Off to Seville
09.30 martes/tuesday
On our way to Sevilla! We metro’d to the Madrid train station and caught the AVE highspeed train to Seville. The train was about two hours and was very picturesque- it was our first time seeing Spanish countryside.
After arriving in Sevilla, we took a taxi and checked into our hotel, Hotel Petit Palace Canalejas. The staff was very friendly although the rooms were really small. No biggy since we’re not spending much time there.
We then strolled down by the river that has a nice sidewalk/bikepath along it. Along the river we saw Torre Del Oro (an old watchtower) and then walked through the Parque de Maria Luisa which sits aside the Plaza de Espana.
The Plaza de Espana was really amazing- it was built in 1929 for the Spanish American Exhibition and is one of the great Moorish revival-style buildings of Spain.
We then walked back through town to the hotel, through the Univerisdad, past the Hotel Alfonso XIII, and then rested for a moment in the Puerta de Jerez. Our trip took us by the Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería, Sevilla’s bull ring (oldest in all of Spain), which we’d return to later.
A quick nap and a change at the hotel, and then we headed to dinner at As-Sawirah, a great Moroccan restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. We had a salad with mild goat cheese, veggie couscous, and lamb, all really, really good.
We then hit a gelato place and walked over one of the bridges that cross the river, checking out the Triana Barrio. We found a nice cafe/pub and went in for a drink, trying the locally brewed (and Andalusian loved), Cruzcampo.
2 commentsHallie Loves Javi
09.29 lunes/monday
We started the morning off heading back to the Latin District to have lunch at El Viajero Terrazo, which is well known for not only its food, but great views of Madrid from their terrace. Sadly, when we arrived, they were not open (they are closed on Mondays), so instead, we headed to the market (mercat) across the street. 
Not as impressive as others we have seen, but we did find a man in the back corner tending to a small bar and offering some tapas. We shared a frita (quiche-like) and ordered what was apparently a deviled egg topped with tuna (Hallie did NOT like). We washed them down with a couple cafe con leches (our new morning tradition) and we were on our way.
Afterward, we metro’d over to Opera station and made the walk to the Royal Palace of Madrid. The front of the palace is lined with fountains and a small garden. The back of the palace provides a very large park with footpaths which we walked. Along the way, we found it houses quite a few peacocks.
It was then back to the apartment to freshen up for dinner, which we had at Javier Bardim’s family restaurant, Bardemcilla. We met up again with Jose who has been a great guide for us around Madrid, giving us many great recommendations and conversation. We said our goodbyes, and it was off to bed for our trip to Sevilla tomorrow.
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So we’re back online…in Valencia and will try to get some updates up.
No commentsMuseo del Prado…and Squid Ink
09.28 domingo/sunday
Today, we decided to take in the Prado, so after sleeping in due to a late night of dancing, we wandered over for tapas and cafe con leche at a cafe on the ground floor of one of the Room Mate hotels in Madrid (closest to Chueca metro). Decent, but the server didn’t care too much for our poor Spanish.
Outside the Prado, there was an outdoor photography exhibit that we happened upon- very cool nature photography was on display. We ended up getting to the Prado just about in time for their free entry (they provide free entry every Sunday at 5pm).
The Museo del Prado has one of the world’s finest art collections, covering from the 12th through early 19th century and featuring works of Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, Bosch, Ribera, and much more. The most prolific masterpiece there is Velázquez’ Las Meninas- we were able to see Picasso’s many interpretations of this painting in Barcelona.
One of the standout pieces, for us at least, was The Garden of Earthly Delights, a triptych by Hieronymus Bosch painted between 1503 and 1504. It was highly imaginative and humorous, and quite different than other works of the era- he seemed to be very ahead of his time and we could see him as a predecessor to painters such as Dali.
After a few hours wandering around the Prado and a stop back at the apartment, we were off to check out La Via Lactea (c/ Velarde 18), a bar that is known for it’s walls being covered with old rock concert posters. Very cool joint and we wish we could have been there later to check out the night life here, but we were eager for tapas so we shoved off to the Latin District.
We dined at a highly recommended tapas bar, Casa Lucas (Cava Baja, 30) and it proved to be worth it. We let our waiter recommend our dishes which has been a successful option thus far. We started off with a couple tostas (basically- toasted baguette with topping)- fried egg and jamon over a smear of seasoned diced tomatoes and onion; marinated tuna. 
They were both great! For the entree, it was squid ink pasta stuffed with shrimp and vegetables in a curry sauce. This was THE best food of the entire trip thus far, and we’ve had some pretty great food.
After a short walk around the Latin District, we metro’d it back to Chueca and were off to bed with happy stomachs.
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