Sunday April 25th
April 1-19th was a blast! While many friends back home were finishing up classes, I was taking an extended Spanish siesta also known as my spring break.
A few friends and I went to for the first leg of the trip to Sevilla. We met up with a friend from high school who is studying in Leon, Matt, as well as a friend I went to high school and middle school with who happens to be studying in Sevilla, Mindy.
Sevilla, besides being one of the most “romantic cities” in Spain is also knows for its high crime amount. I read this in my Frommer’s guide to Spain while flying to Seville, got off the plane, proceeded to get dropped off by a bus at 11p.m. right in the area where they said to avoid late at night. Apparently that was where muggings have been reported. I decided to walk it alone instead of getting a taxi since the directions said it was only a twenty minute walk…. This turned out to be one of the worst decisions of my trip as I now have two broken ribs, am in a sling, and have 200 less euro to my name L. Lol jk sometimes stories need some spice. I ended up getting some directions from some very nice Spaniards, made it to the hostel fine and hit the hay for the night.
The next three days we took part in a tour of the bull arena, the Sevillan Cathedral and many tours of the local tourist shops(there were tons of them). The park I was nearly mugged at during the day is actually amazing! It used to be the queen’s private gardens, but is now open to the public. As for some of the highlights of Sevilla, The Guadalquivir River was great for paddle-boating for a few hours, as well as an early morning run. Again, the cathedral was AMAZING! The goal of the builders was to have visitors think they were crazy after it was finished. I think they’re crazy, its massive!
After Sevilla I took a bus up to Madrid and met one of the Sevillan pro-basketball team’s physical therapists. He was a really cool guy, it gave me a good chance to speak Spanish, and we’re now friends on facebook!
I meet my parents in Madrid at the airport the next day and we stayed with some friends of ours in Madrid the Guerras for the next few days. Just like last time, their hospitality was amazing. We had a two and a half hour 6 course meal with them and their relatives! After filling our bellies we proceeded to the Retiro as well as the Museo del Prado.
After Madrid, on Monday morning, we hoped aboard a train to Cordoba. We decided not to rent a car, which turned out to be a great idea. In Cordoba we took a taxi to our hotel very close to the Christian Mosque. While in the taxi, we went through a few of those European metal barriers that protrude from the road. You need a pass to get through them. As we walked back we saw one vehicle had tried to make it through while the barrier while it was down. You can imagine how his car looked afterwards. Some highlights of Cordoba were the Christian Mosque that was originally built in the 6th century, the Alcazar which is the Arabic word for palace, got lost in town and found a great restaurant where we proceeded to have another two hour Spanish lunch!
The next morning we went to Granada by bus. We made it to the hotel, then on up to the Alhambra or Red Castle. This place is amazing for its gardens, and walled fortress that rises above the rest of the castle. This is one of my favorite places in all of Spain! I definitely recommend it. The view is amazing as its all built on a large hill. After the Alhambra we found another place to have another great Spanish dinner with a hilarious waiter. Another five course meal cost us 8.50 euro per person!
The next day we stayed in Granada and spent most of the day having café con leche, shopping and being lazy. I think this was Mom’s favorite day of the trip. That night we took the TrenHotel to Valencia. A 7.5 hour trip through the night was made so much better with beds and a few drinks. My dad and I ordered the usual, a few beers, and Mom ordered a bottle of wine! Actually she had no choice, she asked for a glass of wine, but it turns out that the entire wine bottle was her only option!
We only spent twelve hours in Valencia, but they were twelve hours well spent. We went to La Cuidad de Artes y Ciencias and I finally got to go inside and check out the exhibits! We checked out the sciences building as well as L’ Oceanografic exhibits in La Cuidad. Afterwards we took a walk down to the Mediterranean Sea, then made it back for our train ride back to Madrid for the night in time for a great Spanish dinner with Pablo and Paloma at the Guerra residence.
The following morning we woke up early, went to the train station to get tickets for the 10a.m. train to Toledo, which happened to be sold out. We eventually made it to Toledo on a 12:30 train. This roadblock ended up not hindering our day trip as two of the main attractions were closed. The Alcazar was closed because that museum as well as another one were swapping exhibits. Apparently it has been closed for 4 years! Now that’s Spanish time for you. We ended up seeing the cathedral of Toledo, which had a great presentation as well as a 500 pound monstrance! We did some more shopping, had another extended Spanish lunch and went home for another great Spanish dinner.
The last trip we took from Madrid was to Segovia, which really made me think of Genovia from Princess Diaries (don’t tell anyone I said that). Pablo and his wife, Alicia came with Mom, Dad and me. We saw the summer home of the Spanish royal families as well as the Segovian Alcazar, then went out for a Spanish lunch, or more of a Spanish feast! After being fed we walked the city some more, sat down for some more café con leche out on the terrace overlooking a the city, and headed back for the night.
The next morning I woke up, Pablo and I took my parents to the airport after a crazy busy week of fun. It was really great to see them! They made it back safe and sound, without any Icelandic volcanoes/ash getting in their way. My roommate was another story. I’ll let him tell that one. I didn’t know where he was for a few days, somewhere in Europe…
Enjoy and God Bless,
Kyle
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