My Travel Blog
As I type this, Jeff and the girls are in a competition to see who is the fastest at doing 50 jumping jacks, 10 flights of stairs, 20 sit-up burpees, and then another 50 jumping jacks. I am much too busy making sure that the bed doesn't fly away to join in on their shenanigans. They are now all breathing heavily and super sweaty, but I may be forced to join the competition tomorrow. We haven't gone out for dinner yet and my outfit is too cute to mess up - what can I say?
We had a great sleep in today and then went to a small café down the street for hot beverages (one espresso, one café con leche, one tea, and one hot chocolate). We needed just enough fortification to get us to a nice looking lunch spot, which we found after strolling for about 20 minutes. We found a plastic table in a back alley with a bunch of other people also looking for sustenance. The food was fast and really tasty, so after eating some paella, papas bravas, fried cod, and a chicken dish, we went off in search of nothing in particular. Our only goal was getting back to the bus station parking lot because Jeff left his sunglasses in the car. This allowed us to meander in a zig zag pattern down little back streets heading in the general direction of the depot, and just seeing what we saw along the way. 
There were more men (I assume they are only men?) in robes and pointy hats, lots of families dressed up in their Easter best, and the occasional tourist in khaki shorts with a backpack.
We ended up walking for almost 2.5 hours (during which Jeff regained possession of his sunglasses). We went past the Plaza del Torres where the next bullfight occurs on Monday, and past many small churches where people milled around after attending Good Friday services. We went into two of them and saw some of the floats that were paraded around during last night's spectacle.
They are huge and very ornate, and it definitely would've been spectacular to see them being carried down the street last night. I can't comprehend how many people it would've taken to safely carry them - they look heavy!
Eventually, we took a break in a sidewalk café for some beverages and snacks. Our tired feet lead us back to our apartment for a rest, which somehow turned into the above mentioned athletic competition. I now have 3 people in an exercise-induced coma, and there may be stiff competition for the tiny shower in our bathroom. Next up, dinner!
Three hours later…
Apparently Good Friday is a quiet evening around here… There were a handful of restaurants open tonight, and we happened to choose a great one. The kid's Spanish came in handy, as the waitress spoke very little English. At the end of the night, she took them to a gelato room in the back of the restaurant with all sorts of hidden goodies. We ate delicious food and ended up having a great evening in a tiny hidden gem of a restaurant. (Seriously, their whipped goat cheese with honey and walnuts is craaaaazy!)
Today we went out without a solid plan, but tomorrow we have some specific destinations in mind thanks to some TripAdvisor advice. Now time for bed - we need to rest these feet that carry us all over this fantastic world. Buenas noches!
PS - This city smells amazing, and Lisbon smelled equally fantastic. (In between the smell of urine that comes from many alleyways...) I don't know what it is… orange blossom, moringa, plumeria… I'm not sure. We continually get whiffs of this delightfully soft, aromatic scent. Beautiful!!
What a long day! Considering we have been staying up late and sleeping in on this trip, today's 7:30 am wake-up call was a bit tough. Our flight to Madrid was on a gorgeous, new, gigantic Iberia plane that was barely half full. It had adjustable head rests and touch screen seat-back TVs, but they never served us any snacks or drinks! Kind of strange. I was so distracted by my movie that I only realized it as we landed, but I don't think I have ever encountered that before. In any case, it was an enjoyable flight on a very nice plane. We picked up a car at Hertz from the most friendly and helpful lady ever, and to make the interaction even sweeter, she rented 
us a portable wi-fi device for our car! This made the 5 hour drive a lot more appealing to the kids, and we barely heard a peep from them the entire time.
Our drive to Seville was uneventful, which is exactly how it should be. The scenery was interesting the whole way and ranged from snow-capped mountains, grazing cows and sheep, rugged hills with scrubby bushes, to groves and groves of olive trees. An interesting tidbit we learned today (by using the car's wi-fi!) was that Spain grows the most olives of anywhere else in the world - more than two times that of Italy! I had no idea.
Entering Seville was smooth and we quickly found our apartment. What we didn't find, however, was parking. We literally drove around for 45 minutes scouting spots until finally resorting to parking in the underground lot at the bus station quite a ways from the apartment. We made it just in time to meet the guy who was giving us the keys, and after bidding him adieu we grabbed some food at a cute little restaurant around the corner. We ordered a bunch of different tapas and they were delicious! This bodes well for the rest of our time here. :)
Supposedly the parking is always crazy here, but tonight especially so. Tomorrow is Good Friday, and starting at midnight tonight they start parades that go until 8 in the morning! Seville is THE place to be for Easter, and if you didn't know what 
was going on it would be terrifying to see all these people walking the streets in what look like black Ku Klux Klan outfits. Tall, pointy black hats, black robes, and something that looks like ropes tied around their midsections. After midnight they will carry large floats down the street from various churches to the main cathedral , but we are way too exhausted to stay up to watch the spectacle. We did, however, catch some marching gladiators with big white plumes on their heads and glittery vests. I'm sure there will be some great things to see out there tonight, but our early morning and long day makes it too difficult to stay up.
I have to keep this post short as I am very much ready for sleep. More from Seville tomorrow!
PS - If anyone with knowledge of Spanish geography wonders why we flew from Lisbon to Madrid only to drive 5 hours to Seville (which is only a 4-hour drive from Lisbon!), it's because we couldn't rent a car in Portugal and return it in Spain. (Well, we could, but it would cost an extra €900 on top of the rental fee.) Also, to fly to Seville we would have to change planes in Madrid, and the flight times were ridiculous. So, this was our best option! Although, now that we see the parking situation perhaps the train would've been better, even if it would've taken just as long as the drive. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Que sera, sera - we are here now!
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