Feria by Night

We decided to go back to the Feria at night to see all the lights lit up! This time we left the kids at home with a babysitter and Cassy and I went with our friend Ana.

This picture will mean nothing to anyone, but it shows the guys at the parking area. They had us drive down a sidewalk and tried to park us in the craziest, skinniest of spots. We were laughing so hard. They finally gave up when someone pulled out of a different stop and they had us park there. One of those experiences that you had to be there in order to truly appreciate it!

This was the "good" spot that someone was pulling out of.

The view from the big ferris wheel...

The grid in the background is where all of the casetas are set up.

On the street...

The casetas all lined up.

Dancing in the streets.

Dancing in the casetas.

The people of Sevilla know how to celebrate life. Like my friend said, "We work to live, not live to work." The unemployment is so high here and the economy seems to be getting worse. We know many families who have one parent out of work and I am sure it is very stressful for their families, but I see that they are still lighthearted and they are out enjoying life. They pick up what work they can. They are also very, very generous and kind, even when money is tight. I admire the people here and their resiliency. And most especially their celebration of life!

Going to Lagoon in a Prom Dress...Also Known As April Feria

This week everyone is out of school and off of work to celebrate April Feria. It all started in 1847 when they used to get together for a livestock show, but today the only animals you will see are fancy Andalucian Horses. The women wear their colorful Flamenco dresses and the men go in suits. It is all very classy. On the grounds, there are casetas set up, which are like large canopies or tents. Most of the casetas are private and you must have a connection to enter. They have a contest each year to see which caseta is decorated the most beautifully. Some of them are absolutely amazing. They serve food and drinks there and also have a dance floor so people can dance Sevillanas, a particular type of Flamenco. Then, once you are finished with the dancing and eating, they have a huge amusement park set up next door to enjoy, Flamenco dress and all. It is fun to see the crazy twirl upside down rides with the Flamenco dresses swirling. There is not a mullet or wife beater in sight....where are the Thorley's when you need them??!!:)

They build a new Portada, or entrance to the fair each year based on the architecture of a building in Sevilla.

The casetas all in a row.

Inside one of the casetas before the crowd arrives.

A little Flamenco dancing...

Then off to the rides...

Addy insisted on this ride. It looked like the scrambler, but we didn't see it in action before Cassy, Addy and Connor hopped on. I tried to capture the look of terror on Addy's face as the ride bounced up and down and whipped around and seriously lasted forever. She said she couldn't breathe and I believe her.

Alex opted to forgo one of the rides and try his chances at "The Claw". I was sure he wouldn't end up with anything...

I was SO wrong. An airsoft gun, with BB's....doesn't get any better! His day was made. And so was ours, the feria was beautiful and we had so much fun!

Cordoba or Cordova...Depends On the Map

On the way home from Madrid, we hopped off the bus for a few hours to explore Cordoba. It isn't too far from Sevilla. It was a beautiful town and I would have liked to explore it a little more, but our PB&J fixins were stored in the locker at the bus station and the troops were getting hungry (have I mentioned that they are hungry ALL THE TIME?). Our first stop after getting off the bus was of course at a great park, which luckily had ice cream. The two things that make everyone happy. Then we meandered around the old Jewish quarter and got lost looking for the Mezquita (along with everyone else). Luckily we weren't trying to use a map and just tried asking for directions, which got us there much faster. We knew we were close when the tourist shops started popping up. The Mezquita is a large and beautiful cathedral that used to be a mosque at one time. When the Christians conquered the Muslims, luckily, they chose to mostly preserve this building rather than tear it down to build a cathedral.

This is the Mihrab which is like an altar that the Muslims use. The tiles on the floor are about the same size as a prayer rug and they could fit 20,000 people in the Mezquita for the Muslims call to prayer. When the imam spoke to his followers he would face the wall in this niche and give his sermon. The acoustics acted like a microphone so all could hear.

This is the Catholic altar.

Many rich people are buried here in the Mezquita. There is a section where royalty are entombed that is not public.

The Mezquita is so big and amazing, it is hard to capture in pictures (especially with just the iphone). So glad we were able to see it.

In May, Cordoba holds a patio contest where patio gardens (inner courtyards that greet you when you go to a home) are judged and given awards for the most beautiful. The streets were all lined with blue pots filled with geraniums and there were lots of geraniums and other flowers flowing from the balconies. We passed by one home that had about five plaques on their wall showing that they had won the contest for multiple years, unfortunately the door to their patio was closed. I would have liked to wander around and see more of these, but like I said we were ready for our PB&J's.

Our Madrid Adventure...Part 2

Rick Steves, the travel guide, recommends "the Madrid pub-crawl" for a great dining experience in Madrid. I was out voted 4 to 1 and we ended up eating at an all you can eat place instead. Later, when I asked my kids what their favorite experience in Madrid was, Addy was quick to say ,"The all you can eat pasta!" You can see that she really enjoyed it...

I think Alex had about four pieces of pizza. And did I mention that there were all you can eat potato chips too? Very fancy, and just what the kids wanted.

We then went to the Puerta del Sol and while Cassy and Addy ran into a shop, the boys had a sword fight with their umbrellas. The light was beautiful.

Our hotel and the view from the hotel up one of the streets.

The next day we took a self guided walk from Puerta del Sol to the Royal Palace. We started with the bear statue, a symbol of Madrid, in the Puerta del Sol. There used to be lots of bears in the hunting grounds around Madrid.

Then we went to put our feet at "kilometer zero", the very center of Spain.

One of the best parts of the tour was a stop at La Mallorquina for pastries and ColaCao (a hot chocolate-y drink). I didn't think to take the picture until after we had gobbled up all of our treats.

Next, we were off to Plaza Mayor. It is a large plaza that has quite a bit of history, especially with the Inquisition. Apparently this is the place where many people were killed. They built large sections of bleachers so people could watch. Luckily, the bleachers are gone and the plaza is now a fun, touristy spot to have your picture taken with lots of different characters. I think we saw Puss In Boots, Bob Esponja, and best of all a plump (skin tight suited) spider man with a little spider man doll that had a belly too.

The best part of the day was when I issued a challege to anyone willing to eat a bocadillo de calamares (fried squid ring sandwich)...finish the whole sandwich and get 5 Euros. Cassy took on the challenge and although she was gagging with the final three bites, she was able to eat the whole thing. She tried to up the ante to 6 Euros for the last few bites, but I told her 5 Euros, take it or leave it.

You can see a bit of a gag coming on.

There was a small square with a statue honoring those who had died on this street in 1906. King Alfonso XIII and his new bride were parading down the street following their wedding, when a terrorist threw a bomb tied to a bouquet at the royals. The bomb missed the royals, but killed 23 others.

We skipped the tour of the cathedral and headed straight to the Royal Palace. It was built by Philip V in the 1700's. He is actually Louis XIV's grandson and was born and raised in France so the palace was very French and very fancy. I think the kids liked the souvenir shop best. Addy ended up getting a Spanish cookbook with lots of recipes that have anchovies in them (she loves it and takes it everywhere) and the boys bought swords and had a sword fight, in the wind and rain, on the grounds of the palace. Cassy demanded the equivalent of a souvenir in money, so she got 3,50 euros (to buy lipstick).

After lunch we headed over to the Reina Sofia Museum. This museum features modern art. They have lots of Picasso, Miro, and Dali paintings. We were most excited to see Picasso's famous painting, "Guernica". It depicts the sadness and horror of war. It is a very moving painting and was so much bigger than we had imagined it to be. The museum also features films. We all enjoyed watching a funny silent film and another silent film showing scenes from the Spanish Civil War. After a very busy day we were glad to go to the park for a while and head back to the hotel for some R&R.