La Boda de Dani y Megan!!!!

I still cannot quite believe this is all happening. I think part of it is because Meg's been living in Spain for the past 18 months and we haven't had as much exposure to the happy couple. It all seem so surreal. Just two and a half years ago, only two European adventures ago, I was sharing on this very blog about our trip to Seville and the cute guy Megan had a bit of a 'thing' with. And now I've just been to their wedding. Her Spanish is fluent, she clearly fits right into this community. How much can happen so quickly.

The wedding was perfect. I know there were many details that didn't go as planned or desired and yet it was perfect. Megan was absolutely stunning and a fantastic hostess. Dani the perfect image of poised, dapper and loving.

In total the event was about 10 hours long. It began with my family gathering to get dudded up in our dresses and suits. Then we met the Spanish crew and hopped on a private bus to the quaint country location of the wedding.

The ceremony was lead by friend, Cacho, who warmly welcomed us in English before sharing a very sweet summary of the cinematic love story that lead up to this moment. Then the mothers sent up and each poured some local wine, Spanish and Floridian, into one glass which the couple drank to symbolize their union. It was just so exactly as it it should have been. It makes me tear up to remember.

After the ceremony there was food and drink and cake and then a showing of the most thoughtful wedding present. Dani made a video of photos from both their last and managed to weave in a super cute version of their story. It culminated in well wishes from the state side folks who couldn't make it to Spain.
The couple enjoyed their first dance and after that the rest is a blur. There was much dancing and drinking and laughing and love.

We all rode the bus back around 4am to people yelling is Spanish, kiss the bride!

Sigh.

Just so honored and excited to have been able to share that moment with them AND the families.

Mom & Dad dolled up

On the wedding bus!

The international wine

So romantic!

The Family getting Crazy

All the ladies!

Triana

The original plan for today was Cordoba however it just wasn't meant to be. Between train schedules, sleep schedules and a general desire to spend time together in chill mode we all voted to skip the day trip and spend the day exploring Triana and then a traditional lunch complete with siesta (nap) instead. This is a small neighborhood in Seville fairly close to where Dani and Megan live.

We spent a couple of hours wandering the Mercado de Triana which is a small, permanent food market similar to a Pike Place or La Boqueria. We enjoyed juice, fresh bread and marveled at the variety and differences from our own selection at Publix.

From there we meandered through the area, shopping for souvenirs, traditional fans for the ladies for la Boda (wedding) on Saturday, popping into small churches and finally an AMAZING lunch at one of Megan's favorite spots. The food was SO yummy, even if our waitress was a tad grumpy. Jeremy and I managed a three hour siesta before we had a second delicious meal at a taverna a couple of blocks from Megan and Dani's and then completed the evening at the Cadillac Bar. This was especially apropos since Megan and I went to this bar with Dani and his friends during our first trip to Seville two and a half years ago. At the bar the entire family took over a corner where we enjoyed gin tonics, whiskey cokes and chatted about the upcoming weddings and how unpredictable life is. So much joy....word can't express.

The Gathering

After several hectic days of travel and hiking all over Barcelona today was a more chill day. We started the day early with a flight to Seville and by 1:30pm we had arrived at our Air BnB (which is amazing and air conditioned) and settled in. We spent the afternoon going to a local market, making ourselves a mini feast for lunch and...taking a nap!

By 5:30pm my brother John and sister-in-love Laura had arrived. Today was their big travel day as they came in via Philly to Madrid and then a train into Seville. My Mom and Dad also arrived today and we all met for dinner near our apartment. This is where the day got juicy. We had a table of ten, most of us just in from the US, gathered here in Spain to celebrate a marriage.

Velma, Megan's Mom, has been my Mom's best friend for 35+ years. This means that our families have been incredibly close my entire life. This table of ten in Spain was filled with some of the dearest people in my life and honestly it was like we brought the "Pratt Mutius" vibe with us. We created this little bubble of love, laughter and joy around us and we could have just has easily been in Orlando as in Seville. It was awesome. The only thing missing is Hannah, the youngest, who is on her way right now from Gainesville to join us. I will work harder tomorrow to articulate the warmth and joy that surrounds me here with my loved ones traveling, exploring and getting to be together under such extraordinary circumstances. For now I want to revel in it, experience it and go to sleep so I can get up tomorrow and have the super exciting opportunity to visit the Seville Cathedral with everyone.

PS - My dad basically broke his leg about a month before they left for Europe. He's okay, the wheelchair was loaned by Megan's friend to allow Dad to participate in more activities without risking the healing process. But it's still fun to poke fun at him.... ;)


FitBit Time
Steps: 17,000 +/-
Miles: 8.5 +/-
Calories: 3,500 +/-

Counting Down!

We're definitely in count down mode and working to wrap up all of those little loose ends that show up before a trip. We leave for Europe again in two days!!!!

This time we'll be starting off in Barcelona. From there we jump to Seville, we'll do a day trip in Cordoba, and then our last stop will be Rome for a few days before we come back home. Total trip will be two weeks.

We have all of our flights booked, all Air BnB's booked and a house sitter lined up so the important stuff is taken care of. Now on to the little details like packing and cameras and passports.

Packing photos to come shortly as I get to fit a fairly impressive stack of stuff into a backpack which Jeremy has generously offered to carry. :D

I'm especially looking forward to this trip since this is the first time my entire family has traveled together. Our group in Seville will be 9-11 people all of us friends/family for 30+ years. Over the past 10 years or so most of us have made it to Europe at one point or another but this will be the first time we've converged on a city "Pratt Mutius" style all at once - I hope Seville is ready!

Another cool thing about this particular trip is that it will be Hannah's first over seas adventure - SO many new experiences for her are ahead and we get to be a part of that, how cool!


Oh, and duh, the REALLY special part is that we all get to be present for Megan and Dani's Spanish WEDDING!!! Yep, so if you go back through my blog you'll see a trip from a few years ago I took with Megan, my pseudosister, to Paris, Barcelona and Seville. During that trip she met a guy who she got all cute and flirty with and they made eyes at each other all through Feria. But it didn't end there, they kept in touch through the interwebs and in July of that year he came to the US to visit her. THEN in September of that year she went to visit him and from there it was a done deal, they were hooked. Megan became one of my heroes when she quit her job of 8+ years, rented out her house, packed up her belongings including her dog, Sam, and moved her life to Seville to follow her heart. This picture is of her this past year at Feria dressed up in local, traditional duds. (I know, it's like a movie, I've already requested that P!nk play the role of me ^_-).

So here we are, just over two years later and they are officially and legally becoming a family and in the process giving all of us an excuse to travel, bond, explore and further solidify our deep, life long friendships. Can you tell I'm proud/excited/full of love for this whole scenario? :)

This will DEFINITELY be a travel adventure you'll want to experience vicariously!

Birthday Surprise

Yesterday was Megan's birthday and Mother's Day here in Spain so we had a busy day with locals.

It started with Dani getting everyone churros and chocolate for breakfast which Jeremy didn't mind one bit. During breakfast Megan had trouble with FaceBook, a comment notification showed, then disappeared then came back...so weird ;)

Then we went to Dani's mom's house to deliver flowers and wish her a good day. She opened the door singing happy birthday to Megan in English which was adorable. She gave us a tour of her home which was amazing, like a museum full of art and interesting artifacts.

From there we were to meet a couple friends for lunch and Dani began telling us how the restaurant has mostly meat and has a reputation for poisoning people, Meg was getting a little worried...then, while she was stressing about the restaurant quality he asked if we could cram a friend into the mini with us. When we turned the corner to his home all of their friends were there to surprise her with a BBQ. Turns out the FB comment earlier was a friend who didn't know it was a surprise and everyone scrambled to have her delete it, just in time :)

They had fantastic food, many dishes were vegetarian for Meg. They surprised her with a cake and gifts too. It was really sweet. It was awesome for me because I got to witness first hand just how awesome her Spanish has gotten. It was a complete role reversal from last year when we came and she first met Dani where I was translating for her, she was having full conversations, some I couldn't follow at all, I was so proud! It's so crazy that its been a year since our last trip and now she lives here. :) everyone was so nice and most everyone either spoke a little English or was willing to be patient with us. The host had a really cool house, he built I himself and its surrounded by gardens and orange groves. On top of being really handy he also sews and makes bull fighting costumes. I'll put some of the pictures on Flickr.

After the party we went back to Dani and Megan's and relaxed and Facetimed with our moms. We also realized that our plan to rent a car wasn't the best a d changed plans around a bit. I'm writing this on the train to Cordoba where we will spend the day and take a return train (45 min each way) to Seville. Tomorrow we'll take a train to Cadiz and spend a couple nights there as planned. All we're really skipping is Ronda but we eliminated the stress of finding a safe place to park overnight in the cities, etc. So, today we'll see the Arabic architecture, mosque and castle in Cordoba. :)

Tapas, Friends & Saints

We had one of those naps where you become dead to the world, it was amazing. Then it was up and out to wander Seville in search of tapas. We jumped from one place to another enjoying tapas (small appetizer sides dishes meant to order many and share) and beers as we went. Megan was telling us about Holy Week and the Passeos where a church will put their saint's statue on a float of sorts and people will carry it followed by a band and a procession through the city. She had just finished the story when we were walking past the cathedral and heard live epic sorts of music a block or so away, upon following it we found a small Passeo with a live marching band just leaving their church with their saint, it was a cool sight. Dani says there will b many small parades like this for the May Crosses and we happen to be lucky enough to catch this one.

The tapas was yummy as always. We at a great variety, had beers and eventually met up with Enrique, Cristina and Cacho who I know from my trip to Seville last year and had one last drink and caught up a bit.

It was just good to see Megan (and Dani) face to face and catch up. It's also good to be back in Spain. It's been awhile since I traveled with someone for whom it's all a new experience. Watching Jeremy take in the architecture, language, food, customs and general vibe was fun and both reminded me why I love travel and also how I feel so at home in Spain and Italy, it's become so natural for me to wander the old cobblestone streets and communicate in different languages, I missed it. It's so nice to be with locals (yes, I consider Meg a local), our true test will be Monday when we pick up the rental car and drive to Cordoba' :) but first tomorrow we must make sure Megan has a superb birthday.

Safely in Seville

After a 'fun' lesson in RyanAir's definition of Customer Service we made it to Seville with relatively little trouble. Megan and I had a hug and chatter filled reunion. Meg and Dani took us to a tapas feria to reunite with the friends I made last year and I discovered that my inter language communication skills are alive and well. We just finished a siesta and are preparing to meet friends for dinner.

Park Day

We went to Plaza de Espana today, seems it was used in some scenes in Star Wars which obviously had Megan excited :) It was really pretty with this moat type body of water that you could rent row boats and go around. It was a huge space! I think I got some great panoramic of it.

We then spent a couple of hours exploring Parque de Maria Luis which was so lush and full of various shades of green and different textures that we kept stopping to just enjoy the sights and smells. We finally gave in and Megan found us a 'lovely space' and we sunbathed for a bit.

On our way back we shopped and had a nice light lunch of Adobo Sevilliano and Manchego cheese. It was quite the pleasant day and now we're resting before we go back to Feria in our new duds. Sorry friends and family but this has not been a souvenir rich trip, I'm finding more items for myself but not the typical souvenir type things.

There are more pics on Flickr including some of the baby ducks in what appeared to be a natural duck nursery near our happy spot, we saw tons of babies!

Our Feria Experience

We are both so conflicted on how to describe our night last night. You know when you watch travel shows and they get into places and talk to people that make it seem so cool but you know in reality normal people don't have that same experience? Like when Samantha Brown goes to Thailand and a Thai woman teaches her to make pad thai at a street booth but you know if you went there you wouldn't get that 'in' because you don't have a camera crew... Last night we were Samantha Brown with the 'in'.

First of all we arrived to the fair well in advance of our meeting time which was perfect because we needed a solid hour to let our brains and eyes adjust to what we were seeing. We spent some time sitting on a wall and watching people - there is video on Flickr. Here is one of girls dancing and another of people just walking is here. Though neither of these really captures the chaos and beauty and energy.

After a bit we met up with Enrique and Cristina who I connected with through Luke, a guy I work with. The fair consists of typical fair things (rides, games etc) only everyone dresses in flamenco and dances a lot. BUT there are also hundreds of 'casetas' or tents. People group together to fund them so most of them are private and you can only enter by invitation. There are some that are public but they charge a cover and are quite expensive. We were very fortunate that Enrique's family pitched in for a caseta so we spent some time there drinking the traditional Rebujito (7up and a sweet wine - thought of you Mom!). Then we went for a walk, ran into some of their friends and then went to their tent for a while and drank some more and watched them dance. It seems most people just wander and hop from one friend's tent to another.

For us it was so much fun. Even though we were dressed so casually people didn't seem to mind, they were so willing to pose for pictures and welcome us into their tradition. We met many really nice people and really really wished our spanish was better. :) It was an experience that was so full of smells, tastes and sights that all I can really do is share a few pictures and cherish the memory...there isn't really a way to describe it. I know cheesy, cliche etc but it's true in this case.

Some of our new friends were kind enough to escort us to our bus and we easily and safely made it back to our apartment and after a few hours sleep are up and ready to go explore more of the city before returning to the fair again tonight.

Enrique - I know you're reading this. Thank you so much for being our host and introducing us to your...friends. ^_- Even if you are a liar you're still a lot of fun and the perfect gentleman. Cristina - thanks for making sure all of the boys behaved and for being such a gracious hostess, welcoming us in to your Feria week, we can not WAIT to see your dress tonight!

Feria Day!

We had originally planned to sort of wander Europe on this trip, however I had lunch with a work buddy, Luke, who was telling me that it would be Fair Week in Seville...after a tiny bit of research we decided that this alone was worth planning out trip around. To make it even more enticing Luke texted some of his friends who live in Seville and they agreed to meet up with us if we visited. So here we are.

The fair kicked off at midnight Monday so today, Tuesday, is the first full day and the excitement in the air is tangible. We spent all afternoon watching women of all ages, shapes, sizes and coloring dressed to the nines in full traditional flamenco gear walking, hobbling, being pushed in strollers etc toward the fair.

We've decided that we are so jealous of this yearly tradition, it's like prom once a year for women of all ages. We can't think of any traditions in the US that can even compare.

It's funny because the style of the dresses is mermaid which is the states is not really that common and is typically considered to be a style that is only flattering on very trim figures, but here every woman seems to pull it off beautifully. It seems like every woman becomes so confident when she puts on her dress that she instantly becomes stunning. And the jewelry they were is literally costume jewelry, the sort that we would see in the US and think it cheap and tacky even. But here, in this environment, used in the way it is, it is so perfect! So much so that we went in search of our own accessories so that we could dress up our jeans and boots as much as possible to fit in at least a little bit. By the way, fitting in with short blond hair and blue eyes is not easy, and for Megan with green eyes and 'puelo rojo' (red hair) it's impossible, but that doesn't mean we can't try. :)

We stumbled into a department store near our apartment that had a whole section, organized by color, of all of the last minute flamenco purchases a girl could need. Lucky us!

Once we left the department store we had only a short walk to our apartment, maybe 50 yards/meters, and during this short walk we passed more than 20 women dressed and walking down the street. I happened to capture this Beatles like moment as this family of girls as the crossed through traffic.

 Megan and I both got a good giggle out of this woman, all dressed and ready to go and about to take off on her matching vespa...

So now that we have our accessories and are all dolled up we're ready to head back out and experience Feria de Abril...

Seville Cathedral

While in Barcelona we made the mistake of visiting Sagrada Familia before any other local churches. Once we had seen that insane beauty it was unfair for any of the local gothic cathedrals to make much of an impression on Megan. It's been a few days though and today we went to Seville Cathedral which is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world and the largest gothic cathedral. It definitely made an impression on us both.

I don't know what is is about cathedrals, especially considering that I'm not a very religious person at all, but they give me goose bumps every time, no matter how small or big. This one took my breath away. It is so tall and lofty. Standing there and thinking about what must have gone into building it and how it must of made the people of the times feel to see it - it's mind boggling.

The cloisters are so unique and beautiful, you can see the arabic influence more there. They have this intricate design of narrow little streams built into the ground (they are dry now) that you have to walk around and this grid of small trees that are in that super green/yellow stage of budding thanks to the spring weather. I have great pictures of it all on my camera.

We walked the 32 ramps up to the adjoining tower and got a birds eye view of Seville with it's river and bull fighting ring. From up high we could see down on the homes in the wealthier part of town and were able to see families dressed for feria taking pictures together. I was especially excited to get such a great view of the flying buttresses. Thought Seville Cathedral has something like 22 chapels lining the walls and not a lot of stained glass so they really didn't take full advantage of the lighting possibilities that the open architecture could have offered.

This was Burt & Billie's first trip to Seville so naturally they had to come see some of the sites with us! Christopher Columbus's tomb is at the cathedral, the only photo I took of it on my phone was starring B&B. :)

After the cathedral the festive air around us made it impossible to focus on any other 'tourist' spots so we found a cafe and settled in to watch the parade of costumes that was starting to trickle by....

Now it feels Spanish

We made it safely and uneventfully to Seville. We accidentally cut things a bit close with the timing of our flight but then wound up having time to grab a quick breakfast, so that worked out fine. Then we had some fun with the Seville bus system but in the end found our apartment fairly easily.

Our apt here is awesome, we each get our own room! The neighborhood is very local vs touristy we already went to market and made ourselves a delicious mid day meal of spinach, avocado, radish, tomato, lemon and fresh bread. All for about $4 each.

Barcelona is in Catalonia, an area within Spain that used to be French and still isn't all that found of being Spanish. They have their own dialect, customs and feel. Barcelona doesn't really feel like the rest of Spain. We also found everyone to be incredibly friendly and accomodating, being a major tourist destination we rarely had to use our Spanish, as soon as we asked 'paral anglese?' they would nearly always switch to English. Seville feels like Spain. The streets are smaller, the area is obviously poorer and so far when asking 'habla ingles?' the answer has consistently been 'no' which is forcing us to brush up our language skills.

It's so much warmer here! We're loving it so far but coming from Paris where it was in the 60's we may need to do some shopping...shucks ^_-

The main event while we're here is the Feria de Abril so for now we're resting up for the night time festivities. Looking forward to meeting up with some locals tomorrow to get a better feel for the city.

Why Not?

I am fairly certain that the Universe kept my battery running all day today.

We started the day by allowing ourselves to sleep as much as we wanted so we didn't even leave our B&B until nearly 3:30pm. Keeping that in mind here is how our day went....

We discovered that we could by tickets online for Sagrada Familia and skip the line so we did that. And there are not words for the beauty inside this cathedral.

I don't even want to lump it into the cathedral category or compare it to others I have seen, it is it's own category and own experience but it is amazing.

Once we entered I just laughed and stood like an gape mouthed fool, Megan graciously guided me to a place where I could stare in amazement for as long as needed and stare I did. Literally words cannot explain the way I felt being inside this building.

Until today I would have sworn that beauty and creativity like that only existed in computer graphics. Keep in mind I love cathedrals and they always make my knees go weak but this one...oh man. It felt like an alternate universe.

 To me the really cool part was the fact that it is unfinished so you can look around and see where there is still work to be done - if they finish in my lifetime I will most definitely have to return to see the end product. I have some great video and panoramic on my camera to share when I return home. So glad we went in this time.

Unfortunately we did the churches in the less than ideal order because after this we went to the Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter which is also amazing but in a completely different way.

We stopped to listen to a street musician play Beatles and had an ice cream topped waffle and then meandered toward the ocean. On our way we found a street vendor making fresh churros which we'd been wanting but hadn't been willing to taint our experience with the stale variety - totally glad we waited. We found a bench by the water and savored every bite of these.

From there we did indeed find the ocean where we walked on the sand and I put my feet in the water. We watched children laugh and giggle and dogs play catch. It was quite pleasant.

We easily found a metro and located a TripAdvisor find (such an awesome site), Restaurant Sesamos. A vegetarian gem.

We lingered over every bite and could not have been more impressed with our dinner. We had pumpkin miso soup with a rosemary and olive gin and tonic; hazelnut manchego and red beet gnocchi; vegetable lasagna with a verdejo; chocolate brownie with nougat and bailey's sauce accompanied by cava. It was amazing.

About half way through the Sagrada Familia my camera battery read 'dead' and yet it is still going - like I said, the Universe knew this was an amazing day and threw me a bone. :)

Now we're packing and preparing to move on to Seville in the morning.

Wandering Barcelona

Today we took things a bit slower, or at least that was our plan. We started off visiting Sagrada Familia, we had planned to go inside but the line was ridiculously long and we weren't in a patient mood so we moved on, we'll go back.

We set up an event on CouchSurfing.com to meet some locals/fellow travelers so we went to the meeting place and enjoyed some beer while we waited. We were lucky enough to see the a mime show - he was really good, acting like a traffic director, interacting with people as they passed by. Just as the show was ending the two CS folks showed up, one a local and one a traveler from VA. After a few minutes of chit chat we decided to follow the local to a 'near by' park where a CS meeting was going on. Through a series of random events we got separated from the CS buddies but it worked out just find because there was a big festival going on in the park. It was some sort of organic, holistic type of deal. There was a drum circle, holistic healers and massage. There was one tent where lots of people were paired up with one sitting with their hands in a prayer position, eyes closed and the other opposite them holding one hand a few inches from a part of their body. There was food and vendors and amazing smells in the air. We spend a couple of hours wandering and shopping and had to force ourselves to move on.

When we eventually did leave the festival we went to Casa Botllo which is a house designed by Gaudi. If you aren't familiar with Gaudi you should definitely look him up, he's an amazing artist and architect, I equate him to a Spanish Frank Lloyd Wright. Barcelona was like his playground and his work is everywhere here which is awesome. The house looks a bit like the skeleton of a dragon from the outside and even more so inside. It's so hard to explain but it's so very cool. I don't know if I'd want to live there but I'm really glad we went in and saw it. There are several pictures up on Flickr and lots more on my camera to share when I get home.

For dinner we had our host, Herve, make us reservations at a restaurant he had recommended, Embat. Unfortunately when we arrived we found that their menu had zero vegetarian options and included items like suckling pig and pigeon. We asked if they could concoct a veggie option for us and they weren't so enthusiastic about the challenge so we opted to leave. By then we were getting quite hungry and it was raining so we found ourselves back at La Fonda. This time we decided to split things and ordered four different dishes, dessert and lots of wine. It was an excellent night ,

After more than a week of traveling our bodies are tired from walking miles and miles every day and our brains are tired from taking in all of the new sites so today we've given ourselves permission to sleep and rest. We had hoped to go to the beach and do this but of course it's cloudy out. :( We'll venture out eventually to go inside Sagrada Familia (also a work of Gaudi, still in progress nearly 90 years after his death) and find food but for now we're lounging and enjoying the smells and sounds of Barcelona wafting in through our window.