Through the corazon de España

Hola todos-

Today we are writing you from a free internet cafe in Sevilla, after a few days in Madrid and a quick trip through Cordoba. To keep our contribution short, we have decided to provide a synopsis in the form of two Top-10 lists:

First - The no-me-gusta list:

10 - 6. We couldn´t think of that many bad things, so this will be a Top-5 (por que we like Spain).
5. Joe, que calo! Don´t ask, it just means it´s really hot in Southern Spain.
4. Though charming, the cobbled streets tend to cause Whitney´s ankles to roll over.
3. Getting cold beverages in Spain is difficult.
2. Spaniards like ham. They like it so much, they have the legs of ham (with hoof) on display everywhere, even in places like train stations, shoe stores, and ice cream shops. (actually we´ve never seen them in a shoe shop or an ice cream store, but we wouldn´t be surpised).
1. We swear we don´t do this on purpose, but we seem to have wound up vacationing during a gay pride festival again. Madrid was hosting the ´Madrid Pride´ festival/parade/all-night-party during our stay there. During the day time, it was entertaining. At night, it was ridiculously loud. But Whitney did enjoy the tight pants and shirt-lessness (and sometimes pants-lessness).

The Me-Gusta Mucho List:

10. The gazpacho here in Sevilla is excellent, as are the sangria and helados.
9. Trains are a marvelous way to travel.
8. We both took a nap on Friday in Madrid´s Parque Retiro (it being the right time of day for a proper siesta), followed by lemonissimo bars and people-watching by the lake. A very good day.
7. Some streets in Cordoba and Sevilla (and Madrid to a certain extent) are as wide as Nathan´s wingspan. Seriously! This is not only charming, but also functional, as the close proximity of the buildings help create constant shade in the streets (a must at this time of year). Hooray for intelligent city planning!
6. Spanish men´s fashion is umm... different. One prominent hairstyle is a low-height, wide mohawk (or a narrow mullet, if you prefer). The man-capri is a common choice for hot days, as are tight white tank tops with spaghetti straps. Wait, that might have been because of the festival in Madrid...it´s tough to say at this point.
5. Cordoba´s La Mezquita is Nathan´s first major architectural site on the trip. Feel free to google it, you will be impressed. We will also have approximately 1 million pictures of it when we get back.
4. The paseo idea is a great one. Around 10pm, folks just start ambling around and chatting. It´s finally cool enough, and you just kinda walk off dinner and do as you feel. That´s the good life.
3. Hostals are easy to find, reserve, and are inexpensive. The language ¨barrier¨ is rarely an issue.
2. Everything here is really old, not fake old. In our book, that is sooo much more interesting.
1. Plaza Santa Ana in Madrid is the highlight of our trip so far. This is best demonstrated by Whitney´s comment on Saturday evening during dinner, ¨If we leave tomorrow, I would be completely happy with the trip.¨ This was after being up all night on a hard bed because of the festival noise, waiting for a ticket in the train station for an hour and a half and walking until our feet ached. But the Plaza has the power to make a long day go away. We had a 3 hour dinner at an outdoor table in the middle of the plaza, watching kids play in a pick-up futbol game, street performers, and locals of all ages shoot the breeze. I don´t want to sound too much like Rick Steves here, but Europe´s charms are hard to beat.

Sorry for no pictures this go-round (no USB port access aqui) so we will try to catch up later.

Adios,

Nathan and Whitney.