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!
No comments:
Post a Comment