Day 82, the 3rd of July! Sadly, today was our last day in Seville, Spain. My love for Spain has grown each and every day. I would not be surprised if we ended up here for a few years. I wouldn't complain! Come on, really, my very own Spaniard, an unlimited supply of Jamón available to me, and nightly tapas adventures...what more could a girl like me want?! ;) Until it happens, I will continue to dream...
Here is our last adventure in Spain. It is jam packed with lots of site seeing and eating. Check it out!
This is the Torre del Oro, or the "Gold Tower." It is located next to the Guadalquivir River and used to be used as a military watch tower. Now, it serves as a museum for Seville's naval history.
Take a look inside...
On the top of the tower.
This is the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, or otherwise known as the Seville Cathedral. This is our next stop after a short break for breakfast. Read on for more details! :)
My father-in-law's name!
After leaving the "Gold Tower" we found a little tapas bar to eat some breakfast at.
Okay, the best breakfast ever. Seriously. Jamón and toast. Mmmmm...
After eating our jamón breakfast sandwiches, which I ate slowly in order to savor every little last bite, we stopped by the Seville Cathedral, which was being partly restored at the time. It was so beautiful. The ceilings were extremely high and the detail amazed me. As I admired the different aspects of the architecture, I couldn't help but wonder about the amount of work that went into building the cathedral. Take a look although it does not do this gothic beauty justice. In order to take in the whole experience as I did, you will just have to visit Seville, Spain! However, until you purchase that ticket and experience it for yourself, my pictures will just have to do ;)
Part of the cathedral being restored. What a neat job!
I love the detail!
Christopher Columbus' Tomb (Front view)
Christopher Columbus' Tomb (Side view)
Guinness Book of Records for the largest Cathedral.
Some more tombs I believe.
The following pictures are of the treasury they have in the cathedral...
They started ringing the bells when we were up there! It was extremely loud!
Next stop, the Alcázar of Seville! It is actually the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use according to wikipedia. The details of the palace are just amazing. While we were there, I was so intrigued by everything around me, I accidentally walked into a little stream they had running into a little pond...Ooops!
After walking around the palace grounds for hours, we headed back to Abuela's apartment to have a large mid-day meal. This is the largest meal of the day, which usually begins at about 3:00 p.m. Afterwards, it is typical for many Spaniards to take a siesta lasting about two hours or so. What a life.
This is Ignacio and his cooking is beyond amazing.
From Left: Maximo (my hubby), Felipe (Cousin), Me, Ignacio (Uncle), Abuela (Grandmother), and Emma (Cousin)
Emma being her funny self! She is awesome.
After eating and napping for a bit, we pulled out a Dr. Pepper from my suitcase, which I had bought in Moscow for the trip (it is hard to find there, so I had to get it when I saw it). However, instead of drinking it, we decided to share it with Emma and Felipe since they have never tasted Dr. Pepper before. I know...shocking. We were opening up a whole new world to them, they just didn't know it yet.
First she smelled it.
Then she took a sip.
Then she took a minute to ponder the taste.
Then she could not stop. She was addicted.
Felipe documented the moment on his iPad.
Then he took a sip.
And after pondering the taste, he was addicted as well.
Shortly after the Dr. Pepper tasting, we took some videos of us pretending to make Dr. Pepper commercials. Such a fun time! Later that day, Emma told us that she had made a video for us of our whole trip to Spain. Let me tell you, she is one talented girl. She did this video in just a few short hours and it is amazing. Check it out! Here is the link if the video does not play for you: http://youtu.be/gepQPQWg8BQ
Well, our visit to Spain came to an end and Marisa was kind enough to take us to the airport. On the way, I saw this neat aqueduct.
Once we arrived at the airport, Marisa had some connections and was able to put us at the front of the line so that we could check in early and get to our gate. While this was a great perk for us, it angered the people that had been waiting in the line for quite some time. Ooops, Sorry! We all kind of felt bad, but the damage had been done. A few of them were also on our flight...awkward! So, we avoided them the best we could.
When we arrived in Paris, it was pretty late at night (around 11:30 p.m.). We were exhausted and ready to crash at our hotel. So, we walked down the steps out of our plane, took a bus to the gate, got our bags, and flagged down a taxi. Max used his french and got us to the hotel although we did get lost for a short period of time because Max told the driver the wrong place. Oh well, I still think he did a great job. It is so convenient to have a personal translator everywhere we go :) I am so lucky. It makes traveling so much easier.
The street our hotel was on.
When we arrived at our hotel, we were in for quite the surprise. Max was told by the owner of the hotel to email her for the code to get into the building since we were going to be arriving late at night. He thought he had received the code, but when we got to the hotel and tried it, we could not get in. The door would not open and it was completely dark inside. We tried the code again and again in hopes that we just typed it in wrong, but it was the wrong code and did not work. I began to knock thinking that maybe someone would hear and come to the door, but no one came. The streets were empty and Max suggested that we might have to sleep on the streets for a night. I was not about to give up and do that when I knew there was a perfectly good bed waiting for us inside. Also, there was a group of sketchy guys just across the street that made me nervous. In short, sleeping on the streets was not an option to me. So, I tried the code again and said a little prayer in my heart. Now, I wish I could tell you that a miracle happened and the code worked, but that did not happen. The miracle that did happen though occurred shortly after I typed in the code and said a little prayer in my heart. An older couple walked our way and Max was able to stop them, tell them our situation, and ask them to use their phone. They were kind enough to allow us to use their phone to call the manager of the hotel, who was woken up by the call and shortly arrived at the door to let us in. After letting us in she gave us the key and told us that we were supposed to email her again for the code...Oops! We apologized and made our way up to our room. What a crazy night! All I can say is that while sleeping on the streets of Paris would have been another interesting adventure, it was one that I was glad to have avoided.
Our little, quaint Parisian hotel!
Our room!
The bathroom was like an airplane bathroom! It was all plastic and tiny! We had a small corner to shower in (and when I say small, I mean small), a little sink, and a little toilet. It was all that we needed! :)
After a long, jam packed day of site seeing and traveling, we were pooped. We got ready for bed and then it was lights out for us.
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