Happy Easter!

Apologies in advance, the blog is having problems posting pictures so you just get the text for now!

We had a very full day of sightseeing in Sevilla today.  We started out at the Alcazar, which was originally built by the Moors in the 10th century.  Eventually, Ferdinand and Isabella took over in the 1480's and used it as a headquarters while they conquered Granada.  You can see the influence of the Moors in the circular arches in a few of the pictures.  All of the sailors who went to the new world would pass through this palace and pray to be blessed in their voyage.  In fact, one of the paintings we saw depicted the first known figures of Native Americans.  Daddy was excited to see his ancestors!

I totally belong in tile for posterity :)

This is called the mounting room, surprise, surprise, this is where people would get on and off their horses when arriving or departing.

A very old fountain dating back to the 10th century!

Here we are in the gardens of El Alcazar.

The tapestry room, beautiful tiling and ceiling.

The room with the pool was actually a bathroom built for the mistress of the King.  Quite the beautiful bath!  The tiles around the pool were from the 15th century.

Bathroom with large tub.

The cathedral was very impressive.  In terms of square footage, it is the largest cathedral in the world.  It was originally built as a mosque during Moorish rule, however once the Christians reclaimed the area, they tore down a good section of it and built the Cathedral.  Check out the pictures below!

The tomb of Christopher Columbus!

The ceiling of the chapter house (whatever that means), the first oval room in Europe

One of TWO pipe organs surrounding the retrochoir.

Housed in a gorgeous and highly ornate silver reliquary, this is believed to be part of the crown of thorns.

From there we went to the river in search of a late lunch, stopping briefly at the tower of gold.  This is where the ships would dump their loads of gold and treasure brought back from the Americas soon after Columbus discovered the New World.  During that time, Sevilla rose to be the trading powerhouse of Europe.

Beth's tower of gold

After the brief stop we came across a small bar/restaurant named Triana, which was very entertaining.  There was one family in particular who were celebrating a birthday and were dancing and having a wonderful time.  We ate a variety of Tapas (our favorite was garbanzo beans with Bull Tail), and drank Sangria and a pitcher of agua de Sevilla, which ironically contained no water.

Tonight we went to a Flamenco show that we had reserved several weeks ago.  There were 4 women dancers, 2 men, and 4 musicians.  All were very impressive, and we enjoyed it very much.  Beth had an especially large smile while Matthew McConahae's identical twin danced.  The style really emphasized the feet, stamping and tapping to the rapid pace of the music.  It was amazing in every regard.  We stopped by a place on the way back to the hotel for Tapas and a bottle of Rioja.

Tomorrow we will pack up early and head to Madrid to hang out for the afternoon until our Train Hotel leaves in the evening for Paris.  Therefore, it is highly unlikely there will be a posting for you tomorrow evening.  We're having a great time, but really miss you all!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Today was obviously filled with a lot of travel, most of which was uneventful.  However, we almost created some trouble for ourselves in Chicago.  We had a 3 1/2 hour layover there, so we made ourselves comfortable in the Macaroni Grill.  There we met a lady who was very well traveled and had all sorts of things to tell us.  Suddenly, we realized it was time to get moving, so we headed out.  On our way to the gate, over the P.A. came "Last call for Byron Bailey," so Byron took off down the concourse while Beth did the best she could in her boots.  I'm not really sure what the rush was, as when we got to the gate, it was a half an hour before scheduled takeoff and we ended up standing in line for 10 minutes in the jetway.

At any rate, we made it.  The flight to Madrid was, of course, long, and neither one of us was able to get any sleep despite our best efforts.  We landed in Madrid at 7:40 am local time (2:40 am Central), with no need to pick up any bags -- can you believe we carried on for a two week trip!  We purchased train tickets to Sevilla, and departed at 10:00. 

Phillip, you would love this train.  First of all, you should know that it can go over 200 miles per hour!  It was amazing watching the countryside fly by at such speed.  The train was also very comfortable and amazingly QUIET and smooth.  I can't stress the "quiet" last part enough.  It felt almost like we were riding around in the Prius.  Byron fell asleep almost right away and slept the entire way.  Beth slept for about half of the trip. 

Choo choo!

Pretty soon we were in Sevilla and took a short taxi to our Hotel (so you can see our location: http://goo.gl/maps/QqBUh).  We took a quick nap and headed out to see the Easter week procession.  Wow, was it cool.  TONS of people.  It seemed like everyone from the entire city and neighboring cities must come downtown for this, as the avenues were completely packed with people as far as you could see.  The procession was similar to a parade, but with some solemn undertones.  The outfits were interesting -- many wore these giant cone hat things that were maybe 4 feet tall and looked like kkk outfits.  But, they had amazing scepters, relics, and very elaborate floats.  And there were marching bands as well.  But, not just any marching bands.  Kristin, I hope you're reading -- these marching bands had bassoons in them!  I'm not sure how they managed, but we definitely heard some hallmark double-reeded squeaks here and there.  Must've been those troublemaking oboes.  :)  Here is a link with some pictures (http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/03/sevilles-wild-pre-easter-processions/5081/) and description if you want to know more.

One of the brethren, there are 54 brotherhoods in Sevilla that participate in the processions.

Float #1

Float #2

Float #3

Float #4

Roman Soldier

A bassoon!

Once the procession was done, we had tapas for dinner with a bottle of Rioja and retired to the hotel at around 10:30.  We started to blog, but had technology problems so we gave up and fell asleep quickly.  However, since I woke up about 4 hours later (it's 3 am here right now), I decided to fix them rather than stare at the ceiling.  After a day here, Sevilla strikes me as what we'd consider a "traditional" small European town.  People walk nearly everywhere, enjoy spending their time at small, locally owned shops, for coffee, pop, and tapas.  Oh, the kids!  People stay up LATE here.  I knew this, but was still "shocking" to see tons of kids out walking around and in strollers on our way home from dinner at 10.  Tomorrow should be a fun day of sight seeing, tapa eating, and flea marketing.  Well, 2 of the 3 at least  ;)  I'll try to get some pictures posted for you guys as well. 

Love to the States!