Now I can rest

I´m almost done telling you about the adventures with my parents here in Spain! Finally we will be up to date soon! Let go ahead and start off where we left off…

After spending a relaxing day in Lucena (well they did, I had to work a few hours) we had a wonderful lunch with Teresa and Rafa. Then my parents headed to the bus station so they could get down to Malaga while I stayed behind for work… And the next morning my dad caught an early flight back to Seattle. That day my mom stayed in Nerja and Frijiliana while I worked, then we met back up that evening. We had one more day of relaxation in Lucena before we were off and running again. This weekend we were headed to Seville and Cadiz.

part of the cathedral in Seville

We headed to Seville EARLY (I mean why change the habit) on Friday morning and arrived there only a few hours later. We got there and of course it was raining-what fun! Now they say “la lluvia en Sevilla es una maravilla” and it sounds better in Spanish because it rhymes but basically it means “the rain in Seville is a wonder/amazement.” Why do they say that? Because it NEVER rains there. My mom likes to say that Spain was crying because she was leaving…I´m thinking they were trying to acclimatize her back into Seattle weather :)

Now I can´t complain too much because it didn´t rain the WHOLE time we were there. We actually only spent about a day and a half there but it was enough to see a few things and great place to end the trip. While we were there we made it to the Cathedral, the Plaza de España, Reales Alcázares, the river and walked around the old neighbourhood. Luckily we were staying at a nice hotel that was near everything (Hotel Murillo) so it made our lives a million times easier. I think my favorite things in Seville were the Plaza (which they just finish constructing not too long ago), the cathedral (known to be one of the best in Spain), the tower in the cathedral (I recommend NOT wearing heals when visiting this), and the Reales Alcázares. Unfortunately we only had about an hour and a half to visit the Reales Alcázares so we only saw a portion of it…that’s why I´m planning on visiting again because it was just beautiful. It’s actually really similar to the Alhambra but you can actually see the colors and designs better. Definitely need at least half a day there though and probably more when it’s not raining and you can take a walk through the gardens.

 

So apart from all the normal touristy stuff we did in Seville we also managed to head down to Cadiz…during CARNAVAL. If you don´t know about the carnival in Cadiz there are three main points you need to be aware of, 1. Everyone is drunk, 2. People dress in all types of costumes (like Halloween in the states), 3. If you go- bring a costume and lots of alcohol. Now my mom and I went during the day so it was much less crazy…that and we went on the second Saturday which is supposedly less busy than the first (Carnaval is celebrated for 10 days…yes ALL 10 days). We were only staying from about 1pm until 9pm so we didn´t wear costumes nor do BOYB though we did grab a few beers when we got there. We actually spent a big chunk of time walking around the town, hanging out by the beach and enjoying a lovely meal of calamari and seafood paella YUM. 

 

We also stumbled upon a performance in a big tent behind the train station where we spent a little bit of time watching different young individuals and groups perform different Spanish dances. Very fun to watch-I mean these 10 yr old children were dancing better than any 10 yr old I know...then again I don’t know many 10 yr olds... 

(the kids shown in the video below are about 14 but still...they're awesome)

After all our exploring is when we began to head into town and join the festivities. The first street we found ourselves on was packed with people all listening to the “chirigotas”, which are made up songs and what Cadiz is known for during Carnaval…besides drunk people. There are floats, tugged around by tractors and other large vehicles, full of people all dressed in coordinating costumes who sing these chirigotas for everyone to hear and laugh at. Of course the songs are at times even difficult for native speakers to understand so my understanding was...well, minimal. We continued to wander the streets and encountered many different “acts” along the way. The best thing about the carnaval I thought were the costumes- and my favorite of all: Handibags (a brand of garbage bags). Absolutely fantastic, although there were quite a few other creative costumes as well.

 

Handibags

 After hours and hours of wandering and people watching we headed back to the bus and were back on our way to Seville. We had one more night of relaxing in Seville, a few hours in the morning to explore and then we headed straight down to Malaga...for my mom’s flight. I’m sure you can figure the rest out- well besides the part of me missing my bus, the LAST bus to my town, calling everyone in my phonebook to see if anyone was still in Malaga to drive me back up, then finally going to the train station and catching the last train to a town nearby and having a friend pick me up from there- you know, the usual. From there I went home and SLEPT. I had so much fun with my parents and we visited so many places although I think next time a few more rest days will be in order :) Thanks for a great few weeks!

the three of us in Granada (overlooking the Albaicin)