Holiday in Spain

Bottom line of our vacation: the weather was great, the food was amazing – once we got used to the Spanish schedule of lunch at 3pm and dinner at 10pm, and the people were friendly. That’s really about all it takes for me to have a good vacation. But I made a few notes about what we did every day anyway. And, of course, took lots of pictures.

Tuesday, November 11

• Finally arrived in Madrid.
• We were excited to find a “Dunkin’ Coffee” and even more excited when we realized that it really was a Dunkin’ Donuts and not just a blatant copyright infringement like we originally thought.
• Had our first tapas “meal” full of rich (and salty) flavors.
• Marveled at the size of our large Cokes from Burger King (necessitated by the salty tapas). “I haven’t had a drink this big since the last time I was in the US!”

Wednesday, November 12

• Visited the Prado Museum and decided El Greco is our favorite Spanish artist.
• Found lunch off the beaten path – 2 two-course meals and a bottle of wine for only 20 Euros! “I think I could live with eating Spanish food all the time.”
• Highlights of our visit to the Royal Palace – for Shawn: armor, horses, and armor for horses; for me: a room made entirely of ceramic.

• Took the high speed train to Sevilla.
• Visited the largest cathedral in Europe and saw Christopher Columbus’ tomb. (And the woman selling the entrance tickets asked if I was a student. Whoo hoo!)

Friday, November 14

• Had our first paella at a restaurant called “Boston Burguer.”
• Sevilla is the most bicycle-friendly city I’ve ever seen. (And we lived in Portland, Oregon, so that’s saying something.) There are dedicated bike lanes everywhere and even a grab-and-go bicycle rental program.
• Attended a flamenco performance and found myself in awe of the artists’ intensity.

Saturday, November 15

• Local train from Sevilla to Grenada – olive trees as far as you can see.
• First sign that it actually is winter: snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.
• We notice that the dreadlock to non-dreadlock ratio is rather high in Grenada. Perhaps it is part of the European backpacker trail? The number of incense sellers, hookah bars, and availability of cheap baggy pants also give it away.

Sunday, November 16

• Exhausted ourselves touring the Alhambra. It didn’t help that we got lost on the way there and walked about twice as far as we needed to.
• Took advantage of the Spanish custom of “siesta.”

Monday, November 17

• Finally saw the giant bull billboards on our bus ride from Grenada to Madrid.
• We came full circle by having our last meal in Spain at the same restaurant as our first meal. (And basically the same meal itself – toasts with various cheese, meats, and veggies piled on top.)