El Reino de Espana - por fin!

If you don't mind I'll squeeze the last three days of our trip into one posting. Day #2 in Sevilla we decided to maintain our long-standing tradition of visiting museums off the beaten path...so off the beaten path in fact that we spent much of the morning wandering lost in the haze of a 100 degree day. Finally we stumbled through the oasis that is Parque Maria Luisa where Chachi lectured us on the finer points of urban planning and forestry. According to Wikipedia the park "tiene una particular característica, sus palomas, que al agruparse forman una blanca alfombra cuyo apetito resulta difícil de saciar." Fighting off a white carpet of insatiable pigeons we arrived at the Museo de Artes Populares y Costumbres which had an extensive collection of doilies. Even the display on sausage-making did not make it worth the threat of a fowl death. (Ha?) Next we hit up the Museo Arqueologico de Sevilla where we learned all about the history and culture of Spain from trilobites to tapas. I was perhaps more fascinated than my lovely companions but generally our indomitable tourist spirit was lessened and we spent the rest of the day eating anything but tapas, swimming in the hotel pool and shopping.

Sevilla from above (duh?)

Day #3 in Sevilla we actually spent on the beach in Cadiz. Due to some quirk in train reservations Mary and I were seated in a diffferent car than Chachi and arrived sans our favorite tall redheaded companion.

The woman at the information desk in the train station convinced us that no trains would arrive for the next few hours and that we should probably just go to the beach. We hopped on a bus, stopped at the grocery store, tried calling Chachi several times and finally settled on the beach hoping against hopes that we would run into the boy eventually. A mile or so and the beginnings of a good sunburn later we spotted our fair (literally) friend who had gotten off at a train stop closer to the beach, didn't see us, took the next train to where Mary and I had gotten off, spoke to the same woman who evidently didn't absorb that the three lost Americans were together, took a bus back to the beach and in the mark of a good traveler also bought some groceries and settled himself. Reunited, we continued to work on our sunburns until we headed back to Sevilla. here, Chachi left to meet up with a friend of his and Mary and I ventured out to a flamenco show. Unfortunately I don't have any photos so this one will have to do:

The next day brought the end of our trip. Mary and I, erratically and uncomfortably sunburnt (I still bear marks today) traveled back to Madrid and in the whirlwind typical of the last day of vacation visited the Archeology Museum, ate McDonalds, bought souvenirs, took photos of the train station...
...and then sat in the airport for three hours due to mechanical difficulties.

We are now home safe and sound and are planning our next vacation which I won't write about until six months later. Bueno pues nada.