Day One - Which belt is it?

We left Vancouver (YVR) airport Friday, March 1st on a Lufthansa flight around 12:30 and arrived in Frankfurt, Germany about 08:10 Saturday, March 2nd. Lana got an upgrade to premium economy and I was five rows back of her in the middle just before a bulkhead. A long and uneventful flight. We were connecting to another Lufthansa flight about 90 minutes later to Sevilla, Spain.

We are really excited about our two week vacation in the south of Spain (Andalucia region). The weather in Vancouver has been very cold and Lana has been on the road again so due for a break. What appealed to us the most about this destination was the promise of warm weather and lots of sun in a pretty laid back country. We have not been to this part of Spain so everything will be brand new. We are thinking that tapas, Spanish wine, some hiking, exploring and relaxing will make for an excellent vacation!

Upon arrival at the Frankfurt airport we had time to access the Lufthansa lounge (thank you Lana) for some food and drink. Very overcast and sullen morning as we lifted off around 10:00. We flew way above the clouds and I got to enjoy the brilliant and warm sunshine in my window seat. We arrived in Sevilla around 12:30 local time. It is very sunny at around 24 degrees Celsius! The country side is flat much like our Prairies.

Where is the Andalucia region of southern Spain? Glad you asked. We will be in staying in five of the places on the map below; Sevilla, Granada, Málaga, Ronda and Cadiz.

We arrived on time in Sevilla and then followed the signs to the "belts" or carousels to get our three pieces of luggage that we checked in. Why three pieces of luggage? We need three pieces of luggage to accommodate the potential purchase of 32 bottles of wine. The arrival screen indicates Belt 6 for our flight. Yup, we knew that being in Spain would mean to adjust our expectations to slow... Despite having Priority tags on all three pieces of luggage there was nothing coming on the winding belt. After a period of time there was a message on another screen that "non-EU luggage Belt 1". Lana went to check on Belt 1 which is at the opposite end and voila our luggage is there. What the ? Apparently they do this to x-ray our luggage?

Out to the taxi stand for our transportation into the downtown area of Sevilla and our Hotel Alfonso XIII. We knew there is no subway or train service to the airport and our hotel does not have a shuttle. The taxi driver was awesome. Super fast cutting in and out of traffic and 25 Euros later we were at the hotel. The first observation we had from the taxi was that everyone was wearing pants, sweaters, jackets and looked to be dressed pretty warm for what we consider summer weather! I think I saw one guy in shorts and he looked like a fellow tourist. 

From our experience at the airport waiting for our luggage we knew that now in Spain it is slow. Our hotel is a five star old school gem that is centrally located and has quite a history. Lana's out of town work schedule has enabled her to gain points and we used them to stay at this beautiful hotel. Plus, she received an upgrade to a suite! We are really treating ourselves. This is a first class place.

We waited to check into our room (135) given none of three hotel clerks were available. Once we had confirmed our room and amenities we were told to wait another 10 minutes as our room needed to be checked by housekeeping. Lana had confirmed with their concierge weeks ago we were arriving before normal check-in time. We gave up waiting for them after more than 10 minutes and discovered that yes our room was ready. Our luggage was not in our room though so we waited for that. Yup, this is a different pace of life. We even have our own separate entrance from the hallway we share with the room next to us. Our suite is gigantic with a massive room separate from our bedroom.

Inside our room we open up some of the patio doors and we can hear the constant clop clop from the many horse and buggies in the street below. Lana is oblivious as she quickly falls asleep on the bed. Many birds chirping as she enjoy the sunshine and warmth of Sevilla!

This is the inside entrance to the hotel and is more spectacular than this internet photo. 

Ceiling of our hotel lobby. Check out the workmanship and detail. Very ornate.

We are sitting on a couch in one part of the huge lobby and looking up. The stairwell flanks the perimeter of our view and then the beautiful tiled ceiling on what is probably the third floor. 

A nattily dressed hotel employee brought up two special cookies as a welcome to our stay. The logo on the cookie is the brand logo for the hotel. 

View of one corner of our hotel from sitting at Starbucks across the street. Yes, they have many many Starbucks in this very touristy area of downtown Sevilla!

Guess what? This orange tree is located near the entrance to our hotel and is on the hotel property. 

We were looking for a toilet on one of our walking forays and came across this burger place. The washroom wasn't too bad at all. No burger purchased though. 

An example of the beautiful architecture located on what appears to be the main drag (Av de la Constitution) in this area of Sevilla. 

There are so many horse and buggies in this very large area around our hotel. In fact, they are ten times more than you would ever find in New York's Central Park! They are on the streets and some of the more narrow alleys. You have to beware when walking as Lana learned on one occasion. Check out this parking sign for horse and buggy owners!

After Lana had awoken from her deserved nap we were out the door by around 16:00. We were both showered, cleaned and new clothing. It is around 24 degrees Celsius and a blue sky warm day. We ask for a map from the hotel desk clerk to help us navigate to Plaza de España. In my research this was recommended by Anthony Bourdain. It was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition and is a "landmark example of the Regionalism Architecture, mixing elements of the Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture." Apparently, Lawrence of Arabia (Randy's favourite all-time movie) was filmed here. 

We really needed to follow a map as this city is NOT on a grid system and no roads or avenues appear to travel in a straight line. Fortunately, there are maps located on the street corners in some places that help us from getting lost. The plaza is relatively close to our hotel. Yup, we both have jet lag but do pretty good navigating and enjoying the beautiful day. I indicate to Lana that I am wearing shorts tomorrow given how hot it is! We are in the heart of the tourist area and on a Saturday this place is teeming with fellow tourists. 

Plaza de España located in the northern section of the very huge Parque de Maria Luisa. This is a picture of the canal that creates a kind of moat around the building and many tourists line up for a very long time to pay to row the boats. The water itself is shallow and maybe not more than a metre deep?

Beautiful colours and styling abound in this particular building and its fences and stairs. 

Lana's panorama picture of Plaza de España (not the whole view) from a vantage point we reached by hiking up the stairs to the third level. It was such a warm day that the tiles on the balcony fencing were very hot to the touch. 

Yup, we love their colours and the fact each of these creations are somewhat whimsical. 

Randy standing beside one of the very many tiled quarters that have incredible pictures and then on the floor their own maps that identify the area of the story. These maps are from centuries before there was a country called Spain. 

Another example of the tiled maps and their details, colours and being representative of a time long before our current borders were in existence. 

You gotta have a picture of a water spout!

To return to our room we decided to walk into the park and then up the Guadalquivir river towards where we are staying. There is a wide dirt path and some concrete along the river so many people in the area as well. Some restaurants along the river offering outdoor seating with food and drinks. It appears though mostly drinks at this time of the day. What a great location to relax with some drinks and enjoy the river views and people watching. 

Lana decided that she wanted something at Starbucks and to check if they had their special cards for her collection. In addition, she was a little peckish. We stopped and she got something to drink and eat so we sat outside at a table and people watched. Also, I had decided to return to our hotel and ask where I could find a telecomm to purchase a Spanish SIM card for my iPhone 6S. I received directions to get to a Movistar store and it was about a 15 minute walk on a super busy street filled with fellow tourists, hawkers, entertainers, horse & buggies etc. The Movistar people said they didn't carry SIM cards but to keep walking northwards to an Orange store. Before the Orange store we ran across a Vodafone retail outlet. I have used them before in other countries with success. 

The reason I want to temporarily swap out my Canadian SIM card for a Spanish card is pretty simple. To use any roaming program from Canadian telecomm is very expensive. For 15 Euros I have a SIM card that has 6GB of data and 30 minutes of telephone time. What a fantastic deal! This will be super handy for using Google Maps with my iPhone to navigate the streets wherever we are in Spain and to make phone calls to Airbnb hosts and Wineries, where needed. 

We return to our room to get slightly changed for a "10 minute" walk northeast from our hotel to a tapas bar/restaurant recommended in a NY Times article titled "36 Hours in Sevilla". We should arrive a little after 19:00. I have my Google Maps app and we follow the route/voice to our tiny tapas place. Photo ops along the way and more people, horse/buggies, families, architecture and narrow streets and lanes. The tapas joint "Alvaro Peregil La Goleta" was opened in 1904 (the year before my Grandpa was born!) and was the first to introduce Vino de Naranja (sweet fortified and orange wine). It is located in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood located on Calle Mateos Gagos. 

We arrive and this tiny place has a huge crowd milling around at its entrance. It appears to be only locals which is what we are looking for. Menus are in Spanish only which is a good sign for an authentic local tapas joint. In fact, there is very little English spoken here. Pointing at the menus and trying to pronounce the words works! Figuring out the cost is more difficult but we trust them to give us the proper change in return. This is Spain so no tipping. Maybe round up. 

We find a small ledge against the wall near the counter and that will be our spot for the duration. We need something to hold our drinks and tapas dishes. Lots of bumping going on with people trying to get their orders in at the counter. This is a very inexpensive dinner meal/drinks. Cash only and no debit or credit accepted. When your tapas dish is ready they yell out the name of the dish! One huge reason we are located so close to the counter. Our orders come pretty quickly and we love what we are eating. We are there for close to an hour and a perfect first food experience in Sevilla! 

Alvaro Peregil La Goleta tapas bar & restaurant drinks menu on a chalkboard. We think that is a boar's head giving us the eye. 

Tapas bar food menu on another chalkboard. The larger dishes are located on the top of the board and the smaller tapas dishes are listed below the Montaditos category. 

Yup, another food menu on another chalkboard. 

Chorizo Picante tapas (Montaditos style = tapas on bread).

On the left is the Bacalao con Salmorejo and on the right is the Jamón con Salmorejo. Tiny little fries come with this plate and they are pretty good.

Patatas Aliñadas with my beer order. The beer bottle is very small and is the most common order from other patrons. It appears that at this time of the night most locals stop in for a drink or a few drinks and then head home.

Picture from the street looking at our Tapas bar/restaurant. It was much busier and crowded than the perspective from this photo. We are standing inside near the entrance as there is only one seat to be had outside or inside. You can see the lady sitting on it. Also, you can identify a couple on the right taking a selfie!

Salmarejo (cold soup)

The bathroom for this very small place is actually a urinal only. It is a door then what you see - nothing more. We figure if you need a toilet you find something in the neighbourhood?

The very famous huge Gothic Sevilla Cathedral. A great shot at night picking up the unusual colours from the stones. As you can see there isn't a cloud in the sky!

Great contrast with an earlier picture of the Sevilla Cathedral taken from a different angle. Yup, there are many palm trees in this part of southern Spain.

Amorino gelato (pistachio and dolce de leche flavours). There are three of these stores on this particular street within about a 1/2 km of each other! This is Lana's favourite brand of gelato. We find a stone seat along the road to finish the gelato and watch fellow humanity. It is now after 20:00 and still many people in the area.

We get back to our hotel around 20:30. Still a beautiful night although the temperatures are now in the high teens. So many people in the streets below as this is a very busy tourist mecca. The trams continue to zip by and the horse and buggy people seem to be more busy. Lana is quickly into bed and falls fast asleep. Her goal was to stay awake until 21:00. I decide to stay up and get started on our blog by loading all our pictures and then some descriptions before I am into bed around 22:15. 

14,500 steps for the day and 10.4 kms in total. Pretty good numbers given we really didn't start our day in Sevilla until 16:00.