Unlike last year, when we moved locations every 2-3 days, we decided that this year it would be nice to not hop around so much. So, we decided on one long weekend trip to the south (Sevilla and Cordoba) and to spent the rest of the time in Madrid. My family arrived on a Thursday, but I wasn't able to meet them until after work at 5:30. This ended up working out well since they were pretty jet-lagged from their journey here and they wanted to rest a bit. **Travel: the only way to beat jet-lag in the first 24 hours is to power through the day with tons of activities and avoiding the hotel/hostel room! Trust me, the bed will be too tempting to sleep in. However, if you're desperate for a nap, go ahead but don't nap for more than a couple of hours or it will throw off your sleep cycle.** After we met I just took them around my neighborhood (known by three names: Antón Martín, Huertas or Las Letras), through the center and to my favorite view of Madrid near Templo de Debod in Parque Oeste. Later on, we had tapas and called it an early night (early night in Spain meaning 10:30/11:00).
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| Plaza de España - Sevilla |
We were happy to wake up and see some sun on Saturday because I had a guided walking tour lined up for us. It was the perfect weather to spend the day outside. Before our tour, we enjoyed a traditional Andalusian breakfast of grated tomato on toast in a cute little café. Our tour guide, Alvaro, was a local and definitely knew his stuff. There were only 7 of us on the tour, so it was practically a private tour. We spent 2 hours walking around the center of Sevilla and learning all about it's 3,000 years of history (that's right, 3,000! believed to be the second oldest city in Europe after Cadiz). The tour was so fantastic that we spontaneously decided to sign up for a second tour with Alvaro that same day to see the Real Alcázar of Sevilla (Royal Fortress). It's somewhat comparable to the Alhambra of Granada considering it's moorish roots, but it's still worth seeing even if you already have seen the Alhambra! It's got amazing arches, incredibly detailed architecture/tile-work, and gorgeous, manicured gardens filled with bushes, tress, flowers, fountains and my least favorite animal, peacocks. It was good to have Alvaro there to help tell us exactly what we were looking at and the history behind it. After the tour, we took some time to wander around the gardens and soak up the warm sun. But that was pretty short lived because we were exhausted and starving after back-to-back tours. We went to a tapas bar recommended to us by Alvaro and we were not disappointed. We enjoyed a delicious "menú del día" which is a fixed menu for a discounted price, usually between 9-15 euros. After lunch we spent our afternoon at the stunning Plaza de España and walking along the Guadalquivir river. On our last night in Sevilla I ended up introducing my family to one of Spain's "fast food chains" called 100 (Cien) Montaditos. Spainiards consider it "fast food" but it's MUCH higher quality than McDonalds, from 0.50-2 euros you can get a small sandwich topped with anything from calamari, jamón, and chicken to dessert toppings and hot dogs. How many kinds of sandwiches are there did you ask? You guessed it, 100! In addition to sandwiches they have chips, fries, olives, nachos and salads to choose from for a side dish. My parents didn't really know what to expect, but they really liked it! The quality of food is much higher than our American fast food standards, and my mom even commented on the healthy options available there! Juliana loved it because she got to enjoy french fries and orange Fanta (her favorite thing to drink in Spain, and some thing she's only allowed to drink on vacation).
On Sunday we packed up and got on a train to Cordoba. I was especially excited to go to Cordoba because it's somewhere I've never been! Also, because it's the hometown of one of my teacher friends from my school in Madrid and she gave us tons of insider recommendations. We spent 12 hours in Cordoba wandering the streets, trying tapas, soaking up the sun, viewing the beautiful flowered patios and of course, visiting the Mezquita. Mezquita mean's mosque and La Mezquita de Córdoba is the most iconic mosques in all of Spain. It's history is unique and I won't do it justice but I will try to give you a brief summary of it. The first people to build on the land where the mezquita now stands were the Visigoths near the year 500 who built a basilica. In the late 700's, the moors conquered Cordoba and leveled the basilica and before the year 800 they had begun to build their great mosque. The mosque was built and expanded over the next 200 years. The mosque was enormous, big enough to house the thousands or moorish citizens for prayer 5 times a day. The moorish reign in Cordoba lasted until the late 13th century, when the catholics reclaimed it for good. Instead of destroying the mosque (which they couldn't do because it was far too beautiful), they just reconstructed a part of it into a Catholic church. Seeing the mezquita and learning about all this history was extremely fascinating for all of us. Later that night we got back on a train and traveled the rest of the way to Madrid.
The week in Madrid was quite a blur, but I'll try to hit some of the highlights:
-Monday: I took my family on my own little city tour. Luckily it was a nice day so we were able to be outside for most of it! We started in Retiro Park and then moved on to Palacio de Cibeles, Plaza Cibeles, Gran Via, Plaza de España and had a paella lunch. Later that night we also visited the Reina Sofia (contemporary art museum famous for housing Picasso's 'Guernica'), got the best calamari sandwiches EVER at a place called "El Brillante" (located right outside the museum), and went to the San Miguel Market to munch on some yummy food.
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| Juju and her new Spanish friends |
-Wednesday: I had to work so my family were on their own in the morning, then in the afternoon I took Juju back to school with me for a couple of hours (since she was so popular the first day) and my parents got to spend some quality time in the Prado museum. Later that night we all went to the apartment of one of my Spanish private lesson families and enjoyed some homemade traditional tapas there. My parents loved meeting the locals and Juju got to hang out with some Spanish girls close to her age, so it was a winning situation for everybody!
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| Dinner at Isabel's house |
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| Toledo <3 |
I had a wonderful time with my family in Spain! It was great that they spent so much time in Madrid because it was fun for me to show them a glimpse into what my life is like here! They met the woman that runs my favorite frutería, some of my students, the Spanish families I've gotten close to and my best friends here! They stayed at a hotel on the same block as my flat so they got to get to know my neighborhood a little bit. And the best part is that they loved it all as much as I do! Although it seemed to fly by, I am thrilled that I got to spend some quality time with the people I love most <3
Just incase someone reading this is headed to Spain soon, below are links to some of the things I mentioned above!
- The walking tour we took with our incredible guide Alvaro! - http://www.sevillawalkingtours.com/
- The amazing Moroccan restaurant we went to in Toledo - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187489-d3248517-Reviews-Posada_El_Cristo_de_la_Luz-Toledo_Province_of_Toledo_Castile_La_Mancha.html
- Best Calamari Sandwiches! - http://www.barelbrillante.es/
- Mercardo San Miguel, for people who can't decide what they want to eat! -http://www.mercadodesanmiguel.es/
- The winery tour that my parents RAVED about - http://www.gourmetmadrid.com/en/wine-tours/madrid.html
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