right place at the right time.

Back to our sweet apartment and the final low, low. I opened Facebook to find that I’d forgotten the anniversary of the death of my sweet Roxy. She passed 11 years ago. This is the first year I’ve forgotten and it made me very sad.

Another thing to note is my favorite person – my husband. He took SUCH good care of me today. I felt safe and loved and understood. He’s my rock and another huge blessing in my life. Thank you, John!

MADE IT IN! To Real Alcazar, that is. We woke up before dawn (literally), rolled out of bed, brushed our teeth and off we went to try to get tickets again. We arrived a little after 8 with no wrong turns and proceeded to wait in line for over two hours for the tickets. In two words….WORTH IT!

First, we managed to stand in line with the loveliest people – a couple from Australia and a couple from New Hampshire. I think it’s important to find nice folks to talk to while you’re standing there otherwise doing nothing.

It was a great two hours – strange, huh? We chatted about politics(!), our travels, football (soccer) and all sorts of things. I also learned something new from Jordan who was from New Zealand. Most of us know that people from New Zealand are often referred to as “kiwis”. Perhaps ignorantly, I thought that referred to the kiwi fruit! It actually refers to the kiwi bird. Did I teach you something? I hope so, and welcome to the club.

We enjoyed our chat so much that I exchanged email addresses with the above kiwi in the hopes that he will help us plan our trip there. HINT!

Our two hour wait allowed us to purchase two tickets for later in the day. So John and I were off to our first feeding. We stopped at the adorable Moya Brunch, a healthy gathering spot whose motto was “la vie en rose”. The phrase literally translates to “life in pink”. The tiny restaurant was entirely pink and, if not delicious, the food filled us up and gave us back some needed energy.

FINALLY – we were allowed to enter Real Alcazar. I wrote a bit about this palace yesterday so won’t add more here but I have a few comments after the experience. It absolutely was worth the wait and the very early morning. It was impressive and awe-inspiring. The architecture throughout the palace was gawk-worthy. And the grounds were massive and beautifully manicured. But…it was also just a castle. It’s very hard for me to put myself into the timeframe where the castle was in use – including modern times. I appreciate a very good audio tour and I didn’t think this one was so good. Must do – yes. Disappointed – also yes.

We had a very short amount of time between when we finished in Real Alcazar and the tour we’d booked for the cathedral.

This time John had booked a paid guided tour of Sevilla Cathedral tour – it would be interesting to see the difference between it and a free tour. This cathedral is fabulous – I’ve written about it before. But the tour was just…eh. There were some historical references and some funny stories from the guide, Esther, but it wasn’t 5-star-review-worthy. The cathedral itself, however, was.

So much opulence, so much money, so much religious and historical significance, it was amazing in that regard. A few of the things that stood out for me.

The cathedral is a mix of cultures – meaning that one culture did not completely destroy the one before it and build anew. Catholics held onto the Moorish structure and then added their own influence. Interesting that unique religions here, in that time, did not foster destruction…

It is worth walking up 35 ramps to get to the top of the Giralda – the tower – for absolutely stunning views of Seville.

The facts surrounding the remains of Christopher Columbus are fascinating, and I still do not know the truth about where he lies. Some of him may be in the cathedral in Seville?

The Puerta del Príncipe (Door of the Prince) is awe-inspiring. Your chin cannot help but drop to the floor when you see this. You’ll stare at what you think is the entire thing and still only view a small percentage.

There are a few very ostentatious and spectacular altars in the church that, I don’t think, you’ll see anywhere else in the world.

Very, very few people attend mass here, although it is held.

Also worth noting, the paid tour was NOT better than the free ones we’d been on. Very good to know!

After the not-so-fabulous tour we did make our way up the 35 ramps to the Giralda to see the view of Seville from the top. That was completely worth it. The view was vast and incredible. You could clearly make out the Torre del Oro and the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla (bullfighting ring) as well as the Plaza de Espana from the top.

We were pretty hungry, and tired, after both tours so made our way to Bar La Bartola in Santa Cruz, which we’d tried to visit last night. Again, we were able to snag a table for two. We ordered Queso Manchego (my favorite!), Jamon Iberia, croquetas and a dish called Copanata (grilled eggplant, tomato, olives and pine nuts). Again, delicioso!

We had literally been on our feet for 9 hours at that point. And we hadn’t even showered. Exhausted, we got back to our hotel to clean up and rest from the day.

I cleaned up and got to work writing. John cleaned up and relaxed just a bit. We decided, given the weather (it was icky!) and our exhaustion, to have a night at our sweet apartment.

Dressed in my Puma sweatshirt and sweat pants, with NOTHING around my waist or neck (oh, so good), we headed to a small market and purchased a 5 euro bottle of Verdejo, salads and chips. Back to the apartment for more DMCs (deep meaningful conversations) which are priceless.

These are the times I get to focus on what is important to me and how grateful I am for the gorgeous life I get to lead. Thank you, God.

The day dawned beautifully with blue skies and wispy clouds. The rain was gone for this one day. We needed to take advantage of it.

John and I really, really wanted to tour the Real Alcázar of Seville. The Real Alcazar is one of the main symbols of the city of Seville for multiple reasons. It is the oldest active royal palace in all of Europe and the gardens are also the oldest gardens in the city. It may be best known to Americans as the place where Game of Thrones was filmed – the 5th and 7th seasons. Its gardens, courtyards and oldest rooms were used to create the kingdom of Dorne.

All of that said, we waited too long to try to buy tickets online 🙁 This is one of the downfalls of not planning too much when I travel. I always assume there will be availability for sites like this. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The website did mention that there would be some in person ticket sales so John and I set off early in the morning to see if we’d be two of the lucky few.

We got a little turned around! And that is an understatement. We walked in a few (big) circles until we finally found our way and by then tickets were sold out. The silver lining is that our walk enabled us to see more of the city, particularly points within Santa Cruz, a former Jewish quarter and now a must-see neighborhood in Seville. More to come on Santa Cruz…and I think we’ll try again for in-person tickets. The Real Alcazar is a must-do here and I’d really like to see it.

John had scheduled a tour for us in the neighborhood of Triana. On the way there we stopped for a much-needed(!) pastry in Panypiu. This is a place that we’d been passing for two days now and it looked scrumptious. John wisely chose Napolitana de Almendras, which is a chocolate or custard filling wrapped in a puff pastry made with the 
same dough as croissants. It was flaky and messy and delicious!

Triana is a charming neighborhood across the Canal de Alfonso XIII (one of the arms of the River Guadalquivir) from Seville. Seeing Triana is also a must-do as it’s radically different from Seville and has it’s own unique and storied history. THIS neighborhood is where flamenco originated.

The Puenta de Triana (Triana bridge) is one of the bridges that connects Seville to Triana. I’d read that this bridge was not only gorgeous but also afforded amazing views of Seville and Triana. It is not that old – the bridge was built in the 19th century. Prior to that – since the 11th century – Seville and Triana were connected by a “boat bridge”, which was a series of boats connected by chains with planks on top for walking.

The first thing you see upon crossing the bridge is the Castillo de San Jorge, a medieval fortress built on the bank of the river. It was used as the headquarters and as a prison during the Spanish Inquisition. The Castle was torn down in 1823 and now a museum sits in it’s place along with Triana’s famous Mercado de Triana. More to come on that…

Our tour started in Plaza del Altozano, just across the street from the Castillo de San Jorge. It is a large square just across the bridge and serves as an entry point into the neighborhood.

This was another free tour and, I thought, a bit better than yesterday’s. Alba was the tour guide. She provided facts and anecdotes on historical events and walked us through a small portion of the neighborhood, hitting some of the highlights that tourists should see.

We strolled down Betis Street, a touristy, yet picturesque riverfront street boasting many tapas bars and restaurants and also providing amazing views across the river to Seville.

We stopped in the ostentatious La Esperanza de Triana, whose incredible main attraction is the Virgin de la Esperanza de Triana, Our Lady of Hope Triana. She sits on an alter entirely surrounded by gold and wears a gold crown and fabulous robes. This church is a big part of the Semana Santa, or Holy Week, in Seville.

We continued to walk and see the lovely architecture and additional churches. We saw – and heard – flamenco dancers training with castanets, the wooden instruments they hold in their hands which contribute to the incredible sounds and rhythms of the dance.

The tour ended at the infamous Callejon de la Inquisicion, Inquisition Alley, a 35-meter alley where those arrested and executed took their last steps.

We were on our own again and simply had to peruse the Mercado de Triana, a famous food market in the neighborhood. They had stalls of all types of fresh foods – meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, breads, fish of all kinds. In addition, there were a few tapas bars and plenty of places to get a beer or glass of wine.

I’d read about La Casa Fundida on a blog post during my research for the trip. The small restaurant happened to be right in the market. I cannot say it was welcoming to tourists as everything was in Spanish but I hoped that was going to be a positive things.

In my opinion, this was the BEST meal we’ve had. As I said, nothing was in English and the waitress didn’t speak English so we guessed a bit on what we were ordering. John got the Menu del Dia, the menu of the day, which included an appetizer, 2 courses, a dessert and bread. He wasn’t positive what courses he ordered. He ended up with Tortilla Espanola, which is similar to quiche made with egg and potato. His first course was Lentejas which is cooked lentils. His second course was veal and french fries (I don’t know the Spanish name) and his final course was a vanilla pudding with a cookie smack dab in the middle of it. ALL WERE DELICOUS!

I also got Lentejas and, my favorite, Chorizo ​​al Infierno, which translates to chorizo on fire. And that’s exactly what it was. The waitress brought out 4 pieces of chorizo on a skewer suspended above a bowl. In Spanish, she told me to keep moving the meat for 3-4 minutes and then douse the flame. Then she lit the bowl beneath the meat and left! First, fire is cool. Second, this chorizo was the best I’ve ever had. It was so delicious. Best meal in Seville…..so far!

After our amazing meal, we headed back into the heart of Triana to look at some artwork I’d seen in a window during the tour. The artist’s name is Norberto Leon Rios, from Columbia, whose son was in the workshop selling his wares. His name was Cesar (like the salad, he said) and we were able to chat both in Spanish and in English (John is so much better than I am). It was a lovely time and we purchased 2 lovely watercolors. There’s nothing like remembering your vacation when you see art on your walls.

Then, we wandered along the river and headed back to Seville on the other bridge that connects the two. We were headed to Plaza de Espana, another major landmark in Seville.

Plaza de Espana had been talked about by both of our tour guides as a must-see. I agree wholeheartedly. It is phenominal. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The architecture is fascinating and a bit overwhelming. It is a mix of Art Deco, Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival (Neo-Mudejar). It was designed by a local architect to showcase Spain’s industry and technology exhibits at the World Fair.

The complex is a massive half circle and there is a moat surrounding the building, in which you can rent a rowboat and tool around enjoying the incredible architecture. The plaza is surrounded by Marie Luisa Park – a lush, gorgeous park with fountains, pavilions, walls, ponds, benches and more.

It is worth noting the tiled alcoves around the plaza. Each one represents a different province of Spain. Beautiful and fascinating. Also, there are four bridges that connect the building to the square in front of it. They are decorated in deep blue, white and yellow ceramic tile and represent the 4 ancient Kingdoms of Spain: Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Portugal.

This was an incredible place to walk around, check out the plaza and all of the interesting tiles, as well as have a rest on one of the tile benches and people watch. As we were walking to the center of the plaza, we happened upon a Flamenco show. There were 4 dancers (one of which was over 75) and a Flamenco guitarist. They were very fun to watch!

After a brief rest at our apartment, we were back out to explore. The weather was simply beautiful and we had to take advantage of that.

One of the things I love to do in a foreign city is see it at sunset from above. Today, John found our chosen rooftop – La Terraza at the Hotel Inglaterra. The bar is located on the 7th floor of the hotel – 4 floors above where we were last night. Because of this, the views were even more stunning than last night.

The entire cathedral was viewable as well as the bullfighting ring, the Real Alcazar and many other buildings we didn’t know. It was lovely up there and I had “dos copa de vino blancos” while John tried a non-acholic drink.

These are the nights I live for! In an incredible foreign city, seeing a stunning view, being with the man I love, and having deep meaningful conversations (DMC as Lauren would say). It was priceless.

Quite hungry, but not starving enough to settle for any old tapas bar, we walked back to Santa Cruz where we managed to snag a table at El Librero Tapas Y Queso (literally translated to the Tapas and Cheese Bookseller). They are known for their cheese and paella.

The menu wasn’t in English but we made do. We ordered a 4-cheese board, Morcon chorizo (again) and Chicharon de Cadiz which is pork belly served with lemon juice and Cumin. Of course the cheese and chorizo was to-die-for but I wasn’t a huge fan of the Chicharon.

This was definitely a locals joint as, during dinner, a family came in and started decorating the tiny restaurant for a 29th surprise birthday party. It was pretty cute!

If you’re still reading, I’m very tired (10.3 miles walked) so many apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes. Also, “mi español es malo” (my Spanish is bad)!

After 28 hours of pretty easy travel, we made it to Seville! I say pretty easy because, with travel to a destination where your language is not the primary language, there are plenty of times where you get a little lost. That did happen here as well. Plane to train to automobile to train! Here we are.

Our apartment is in the Centro/Old Town neighborhood of Seville so pretty close to all the attractions. And it is lovely. On the top floor of an old building with a lovely terrace where you can get outside and hear the sounds of life in the tavernas below.

We set our luggage down and set back out to see what was happening in our little neighborhood. And of course, to get a glass of Spanish wine. Just a block from our apartment was Manducare – a traditional tapas bar. We ordered two glasses of Rioja and finally relaxed. It was a loud and lively place and seemed to host many locals although, other than them speaking Spanish, how am I to know?

First thing I noted about Seville – the Spanish wine is CHEAP. Cheaper than water! My kinda place…

Our first morning here was scheduled with a free walking tour. If you’ve read any of my past blogs, I love a free walking tour. I find that a few highlights of the city are covered by a local who is very passionate about his/her city. Which I adore.

Don’t book with paraguasrojos.com! We got to the meeting spot right at 10 am and the tour had already left. Oh well, they are easy to find so we straightaway booked with Free Walking Tour – a historical tour.

The tour started at the historic Plaza Nueva (New Square) which is where City Hall is located and the architecture is simply stunning. Our guide, Chel, was no exception to the rule of a passionate local turned tour guide. He had a passion for Andalusia (the region of Spain where Seville is located) as well as flamenco and the history of Seville.

We looped around and gawked at the stunning Catedral de Sevilla (Seville Cathedral). It is a Catholic cathedral and a former mosque. The architecture is fascinating – a combination of Renaissance, Gothic and Neoclassical. The bell tower of this cathedral is the one you can see from most places in the city center. It is called the Giralda and was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville. A minaret, if you did not know (and I did not!) is a type of tower that is used to project the Muslim call to prayer.

Another remarkable building worth staring at is La Adriática (the Adriatic) building. It’s extraordinary architecture is eclectic – a combination of multiple origins including Islamic, Plateresque and regional. It’s only downfall is the Haagen Dazs located on the lower level and the obnoxious sign on the building.

We saw he Torre del Oro, the Tower of Gold, in the Old Town. It is a dodecagonal tower (that’s 12 sides) that sits right on the Quidalquivir river and served as a defensive military watchtower. It is called the Tower of Gold because of it’s small golden cylindrical cupola which reflects the golden light onto the river.

The tour ended at the luxury Hotel Alfonso XIII – a stunning historic hotel built in the early 1900’s especially for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 – a world’s fair held here in Seville. Now it is a Marriot hotel where celebrities and the wealthy stay. There is a throne in one of the rooms. Chel described the patrons as “fancy and grumpy”. Well said. Although I’d like to try fancy and grumpy once in my life…

John and I were planning on trying to eat like the locals. Instead of breakfast at 7, lunch at noon, dinner at 6, they’re more likely to eat breakfast at 10-11, lunch between 2-4 and dinner after 8. But we took it a bit too far by not having something before our tour. Thus we were getting a bit hangry by the end. And it had started to rain pretty badly.

I do this every time I travel. Let myself get too hungry and then stop in one of the first places I see. Yet I never learn! Hungry and wet, we stopped in a cafeteria near Plaza de Espana, and were completely underwhelmed. So underwhelmed that I didn’t even take note of the name. Please learn from me. John and I have agreed to not let that happen again this trip. We’ll see….

What is one of the top things to eat in Seville? Churros con Chocolate – churros with chocolate. I’d been looking forward to this since we agreed on this trip. So off we walked in the steady rain, to Bar el Comercio (The Commerce Bar). This was recommended by a lovely Canadian we met at a tapas bar near our apartment. It was founded in 1904 and is very well known for the authentic churros. We got there at 3:30 and….they don’t serve churros until 4 🙁 I made the silly decision to go the other place the Canadian mentioned – Kukuchurro Seville – which is a local churros chain.

Another bad gastro-decision! The churros were cold. But the chocolate was delicious. We threw them away and headed back to Bar el Comercio. Finally, we had authentic churros and chocolate. Hmmmm, how do I feel about them? If you know me, you know that my favorite dessert is a hot, fresh churro. But these didn’t have any sugar and cinnamon on them. So, simply not as good (the best I’ve ever had is at the Christmas market in Montreaux, Switzerland). The dipping chocolate was divine, however, and believe me, I managed to get a few of them down! I’m not sure I’ll get any more while I’m here. So many other sweets to try!

After a quick rest we were back out for a night on the town. First stop, a rooftop bar to watch the sunset. I’d read about the Hotel Doma Maria that has a terrace with a lovely view of the Catedral de Sevilla. With a glass of red and a glass of white, we chatted and planned our next adventure. After the rain all day, the sky was dry but cloudy. We did end up seeing some cotton candy clouds which were lovely.

Finally – off to see what most people come to Seville for – a Flamenco show! I’d done a lot of research and asked everyone we’d met here for recommendations. There are TONS of shows to choose from and, it seems, most of them are pretty good. We chose Tablao Flamenco Alvarez Qunitero and it was absolutely incredible! The theater is located in an 18th century house that seats a maximum of 70 patrons. It was dark and intimate and very, very intense. These dancers and musicians are so talented. There were two dancers, a guitarist and a singer. All of them were so amazing. I was particularly shocked by the fact that it was not just dancing. The art includes the musicians, of course, but also the clapping and stomping that they do to create unique, dramatic sounds. The clapping is synchronized to correlate with the footwork and create music in and of itself. The footwork was nothing short of spectacular! I said to John afterward, that was tap dancing on steroids – and without taps! So amazing…

It was 9:30 – time to eat and I wasn’t going to be dissuaded from going to a tapas bar that I’d read about. John was onboard and we were off to El Rinconcillo (The Little Corner). The bar was founded in 1670 and is perhaps the oldest bar in Seville.

It was so crowded (at 9:30) that we stood at the bar. It’s a traditional tapas restaurant and the bartenders waiting on us seemed like they’d worked there for decades. All Spanish-speaking but they were able to provide English menus. We tried a few things – sheep cheese, Iberian Morcon, spinach with chickpeas and Iberian ham sliced off the pig directly in front of us. It was delicious. I was in my happy place, as John would say, surrounded by wine, meat and cheese.

Off to bed, more to come tomorrow.

With no adventurous excursions planned, today was a day to explore Fairbanks a bit. The scenery here is just so raw and amazing that of course we wanted to hike it. There aren’t a ton of winter trails within 30 miles or so of here. But with the help of Pike’s reception and AllTrails we were able to find some.

We first headed back toward University of Alaska Fairbanks – locally called UAF. Based on the recommendation of a gentlemen at our front desk we could head to the Georgeson Botanical Garden and get on a couple of trails from there. Obviously not a ton to see right now from a plants and flowers perspective but it was just acres of open, white, snowy fields. Beautiful…and still…and peaceful. Well, we did manage to find the trails but as we do, decided to take the road less traveled.

The map looked to show another trail a bit north of where we were so we decided to just walk across the snowy field to get there. No problem, right? Well, WRONG! But oh so fun! We didn’t get more than a couple of feet when we started to sink into 2-foot deep snow with every step we took! It was absolutely hysterical. See a couple of funny photos below. I could not stop laughing as John decided it was more efficient to crawl rather than walk. And at one point rolling down the hill was the preferred choice of travel. I was sweating and giggling and falling on my butt in the beautiful snow. What simple silly fun!

We did manage to get back on trail and though it was less fun it was certainly a lot easier to manage. We decided to try the other hiking area recommended to us by the man at reception – Creamer’s Field.

Creamer’s Field – Migratory Waterfowl Refuge – is a 2200-acre bird sanctuary right in the middle of Fairbanks. It consists of wetlands and forest and fields and was originally opened as a dairy farm. It also boasts miles of trails through this beautiful area – on the wetlands as well as through the boreal forest. The boreal forest is simply stunning. White, flaky birch trees surrounded and covered in pristine snow. Areas where the weight of the snow has caused the trees to form beautiful arches to walk through as if you’re on a red carpet. And oh so still and quiet. Although we didn’t see any moose or other wildlife it was a really nice – almost meditative – way to enjoy the morning.

We’d been reading about the Cookie Jar restaurant – and getting recommendations to go there – since we arrived in Fairbanks. A sweet, diner-like restaurant with yummy sandwiches and friendly service, it didn’t disappoint. And neither did the Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip cookie. I’d go back for the cookies alone! And the cinnamon rolls looked delicious!

We’d been planning on dinner at The Jazz Bistro since we arrived but were waiting to go on a weekend so that we could hear live music. This is a restaurant featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives back in 2021 but we were there for the excellent Cuban food and music we’d read about.

We were taken care of by Rico the head chef and Leonora. It’s a sparsely decorated restaurant but the charm of the people and the incredible food were what mattered. Both Rico and Leonora took the time to chat with us – about where we’re from, the economy, food, drinks. And again, the food was incredible! John copied me and we both got the Salmon Cuban Style. Amazing!

As it was, we were way too early for the live music. It started at 10. Apparently the restaurant turns into a PARTY once the music starts – lots and lots of salsa. So fun. But alas too late for these old folks.

What a nice experience all the way around!