This morning our alarm clock was actually an alarm clock - no kids. But there was a baby down there cooing and sounded like a hoot owl. :) We were up at 8am and we needed to get moving to catch the train to Seville (Sevilla if you are in Spain). We ate breakfast at the hotel and it was really good. The basics, but good. They had several types of cheese, ham, salami, rolls, croissants, donuts, cookies, eggs, hot dogs (not kidding), fruits and yogurts. We tried a little bit of everything, but the nicely toasted wheat bread with strawberry jelly hit the spot for me. I did have a little mini hot dog, just to see if it was something other than the obvious. It was not, but was only about an inch long...so none was wasted. After breakfast we packed our things (which is getting harder and harder to get those bags closed) and headed out to catch a cab for the train station. We arrived about 50 minutes early and we sat out in the sun because the morning air had a crispness to it that required either a sunny spot or a jacket.
The train ride was about 3.5 hours long and relatively uneventful. The view was of the countryside's dry ground with olive groves and the occasional white washed Spanish style home. The views were beginning to look the same and we needed some entertainment. The elderly couple next to us, who were in a heated card game and obviously still in love after 50+ years of marriage- so they told us-, provided several laughs and even tho they were not playing for money (that we saw), there had to have been something other than pride on the line for the winner. The gentleman was quite animated and after winning one game he whistled and then brushed his finger across the tip of his wife's nose. They were adorable - "The Notebook" came to mind. So since we had no cards, we decided to watch a short movie. It was supposed to be a comedy, but it was so weird it became funny. Some kind of dark art flick apparently. After the movie was over we snacked on some goodies we had in our backpack and awaited our arrival in Seville.
The train ended at our stop, so there was no rush to get off. We caught a cab to the hotel, but on the trip in to town and getting my first impressions, I'm trying to decide if I like it here or not. It is obviously huge and there is nothing appealing by the train station. As we entered the central part of town, it became very old style and the streets began to narrow, and narrow, and narrow. It is so huge and tight that I find it- so far- to be a terribly claustrophobic city. As we arrived at Hotel Casa 1800 (the sister hotel of the one we just came from in Granada) it has a unique front in a very central and busy part of town. Trip Advisor said it was perfectly located and it certainly seems to be. As we entered we were welcomed by Ana, the nice lady at the front desk, and we made chit chat about the Granada hotel. I commented that the chairs in the inner courtyard were just like the ones in Granada. She said we'd find most things to be similar. She checked us in and gave us the key to our room, which was bigger than the one in Granada, but it was tucked away in a dark corner and the windows had bars on them. I suddenly felt really closed in and had visions of a fire that I couldn't escape from (Dad, don't read that part to Mom). So Guy went down to ask if we could change rooms. I don't like to do that, but I didn't argue with him this time. So he came back and told me there was only one other room. It is MUCH smaller, but had its own private outdoor patio. SCORE! I think because of the size of the room Ana thought we wouldn't like it, but it is on the ground floor just off the courtyard and I was greatly appreciative for the move. This hotel also has a lovely rooftop deck for sunbathing, but with not much air moving and no pool, it would get hot in a hurry. Still a nice option if we choose to.
Ava also gave us a few recommendations for dinner, so we Trip Advisored them. All really good choices, but the La Bulla had a few comments that they were not friendly to Americans. It was her #1 pick tho. So we unpacked a few of our things and headed out for a walk to scout out the area and walk by the restaurant to see the menu (that was supposedly not translated into English). So off we went and let me say...it is HOT today. Wowzers. So we hit the shady sidewalks, walked past the HUGE Cathedral, and headed down to the river. On our way we stopped for some chips and a soda and sat on a bench by the river - btw, I had HAM flavored Ruffles! There are several sections of the town with several sights to see. So since we are here four nights, we are going to go section by section, but get an overview of the city from the hop on hop off bus in the morning. We passed the big arena where they do the bull fights, but you couldn't go in. Still, there were lots of vendors selling their goods outside, with a few tourists stopping to take a look. Not too far from the arena was the La Bulla, so we took a photo of the menu so we could come back and use my translator app on my iPhone to see what each item was. It is a Tapas restaurant, so we may give it a go tonight and hit a few of the other Trip Advisor recommended restaurants over the next few nights. One is an Italian restaurant, which sounds kinda good at this point. Maybe I'm longing for Italy just a little bit. ;)
When we got back to the hotel it was High Tea, so we got a few snacks and sat out on our little patio. Good move to take this room. This little area is really nice and guess what? The wifi is MUCH faster here! So we ate our snacks and translated the menu from the La Bulla. Sounds pretty good, but it is a good thing we are not picky eaters as the list is fairly limited and a bit out of the ordinary...duck, octopus, goat cheese, peppered tuna, and sticky rice with something that didn't translate. LOL. One item translated as "roasted prey with honey". Hmmm...what unlucky animal might that be? So at this point we have a plan and worst case it looked like one of the items translated to be a hamburger.
On another note, I forgot to mention that the world has redeemed itself after my experience last year with the cab driver in Rome that stole my leather coat. As we were in the Madrid train station on an escalator, a young guy behind me got my attention and in Spanish said something about my camera backpack. Well it just so happened that I stuck my iPad and iPhone in the front and forgot to zip it up. It was gaping open and basically he could have helped himself, but instead I got a break from a friendly stranger. --- And yet on one other note, remember the fabulous Spanish guy with the British accent at the front desk at hotel in Granada? His name is Francesco!
So off to dinner we went. We had the top 10 restaurants in this area of town written down and we ventured off to check them out. We only found one, but saw several good options. It is 8:30 and really no one has started eating dinner yet. We ended up at the LaBulla and decided to take Ana's advice and go in. There were two waiters. One translated everything in English and the other wouldn't or didn't speak English. He was a big gruff, so I imagine he was the one the folks on Trip Advisor were talking about. However our waiter, Sele, was excellent. We ordered 3 tapas. Goat cheese and salmon, mini steak burger, and pork tenderloin with honey. They were all excellent, especially the pork. We had three generous portions and only one was a bit too pink inside for my taste. Guy would have eaten it, but I wouldn't let him. ;) I told Guy I didn't have room for any icecream, but once we got to walking around I decided I had the room. We stopped at one of the ice cream shops we had seen earlier because I wanted to try one flavor that had a giant pastry on top. I did get it (pronounced it wrong but I was close... "milhojas" - I forgot the "L" when pronouncing it. Either way...she knew what I meant. It was good and tasted exactly like I thought it would, but next time I'll need something with chocolate! On the walk back to the hotel I took a few night time photos and there are people everywhere...you don't have to worry about walking down a dark alley alone...
Looking forward to a good night's sleep and to our exploration of the city tomorrow.
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