We made it! Two long flights and 2 short ones, and we are in Madrid. Simon managed to sleep a little on the flights, and I managed maybe 2 hours at most... seems that I prefer lying down when I sleep. Our 6 hour stay in the Singapore airport was pretty cool. There is a beautiful little butterfly garden... so cool, er rather hot and humid, but really pretty, and some carnivorous plants.
Once we got to Madrid we jumped on the Subway and made it to our hostel... a little bit of a feat, our instructions only said that it was a 3 min walk from the station... but no clues for direction. (Turned on the data roaming for this... sorry Dad!) After a little nap, we headed out in search of food which was an awesome little experience, very friendly service... the opposite of what we were told to expect from the Spanish. Delicious food, and even better Sangria. Free shots when we paid too, tasty bonus.
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| Butterfly garden |
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| Butterfly garden at Changi Airport, Singapore |
Day 3
A nice early start after a strange sleep, the room was hot, and there was continuous noise out the window, Spanish people apparently party in the streets all night. They were just quietening down as we got up, at 6:30am!!
We jumped on the bus for a short 2 hour drive from Madrid to Cordoba and I immediately felt sick, worst motion sickness I can remember having... and I get it a lot. I had forgotten to move my anti-nausea meds from my pack to my carry on bag... not good. I tried moving up to the front of the bus, and took some anti-naus another girl gave me... worked a gem, woke up from a short nap feeling so much better.
We had a gorgeous little walk about in Cordoba, hunted for an ATM and finally found one that wanted to give us Euros. We also visited an amazing building, the Mezquita, which was originally a mosque, but the Christians deconstructed the guts of the building and built a cathedral inside of the mosque. The only building that is both a mosque and a cathedral.
Then we travelled onto Seville, a pretty city with a lot of history. After a quick dip in the rooftop pool of the hostel we went on a guided walking tour of the central city. Really cool, a real eclectic mix of so many cultures, from a span of several periods. Thankfully it was later in the day, and was cooler because of the breeze at about 35C, apparently the group the week before were doing it in 42C heat!
Later on we ventured out (around the corner) to a tapas bar where we enjoyed Dogfish, Bull tail and pork fillet. Then cheap drinks at a bar a few doors further down.
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| Cordoba cathedral pillars and arches |
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| Bridge into Cordoba |
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| Seville building of many different architectural styles |
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| Cordoba cathedral ceiling |
Day 4
We woke up from a good sleep, and headed out to check out the inside of the Cathedral (free entry on Sunday for mass) we were a little late... accidentally turned the wrong way, but still got in for a look around, Some parts were cordoned off, so we couldn't get close to Christopher Colombus' tomb -very impressive from the vantage point we had, but not good to get a photo, sadly.
Then back on the bus to head to Portugal. We are now in Lagos, after a little stop in a town called Silvas where there is a beautiful little castle, the last remaining in the Moorish style. The place we are staying at in Portugal is amazing, it's an apartment being rented out. We have our own room and ensuite, and the place has a pool in the back yard. There are 6 others from our tour group staying in the house too.
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Lagos - Salmon for dinner |
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| Out on the town in Lagos... party central |
<3 Anita and Simon
Sounds AMAZING can't wait to see the next update!!!
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