~ Madrid, Cordoba, Seville ~
01 - 04 June
Hola!! (hello in spanish)...
- Madrid -
we took a plane from Dublin -> Madrid -> transfer a train to the city centre -> took another train ride -> all the way down to the Southern side!
my hub was abit silly as he wore n brght along all the winter wear to spain! summer time in spain is very diff fm dublin (still very cold)..u can see a guy behind him in short sleeves wondering if there is sthg wrong with him..haa...so pai seh....anyway, the train stations were very modern in madrid..this is the billboard 'art' (u mite not be able to see the real motion) where they used animation to make it seems as though the trains and escalators are moving on the wall...very creative!
upon arrival, we went with Javi (pronounced as Ha-vi) to the University of Madrid to collect his graduation cert...the university is very big and there is a train station rite smack in the centre of the campus..hw i wish our nus is that convenient!
Javi n Magda....with his cert! Congrats!!
we then grab a quick bite at the cafe b4 heading to Madrid's central station, 'Atocha' to meet Javi's brother...i was amazed when i reached the station...as there is an indoor 'jungle' inside the train station itself...n u can even find turtles inside it!
The architect Rafael Moneo’s idea for the latest extension of the station was to make waiting more comfortable. So he decided to convert the old building into a moist and tropical greenhouse.
Javi met his brother and had coffee with him while Magda brght us across the road to buy the famous must-try spanish 'burger' - Calamares De Madrid..
Here it is....the infamous calamari burger in Madrid!
Javi said its real good...n of cos, we must try! all of us ordered a diff filling so that we can try...fortunately we had magda there to do the translation...otherwise, we reallie duno which one to choose... 
Here it is....the infamous calamari burger in Madrid!
Javi said its real good...n of cos, we must try! all of us ordered a diff filling so that we can try...fortunately we had magda there to do the translation...otherwise, we reallie duno which one to choose...
as time was running short, we grabbed our burgers n ate them otw to Cordoba..okie, u can see my hub din reallie like it...cos he doesnt like thick ham/bacon...n if u hav been to spain, u will know the pple love pork!
- Cordoba -
Finally we are here - Cordoba! This is prob a place not many people will come...
this is the famous 'view' of cordoba...
the temperature rose to 37 degrees wen we were there...n i m sure u can tell hw hot it was by looking at this ah pek...he had to take off his shirt n walk cos it was soooo freaking hot (even hotter than spore!)
Magda's parents picked us up at the train station n sent us to the hotel...we rested in the hotel as we were quite tired...then in the evening, we waited for Javi's parents to come n pick us up from the hotel to a very very special place for dinner:
The Roman Cave!
Apparently, this is one of the famous roman caves where slaves were locked inside to dig out rocks for contruction...now, it has been taken over by a F&B estbalishment which converted it into a tourist cum fine dining attraction...its very exclusive as u had to drive all the way out of town into the hills...
there was a mini tour inside the caves but i din went in as it was very dark n scary...many many slaves died inside...so, magda n myself waited outside while my hub, javi n his mum went in....
After the tour, Javi's mum treated us to some 'fine dining' at the restaurant next to it...the food was reallie good...my hub took many many pix of it but i decided to post my fav dish - the dessert of cos! haa...its called 'Symphony'..dark, milk n white choco cake....yummy!!!!
we had diff drinks for that meal...h2o, red wine to go with our meat n to end it off, we had this very sweet dessert wine (small tube) which was my fav...it tasted very fruity...nice...
Javi's mum sent us back to the hotel n yes, that was Day 1!
Day 2, we went to the Cordoba town to explore the city..not many know that in 11th century this was one of the most important capitals in Europe. People of the most different cultures and religions - Jews, Muslims and Christians - were living peacefully together, and important philosophers, scientists and artists emerged from here..
we went to their world-famous 'Mezquita', the Moorish mosque and museums. It was built by the Muslims over 1200 years ago and converted into a cathedral in the 14th century..u can see the unique red n white pillars...
During the first few weeks of May, Cordoba hosted the "Festival of the Patios" where private homes open themselves to the public to show off their floral displays. n we were lucky to see a few of the very impressive patios (garden)..the photos were with Magda..will upload wen she send is the CD...
After that, Javi brght us to one of their fav place for lunch...it was a classic place for the locals..the food was good...local fav like the flamenquin, croquettes n we tried a new dish - smoked cod fish with fresh orange..it tasted good! very refreshing for a hot day...will post the pix wen i got the cd...
Magda went to meet her sister after lunch while Javi brght us ard..we took a break at a local 'coffeeshop', had a drink n sm 'snacks' (preserved olives)...my hub hate it as he dislike sour stuff..haa...after that, we took a bus back to our hotel to rest as the weather was so hot that it makes us feel very tired..
Then in the evening, we were invited to dinner with Magda's fmaily near their house...Magda's family is very close-knitted n so, all her brothers n sister n their family joined in! we took up 6 tables i tink...food was good as they ordered the all time favs...i tink the food makes it the best part of the trip, as my hub loves food n we were brght to all the good ones this trip!
- Seville -
Day 3, we took a train down to Seville for one day short trip. The train ride was about 1-2 hrs..so it was quite ok...
we walked to the town area wen we arrived and had a drink while we waited for Magda's frd, Man-do (not sure of spelling), to join us for the day...we went to 'La Giralda', one of the largest cathedral in Christendom..
but b4 that, we stopped by a tapas bar for some food as we didnt had any breakfast...
my hub was so hungry that he kept targeting the food, as the rest chatted...n b4 they knew it..the food was gone! haa...
as it was a weekend, there was a long queue outside the cathedral, waiting to get in and up to the top...we lazed around outside to wait for awhile...n as we waited, we checked out the surroundings..there were many horse carriages ard the area, n my hub decided to 'molest' 1 of the horses - the horse actually turned ard to see who was touching/caressing (?!?) him! heh...
we finally went in n yes, it is very very grand...with all the historical collections...
a must see if u are there!
we then climbed 77 flights of 'slopes' (not stairs..apparently, it was built that way so the horses can run up) to the top of the cathedral, where we were rewarded with the paranomic view of the city...it was worth the climb after all!
After the climb, we walked around the city and discovered this big patio 'flea market' where the locals gather to sell antique coins, stones n toys etc etc...u can find very interesting stuff here..
we then went to find out about the bullfighting show after that...n had lunch at a popular 'bull-fighting' restaurant near the bull ring...we were very fortunate to be able to catch the last show of the season...the weather was very hot but we braved thru n watched the cruel show for an hour under the scorching sun, before meeting up with Magda and gang to return to Cordoba..we enjoyed the experience of their culture...but we do not support it..it was a cruel and unfair game from the start...wen i got the pix fm the cd, i will elaborate more on the game..
Day 4, time to go back!
frankly, we cant wait to go back...not bcos spain wasnt fun..but bcos the weather was toooooo hot...we din have our sunny spore island clothes with us n it was torturing wearing our jeans walking ard...
on the last day, we had half a day to walk ard on our own b4 meeting magda n javi to return to Madrid n then dublin...we wandered ard the city and rewarded ourselves with a BIG hearty 'farewell' meal! my hub ordered so much food but he still managed to finish them..nw u noe hw big an eater he is!
there is this very special kind of beer there - beer mix with lemon which tasted very good...esp on hot days...my hub drank alot of them n end up getting abit 'drunk'..haa..
we had some spare time before boarding the train in Madrid n Javi brght us to the Atocha Train Station Memorial - a memorial monument located at the Atocha Train Station that commemorates the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings, and the special forces agent who died when seven suicide bombers blew themselves up on 3 April 2004.
Thousands of messages of condolence made in the days after the attacks are inscribed on the inside of the tower, which can be seen from the 11m-tall (36ft) cylinder stands outside..
Thousands of messages of condolence made in the days after the attacks are inscribed on the inside of the tower, which can be seen from the 11m-tall (36ft) cylinder stands outside..
this marks my 2nd trip to spain...the first one was last year april where we went to madrid, valencia, barcelona & bilbao..
there were 2 things i wanted to 'achieve' during this trip, i.e. to watch a bull-fighting n flamengo show..so as to complete 'Spain'..as i have more or less 'cover' the ctry/places i wan to go (thou we mite pop by barcelona again one day)...we only managed to catch the bull fight which i am happy enough, as it was sm thing really interesting n diff...as for the flamengo show...i realised it was very commercialised kinda dance performance like those 'aqua shows' u see in thailand...n so, i gave that a miss...
alrite, time to return to freezing cold dublin...home sweet home ; )
