One minor obsession that I have picked up through our ventures through Europe is traveling by train...specifically bullet train if possible. You get to your destination as quickly, if not more so, than other forms of transportation (plane), there is no effort on your part (driving or navigating the driver), and you get to see the countryside. My first train rides were way back in the college days when I was attending nursing school in Philly and Adam was still at Juniata and it was the most economical method of visiting each other by the time you accounted for gas and parking garage fees, plus we could do our school work on the way...so I suppose there is also a bit of nostalgic romance tied to it for me as well.
But seriously, there is not a more economical nor convenient method of travel around Europe. The mistake we made this trip was to not book our tickets ahead of time nor buy the EuroRail pass...MISTAKE. This will cost you A LOT. Not kidding. You may think that the EuroRail pass is expensive but it is unlimited travel for however many days you chose, you travel first class, and you can go anywhere on any train. We actually limited ourselves on this trip a bit due to the cost of the tickets, but it all worked out for the best because we had an amazing time, so no love lost. Just a word of advice though: Go Eurorail and book ahead of time because you cannot purchase them once you are in Europe.
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| Dept. of Agriculture building in Madrid, outside of the train station |
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| Rainforest inside of the train station!?!?! Go Madrid! |
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| Dozens upon dozens of turtle in the station |
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| This is King Turtle |
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| My Love...all ready to go! |
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| Our bullet chariot awaits! |
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| Seville, here we come! |
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| Gorgeous view from the train |
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| Spain has beautiful countrysides |
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| Olives anyone? |
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| Hello Seville, so glad to be here! |
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| The view from our hotel: Puerta de la Macarena |
Similar to Madrid, Seville was also surrounded by a protective wall in its history. Fortunately, the hotel that we randomly booked was right across the street from one of the few remaining entrances, and the only remaining sections of wall.
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| The view from our hotel |
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| The view from our hotel |
We traversed the city on foot primarily but the other best method is the city bus system. It is super easy to use, it can get you almost anywhere, and there are stops everywhere. They are working on having a metro system in Seville, but it is still in its infant stages and didn't really serve any purpose for us. Honestly, the main sites of Seville are within the confines of where the wall once stood, and is really easy (it is a flat city along the river) to see everything you want by foot. There are also plenty of cafes, plazas, and such, to rest if needed and enjoy some quality people watching.
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| Antigua Fabrica de Tabacos Universidad: One of the universities in Madrid |
Our college was nice but it could not hold a candle to this university that has stood for hundreds of years.
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| Palacio de San Telmo |
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| Palacio de San Telmo |
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| Palacio de San Telmo |
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| Catedral y Giralda |
My favorite building of the entire trip!
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| Catedral y Giralda |
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| Catedral y Giralda |
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| Catedral y Giralda |
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| Reales Alcazares |
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| Catedral y Giralda |
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| Catedral y Giralda |
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| Catedral y Giralda |
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| Hard core about their wine |
Funny note about Spain...many people think of Italy or France when you think of European wines (I did anyway), but wine is HUGE in Spain...as noted by the menu listing above. Grapes are only good for wine, thus instead of grape juice there is non-alcoholic wine juice.
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| Too much tastiness to handle...favorite meal of the trip (there was more than this, no worries) |
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| Cannot experience Spain without trying the flan |
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| Catedral y Giralda at night |
I was seriously obsessed with this cathedral; it was so picturesque and serene and classically beautiful. Just something about the architecture and the timelessness of it was completely enchanting. As you will note by the fact we went back to it every day we were in Seville.
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| Catedral y Giralda at night |
