Spain part 3

DAY 8: This was our last day in Barcelona...very sad. This is such a beautiful and amazing city. When we first got to Spain, I couldn´t help but be a little less than thrilled, mainly because it was cold and rainy... which I am more than accustomed to in Oregon and Washington. But Barcelona was in the 70s every day, sunny (with one thunderstorm) and just beautiful. Our last day in Barcelona, dad and I started the day by going to a travel agency and getting train tickets and hotel reservations for Seville (Sevilla), where we were going the next day. The train tickets were very reasonably priced. The train ride was scheduled to take 12 hrs, but luckily I was very excited to see Spanish countryside and I had a good book to read :) Our hotel was located a bit outside city center, but turned out to be very nice with air-conditioning (we actually needed it in Sevilla!) and a shower that didn´t put me at risk for flooding the bathroom :) After booking our reservations, dad and I went to the contemporary art museum (Museu d Árt Contemporani de Barcelona). The museum was a gigantic, all-white building with lots of windows and straight lines. The installations were amazing, and some were very creepy....straight out of the movie The Ring. One room was completely dark except for a row of TVs displaying nothing but black-and-white static, with organ music playing in the background. Dad didn´t seem to be a big fan :) After the museum, dad and I continued down the Ramblas to the pier. A giant monument of Columbus marks the start of the pier, as well as a lot of old and historic buildings. Port Vell has lots of restaurants, shops, an acquarium, IMAX, and other attractions, as well as a harbor with TONS of ships. Everything in Barcelona was a work of art, it was amazing. Street posts, benches, etc. Even the pier has a floating walkway to the above attractions; the walkway is shaped almost like a guitar (if looking at it from above) and gently slopes up and down like waves. Next, we tried to go to the Picasso Museum but it was closed on Mondays...foiled! Instead we went to Ciutadella Park, which was a fantastic substitute. The part contained a zoo (which we didn´t visit), an amazing sculpture and fountain, remains of the Universal Exhibition of 1888 (including a life-size wooly mammoth sculpture), and a lake with gondolas. The park also contained Barcelona´s version of the Arc de Triumph. All in all, it was another fantastic day in Barcelona. I was sad to leave, and highly recommend that city to anyone!!!

DAY 9: Not a lot happened today. We got up relatively early to catch a train to Sevilla. The train ride was fantastic. Bathrooms in working order (un necessito for me), food options, comfy seats, and Slumdog Millionaire dubbed in Spanish :) Finished my book, got some sleep, ahh....also had a wonderful view of the Spanish countryside. Its amazing, in southern Spain there is nothing but miles and miles of olive trees.... mmmm....soooo yummy!! Its like I just found my own personal heaven. The only bad thing was that there was some obstruction on the tracks, so we were stopped in Cordova for 1.5 hrs. Didn´t bother me any, but other passengers were more annoyed.

DAY 10: Our first full day in Sevilla. Our hotel is a bit out of the way (not downtown), but just a short bus ride from downtown. There are two main districts here: Santa Cruz and El Arenal. We were able to see most of both of them in one day. Our day began with breakfast at a mall near our hotel. Then we took a bus into the downtown area, which only took about 10-15 minutes. We started out in the Santa Cruz district. I should mention the weather...hot and sunny, very tropical feeling.... WONDERFUL. Many of the buildings have the stereotypical Mediteranean architecture...very colorful, tiled roofs and intricate tile patterns on the walls. Tons of lush greenery including palm trees and lime trees. There are also many courtyards with small fountains in the centers, ornate tiled benches, etc. It feels like a mix between Europe and Hawaii. We went to lunch at a restaurant near the cathedral, which may have been a mistake...probably more expensive than other places, but oh well. For some reason, all restaurants seem to charge for bread with the meal, even if you don´t order bread. Very sneaky ;) Its so good though that we can hardly complain. After lunch we visited Real Alcazar, an AMAZING palace (from the 14th century?), which had a combination of Christian and Arab influences in the architecture. It was similar to the rest of the architecture in Sevilla, but more incredible. It was basically Sevilla on steroids. The palace contained tons of beautiful courtyards, arched doorways, high ceilings, tiles, marble floors, fountains, etc. It was home to Pedro the Cruel (nice name, huh?), and later Carlos V and his wife/cousin Isabel de Portugal. After the palace, we walked down the Avenida de la Constitucion to the Torre del Oro, a big circular structure on the waterfront. From there we walked along the waterfront to Plaze de Toros de la Maestranza (aka a bull ring). And no, I did NOT go to a bullfight because the bull never seems to win. After walking around some more, we went to dinner at a restaurant called El Buzo, which we heard about in our guidebook. I HIGHLY recommend it...its located at the corners of Arfe and Calle Antonia Diaz (for those of you planning a trip to Sevilla in the near future :). We had the fish and shellfish special which was a mix of prawns and dorado fish (which I had never had but LOVED). It was so juicy and tender and mmmmm..... Warning: the restaurant is a bit pricey and the fish dish is messy (they give you handi-wipes though :) but soooo worth it. Also comes with olives! I had truffles with cream for dessert. I would recommend sharing the dessert, I ate almost all of it myself and was very full afterward. The wine is also fantastic. We got cheap white wine that was really good! (only 2.40€ a glass!) Finally, we rounded out the night with a flamenco show at the Auditorio Alvarez Quintero near the cathedral. It was a very small venue and small show (one singer, one guitarist, and two dancers) but cheap and intimate (I was practically sitting on the stage). Overall another fantastic day in Spain! I heart Spain!