3-6-15 Great time to be in Europe

Euro: The Euro just dropped below $1.09, to an 11 rear low.  We were in France when the Euro was first introduced at around $.80, which allowed us to eat at a famous Paris restaurant for an affordable price, but since then the exchange rate has more typically been about $1.35.  When we started making reservations for this trip 4 months ago, the exchange rate was about $1.27, so now we are enjoying Europe on sale. 

Hotels: We have had very good luck with our hotels so far. Marge did a great job of finding the right hotels for us. All of them have been in very good locations. Our hotel in Madrid was within walking distance of the Madrid train station and crawling distance to many tapas bars. Our hotel in Cordoba was a boutique hotel with about 10 rooms, and located right in the old section of town, just blocks from the city's major attractions.  Our hotel in Granada was another boutique hotel, and our room had a view of the Alhambra palace.   Our hotel here in Seville is a block away from the cathedral and right in the middle of many tourist attractions, tapas bars and restaurants. Our room here in Seville is very quiet despite the fact that we are located right across the street from a busy tapas bar, which Marge thinks is a pickup bar.

The photos below are from lunch today at a nearby Italian restaurant,  the best meal we've had so far.   Our appetizer was a salad of avocado and prawns, although the photo was terrible so it isn't shown.  Our entree was parpadelle pasta with carbonara sauce. Our dessert was a really good set of 4 cream puffs covered with chocolate sauce with a dollop of whipped cream. 

3-5-15 Granada Palace

The weather has been much warmer than we anticipated.  When we planned this trip,  we thought it would be mostly cool and sometimes cold,  but with fewer tourists.   In actuality,  the temps have been very moderate and we have rarely had to wear more than light jackets and frequently wore short sleeves. 

We visited Alhambra palace and gardens. Fortunately we were able to get a reservation for an early morning start, and arrived at the entry gate by 9 a.m. This allowed us to see much of the attraction before the big tour groups started.

Built when the Moors occupied the southern part of Spain.  Throughout the complex, there is running water used for landscaping,  cooling,  the calming sound,  and for consumption.  The other thing that  stood out for me were the intricate carvings in the walls and doors.  Although I cannot run, I'm glad that my knees are good enough to be able to go up and down many stairs, which came in very handy today, because the Alhambra has a  lot of them.

3-4-15 Together in a synagogue

We visited an ancient synagogue,  and one of the docents took this nice photo of us in a window.

3-4-215 Cordoba sightseeing

This am we visited the Mezquita a massive former mosque, built by the Moors in 784. Now it has a 16th century church in the middle.   Here are some photos:

3-3-15 The Maze that is Cordoba

Our hotel in Cordoba is located in the Old section of town.  The area has narrow cobblestone streets that seem like a maze because they are seldom straight,  intersect at different angles and it is difficult to see street names.  Walking from one place to the next is like walking in a maze.  We usually had to use Marge's new iPhone to navigate. 

Most of our lunches and dinners have been tapas,  which are small portions, like appetizers, sometimes small toasts with different toppings.  The tapa places we saw in Madrid displayed premade tapas and you can just point at what looks good and order.  In Cordoba,  you order tapas from a menu.  We prefer the Madrid style, but still had good meals in Cordoba.

Spanish tortilla: eggs, onions & potatoes

Dessert - pastry cream in a small canning jar, covered with chunks of brownies and walnuts - simple & yummy

3 - 2 - 15 Madrid breakfast hot chocolate and churros

I woke up early this morning and while waiting for Marge to wake, I used yelp for a place for breakfast. I found a cafe a couple blocks away which specializes in hot thick chocolate and handmade churros. We walked about 4 blocks through quiet local neighborhood and found the charming cafe on a corner. I had thick dark chocolate and churros. The chocolate was so thick that if I stuck a churro in it it would almost stand straight up.  Marge had a latte, a fresh squeezed orange juice and an egg and ham sandwich. Many of the other patrons in the cafe were obviously locals who seem to be very well acquainted with the shop, each other,  and the servers.

3-1-15 Beer, wine & tapas in Madrid

As we age, traveling is more difficult and arduous. I only got about 2 to 3 hours of sleep during our trip from San Francisco to London and then to Madrid. We took the train into central Madrid, then walked a half mile to our hotel, arriving about 7 pm.  After unpacking, we asked  receptionist about tapas bars. She said just a block or two away there are many of them.  She was right - starting a block away,  we must have passed a dozen tapas bars on traffic free streets.  We picked one that looked particularly inviting and had a wonderful experience.  Enclosed are a couple of photos from our Tapas Bar night. The drinks and 2 really good Tapas helped dim the memory of the day long trip. The meal cost a very reasonable 10 Euros, which is about $13.