Our First Trip to Spain April 6-18, 2005

The Beginning April 6-8, 2005		Off we flew from Santiago to visit Cristián. This was our first trip to Spain, and for Margy, her first time in Europe! We expect it will be the first of many to visit Cristián while he is studying in Spain. Imagine our delight when we were unexpectedly seated in business class, so we flew in luxurious comfort for the 13 hour flight to Madrid!
		The next flight was much shorter and less luxurious, but it didn't stop us from sleeping until we were nearly in Sevilla.

Cristián met us at the airport and we went to his apartment to unpack some gifts we had brought before
going to our hostel or sightseeing.

		It was exciting to see the Conservatory of Music in Seville where Cristián is studying. Later in the day, we returned there to watch Cristián accompany one of his classmates in a recital in one of the classrooms.

Afterwards, we did some sightseeing. Cristián gave us a walking tour of many of his favorite parts of this old city. We walked along the Guadalquivir River, and got our first views of the Plaza de Toros, the cathedral, the royal palaces, and other landmarks that we would be seeing more of in the days to come.

We had an early supper in a restaurant featuring mementos of bullfighting and the heads of some famous bulls. When we arrived, the restaurant was nearly empty, but all of a sudden, around 9 PM, the place filled!

Cristián assured us that this is normal for Seville. The streets were also full of people when we left! We went to a pastry shop to get some desserts and Artie began the tradition of having ice cream while we walked after supper. He shared a few bites with us to go with our baked treats.

The next morning we headed out to do some sightseeing in earnest. We went to the Reales Alcazares or Royal Fortresses. This is a group of buildings where royalty has lived in Seville since the 12th century. The Palace of King Don Pedro, built in the 14th century, is a noted example of Mudejar art combining Gothic and Arab elements. We took an additional tour of the public rooms in the royal quarters that are still used today when members of the royal family are in Seville.

The wall surrounding the complex of palaces and gardens is Arabian in style, but it conjures up images of knights in shining armor! The Arabian influence was also evident inside with the lavish use of finely detailed wood and/or plaster ornamentation and in the wonderfully intricate ceramic mosaics decorating the ceilings walls and floors.

A few centuries later, ceramics were painted rather than pieced together like quilts. The many gardens are varied and beautiful.

Should you be invited to dine with royalty in Seville, this is probably where you will eat!

In addition to our historical tour of the day, we also wandered around the city and did some shopping.

And to finish the day, Cristián cooked a dinner for us that we enjoyed at the apartment he shared with two French girls and a fellow from Italy. Also staying with them at the time was a fellow Chilean musician. We all had a good time with good food, Chilean wine and chocolate and a lot of laughter. We didn't stay too late, because the next day we would be taking a train to Granada.