Author: dmayert

Over the last three days we ventured out of Sevilla by train to visit the ancient cities of Cordoba and Granada. We negotiated through the ticket purchase at the Santa Justa station in Sevilla and ended up with tickets for the high speed train to Cordoba and then a late afternoon high speed train to Antequera and a bus (the new line was under construction) on to Granada. The high speed train was great but twice the price of the regional media distance routes.

Day 1

The train ride to Cordoba, the first ever for Matt, lasted about 45 minutes through orchards of oranges, and upon arrival we were ready to locate the famous mosque… that is after we fed the kids.

We found a restaurant with a patio where Nick had calamari (a new staple of his diet), Matt tried the Iberian sausage, but again defaulted to the bread (so far the staple of his diet) while Katy went with the artichoke tapas, and I tried the cold, creamy tomato soup called salmorejo. Yes we are travelling through Spain on our stomachs.

This was also our first hot weather, reaching the mid 20s by the middle of the day. It gave us our first feel of how hot it must be in the summer and why they need siesta time. Cordoba displayed a lot of history with Roman ruins and ancient bridges. We were also surprised by how muddy the rivers were, probably due to the amount of rain we have been experiencing here in Andalusia.

When we finally got to the Mezquita (mosque), it was an amazing mix of a church (16th century), built within a a mosque (8th century), built on top of a church.  We were in awe of the size of the structure, the columns (over 850 of them), the arches and the blending of Catholic and Moorish architecture.

The sun really came out in time to visit the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of the Christian Kings).  The gardens, pools and fountains were outstanding, especially in the sun. With everything in bloom they would be even that much more amazing. It was originally built for King Alphonso XI, but housed Isabel and Ferdinand II during their campaign to conquer the Moors in Granada.

It was then back on the train. For a short trip to Antequera during which Matt had a much needed nap. Passing field upon field of olive trees. We then jumped on a bus to take us into the hills and up to Granada. The valleys and ridges along the way let you imagine the Bandelleros looking down for their next prize, as Washington Irving describes. That is, as long as you can ignore the wind turbines, solar fields and gas stations.

After finding our accommodations for the night, we ventured out to get some dinner before getting a good nights sleep. We have been happily subsiding off tapas in Seville, the serving size is great for the boys and we have enjoyed the variety and price. To our surprise we found the restaurants in the section of Granada were only serving entrees in the restaurants. This was both a lot of food and quite expensive compared to what we had been used to (Spain on the whole has been quite reasonable). We had calamari (for Nick), meatballs (for Matt), and more artichokes (for Katy), and I had some of each. We later found we were in a very touristy part of Granada and received some good recommendations for the next night (unfortunately none of them opened until 8pm…). After getting the kids to bed (with a chapter of Cervantes’ Don Quixote to lull them to sleep) we decided to stay another night in Granada, unfortunately the hotel we were in didn’t have a vacancy and we had to look for another spot, which is not easy when travelling with a young family of five…

Day 2

We woke up in Granada, had breakfast at the hotel, packed up all our stuff and headed for the Alhambra. We took the bus up the steep windy road and arrived fresh and ready to explore. To our surprise, and disappointment, the tickets including the Nasrid Palace were sold-out both for the day, the night and the next day. We settled for the tickets to the Generalife and Alcazaba. My mother-in-law, Annette gifted me with a lovely copy of Tales of the Alhambra– by Washington Irving for Christmas which was a wonderful way to get a feel for the Alhambra before hand. Both Irving’s description of his visit in the early 1800s and the legends of the palace he relays were thoroughly entertaining and set the scene for the visit. The Generalife, which was the traditional summer home of royalty when it gets too hot in the Alhambra, was a highlight with it’s pools, fountains and waterways. It would be marvellous to see when all the flowers are in bloom. We also really enjoyed the Palace of Charles V which was a renaissance building designed by a student of Michelangelo. From the outside it is a square building but inside it has a circular courtyard surrounded by great pillars. The Alcazaba was the bell tower, traditional defences and fortress that offered some amazing views over Granada and down to the Paseo de Los Tristes below. While we were disappointed in not seeing the Camares Palace and the Palace of the Lions, it was a pretty full morning with three young kids. I guess we will just have to come back one day… and book ahead!

Early afternoon we headed back down into Granada and went to find our new hotel, a single room with 4 single beds and a crib… This was looking to be a fun night. We checked out the train schedules and decided we would leave late morning the next day, so we headed for the Cathedral de Granada as we wouldn’t have time in the morning. It was an amazing space and had a great kids audioguide. Unfortunately the audioguide promised a surprise at the end of the tour and the bookmark didn’t quite meet Matt’s expectations, which meant the next hour with a tired Matt, was not a lot of fun.

Since we were leaving the next morning we decided to fight through the meltdown (probably to be blamed on the parents for the heavily scheduled day) and see the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) of Granada with the tombs of Isabelle and Ferdinand II. It was great to see the chapel after reading Dogs of God – by James Reston Jr, a great recommendation from family friend. It gives a great history of the creation of the Spanish nation state, Spanish Inquisition, Spanish conquest of Granada, and the beginnings of the exploration of the Americas. With Seville and Granada being major settings for much of the historical action this was a great travel read, thanks Hugh!

This was an ambitious day with the kids, and as we looked for somewhere for dinner we realized how tired the boys were. When we discovered all of our recommended dinner spots were not going to open until 8pm we decided to split up and Olivia and I hit up the grocery store to buy dinner, while Nick, Matt and Katy headed back to the hotel. Luckily the boys were exhausted and when Olivia and I returned Nick was already in bed. After a quick dinner (bread, ham & cheese) and a reading of the “Legend of the Two Discreet Statues” from the Tales of the Alhambra, everyone crashed (in the morning I discovered this was with the exception of Katy and Olivia who hung out a bit longer, much to Katy’s dismay).

Day 3

After a late start (everyone slept in after the big day before despite all five of us being in the same room) and a packed lunch (yes bread, meat and cheese again), we caught the 11am bus to Antequera and then the media distance (slow regional) train from there to Sevilla, during which Olivia caught a little more sleep.

The high speed route from Sevilla to Granada looks great (most of the line has been laid) and will probably cut the travel time in half, but unfortunately we were too early too take advantage of it. Once in Sevilla, the boys were happy to be “home”. While it was great to explore a little bit more of Andalusia, our little road trip confirmed for us that we made the right decision to base ourselves in one location for longer periods of time. With 3 young kids the varied train schedules, carrying luggage, uncertain accommodations, less than ideal sleeping arrangements, inconsistent meal times and over scheduled sightseeing make short term travel quite a challenge.  We now await the arrival of three of Katy’s aunts who will be visiting during the rest of our stay in Seville. It will be great to again have visitors come see us here in Sevilla!

Each morning we venture out (usually on foot) to explore the city. We try to hit at least one highlight each day. Here are our favourite sights so far.

Plaza d’Espana

Sevilla!

Military Museum: Ohh that’s a big cannon!”

Fans!

Our first outing in Seville was to the Plaza d’Espana, built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. We walked to the centre and took the tram to the Parc de Maria Luisa. It was a great choice to get the boys acclimated to sightseeing. They loved the tram, the fountain, the boat ride, watching the horse carriages and the flamenco dancers busking in the plaza. They also loved that it was a backdrop from one of the Star Wars movies. We made it back there when our friend Peter came to visit, but unfortunately the Park was closed. We did get to see the rather impressive military museum and will be heading back to spend another morning or afternoon exploring the park (perhaps on one of the 4 person bikes), next time we have a sunny day.

Real Alcazar

Fish!

Peacocks

The maze!

It was easy to see why this was chosen as a setting for the television show Game of Thrones. This former palace built for the Moorish rulers is a fantastic combination of gardens, pools, fountains, tiled floors, and tapestries on the walls. The boys loved the maze and following the peacocks around the gardens.

La Catedral & La Giralda

Waiting in the rain to get inside the cathedral

The tomb of Christopher Columbus

From the top of La Giralda

Learning about the Catholic Church

La Giralda and La Catedral in the background

La Catedral

We visited the La Catedral and were amazed by the vastness of the building, it is the worlds largest gothic cathedral . The columns are huge and the arches and ceilings are pretty awe inspiring. We stopped at a side chapel on the way in and the kids were amazed by the gold altarpiece. This was easily surpassed in the main cathedral with the enormous gold altarpiece the silver side altar and the gigantic organ. We were also able to see a chapel dedicated to Magellan and the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It was evident at every turn how prosperous a city Seville was when it was the main port leading to the Americas, and what an important role the church obviously played to the people of that time. We climbed up La Giralda tower (Olivia in the carrier) and braved the winds to take in some incredible 360 degree views of the city. We returned a couple days later to take in a mass. It was amazing to see the cathedral without the mass of tourists and in everyday use. The children were surprisingly well behaved throughout the service and had lots of questions about the “treasure box”, crackers, smoke, and the people praying. The organ was incredible and the singing (while not to the standard Katy was expecting) added to the experience. There was a considerable lack of female representation during mass. We see convents all over Seville, so obviously women play a major role in the church, but all the major positions are noticeably still filled exclusively by men.

Museo de Belle Artes 

Appreciating the paintings and learning about Christianity- the Last Supper

The well

“That’s Jesus on the cross!”

Learning about heaven and hell

On our first rainy day we decided to take in the Museo de Belle Artes located in a former convent. With our recent bedtime bible stories this was a bigger success with the boys than we expected. We jumped on the little C5 circle route bus and stayed dry for the morning. The boys were a hit with the seniors on the bus, so we were able to practice our spanish and learn a little more about the city from a lovely older lady. They happened to have a large Murrillo exhibit at the museo on loan from one of the churches. While there were some amazing canvasses on display from Murillo, Zurbaran and Valdes Leal. The boys favourites were those of the bullfighters and the battles, especially a work called “Death of the Maestro”.

Metropol Parasol

The “Mushrooms!”

Resting

The view over Sevilla

On top

Churros con Chocolate

One of the boys favourite places in Seville is the “Mushrooms”. It is a unique architectural insulation that really does resemble a clump of mushrooms. In the basement there is an exhibition of the roman ruins found below, on the ground level there is a great food market, on the upper level there is a playground and fountains (not operational this time of year, but perfect for the boys’ Beyblade battles), and you can even go up on top to get a great 360 degree panoramic view of the city. There are also a few great places nearby to get Churros con Chocolate, which has been a favourite treat for the boys.

Calle Feria Market

Helados

The butcher

Calamares Fritos y Pescados Fritos

Paella Carne

Lagostinos

The FC Seville match

Just down the road from us is one of the first little Sevilla gems we discovered, the Calle Feria Mercado. It is a food market in the mornings with seafood, meat cheese, bread, fruits and vegetables, but also has a tapas market in the afternoon and evenings. For 4 Euros you get a bebidas (drink) and a tapas at one of the various stalls. We have sampled some great paella, calamari, fajitas, noodles and salted cod with a vino tinto or cana. There is also heliados (gelato) for the boys and they brought down the big screen to watch the FC Sevilla match on the weekend. It seemed that the boys and I were more into the game than anyone else, so we are guessing that the locals are fans of the other local team FC Betis. We are hoping to get to a live match before we leave.

Alameda de Hercules

Coffee time

Bumper Cars

Cafe con Leche

Chasing Birds!

Still Chasing Birds!

The Alameda has been a go to spot with the boys first thing in the morning, late in the afternoon and after dinner. They chase the birds, play in the playgrounds and interact with the local kids. There are plenty of places for us adults to grab a seat and have a coffee, beer or glass of wine with a tapas while keeping an eye on the boys. There has been a craft market and a small carnival type fair there as well at times which was a big hit for the kids. Especially riding the bumper cars.

Toro del Oro

The Toro del Oro from the river

“The Golden Tower”

Columbus’ Santa Maria

The view from the top

The tower was originally a defensive lookout on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. It is now a maritime museum holding a model of Columbus’s ship and exhibits that included details of the Magellan and Columbus expeditions and of special interest to us from Canada and the BC Coast, those of Malaspina, Galiano, Cortes, Valdes and Cordoba.

Casa de Pilatos

A grand palace located in the middle of the Santa Cruz area of Seville. A mix of Italian Renaissance style with Roman statues, moorish Mudjelar style. We took a wonderful tour of the rooms upstairs with the furniture and artwork still in place that gave you a real feel of what life would have been like in the palace. The boys were enthralled by the audio guides which gave us the opportunity to really enjoy the palace.

Guadalquivir River Cruise

We took an afternoon cruise down the Guadalquivir River that gave us a different perspective on the city. There were some amazing views. It was a lovely way to spend a sunny afternoon.

La Maestranza Bullring

This was the first thing the boys wanted to see in Seville. While they were disappointed not to be able to see a real bullfight (we weren’t sure we really wanted to take them to one anyways), we all appreciated the tour. The spectacle of the bullfight was well represented by the costumes, paintings, mounted bull heads, and the stadium itself.

Hotel Alphonso XIII

“We are statues!”

Avenue de Constitucion

Cafe cortado y chocolate for les niños

Katy outside Hotel Alphonso XIII

After sitting through mass at La Catedral we took the boys over to Seville’s most exclusive hotel for coffee. The Hotel Alphonso XIII was built for visitors to the 1929 Exhibition.  We were eager to check it out, as the building our apartment is located in was designed by the same architect. He also built a wonderful building on the Avenue de Constitucion. We ordered a couple cafe cortados, chocolates for the boys and pastries to share and pretended we were wealthy for a little while.

Still to come….

A Flamenco Show, Triana, and weather permitting a football match.

We have settled into the first stop of our adventure, after surviving the 15 hour journey with 3 young kids, and are staying in an apartment in the Macarena district of Seville. Life here is a little different from life in Comox… It is an adjustment for us for sure, but entails a lot of unknowns for the boys.

The Language:

We are just outside the main tourist areas of Seville. This means that most people here only speak Spanish. For our five year old in French Immersion this has been a little uncomfortable, as he expected to be able to speak french during “the big trip” but was surprised to have to wait another month for the opportunity.  Katy and I know a little of the language from basic Spanish lessons, a few trips to Mexico and using the Duolingo app. Katy has some Italian from her music training and spending time as an au pair in Italy as a teenager, but the similarities have actually made it more difficult for her as she keeps shifting into Italian. When this means we are now relying on my Spanish to get by, we are in trouble. For Nick and Matt to see their parents, who they think have all the answers (poor innocent kids), a little vulnerable is a little scary. We have however been able to get by okay, without too many blunders. We have had some surprise orders in restaurants, smirks from locals, and a few moments of inability to communicate, but for the most part we get by and are able get what we need as long as we try. This has been a great lesson for the kids. You don’t need all the answers, and remember you are allowed to make mistakes and figure it out as you go. Our Spanish is improving daily… I now know to order a vino tinto instead of a vino rojas, and heard today that by copying the local pronunciation for gracias as “gracia” (as I have been doing since my second day here), it is kind of like saying something is humorous, as apparently the Andalusians are just lazy with their “s”‘s. I’m still unsure but I am going back to gracias…

Religion

Living in Canada, organized religion does not play a very big role in our lives. Katy and I were both raised going to Sunday School and have a basic understanding of the stories of the bible. We haven’t really had reason to explain religion of any kind to the kids. We hadn’t actually really thought of it at all until we walked into a church just down the street from our apartment here in Seville. Then came the series of questions and observations from the boys:

• What is a church?
• What do you do there?
• That guy has blood. Is he dead?
• He has nails in his hands!
• Who is the girl?
• Who is her baby?
• That’s gold! That’s silver!

We knew it was going to just be the start of the questions. So Katy and I had a quick chat about how to approach it, and I was “elected” to start the conversation about religion and Christianity that night. The old social studies teacher in me took over and I started by asking them how they thought people came to be. We talked about how nobody over time really knew for sure but every civilization had a creation myth to explain it. We then talked a little about evolution and that we could prove through science that people evolved from cells, to animals, to apes and then to humans. We then talked about how we couldn’t prove the other creation myths were true, but we also talked about how we couldn’t prove they were untrue. I then fumbled through an explanation of Christianity and how god created the world in seven days. What they really wanted to know after the visit to the churches though was the story of the statues they saw. Who is Jesus? Who is Mary? So I continued on about Jesus being the son of god and that Mary was his mother, while successfully saving the birds and the bees discussion for another time. This opened another can of worms about sins and the ten commandments and coming back to life. I have been telling another bible story (along with reading one of the only other books we have with us: If I Built a Car, The Snail and the Whale or Oi Frog) every night since to attempt to answer their questions… At least it means I can give myself a refresher after they go to bed in order to be one class ahead of them. I am sure Katy is giggling listened to my feeble attempts from downstairs (thankfully she is doing it quietly so she doesn’t get “elected” to give the next bedtime story).  Tonight they asked me whether there is a book with these stories in it…….

Food

Eating with young children is always a challenge. What they loved last week they won’t eat today. Take away most of their current favourites and you are playing with fire.

The first night here we ended up at a Mexican restaurant (primarily because it was next to a playground) in the Alameda de Hercules. Our first Spanish tapas experience was nachos with ground beef, cheese whiz and canned salsa. The kids were okay with it, but we were far from impressed by our first Spanish culinary experience, while thoroughly intimidated by our lack of Spanish language skills.

Calle Feria Day 1 – Tapas bar: We heard that there was a great market just down the road from us, (Katy picked up some fruit and bread there the first morning) so after a morning of sightseeing we decided to check it out. The Calle Feria market includes fresh tapas, so I used my limited Spanish to order us drinks: dos cervezas and a couple bottles of coca-cola as a treat for the boys, and then ventured off to find some food. I spotted some fried Calamari so I ordered some calamares fritos. I was expecting them to give me what was on the tray. Instead they breaded a fresh batch of calamari just for me and put that into the fryer. While waiting, I attempted to ask what the small fried fish was on the tray. I totally missed their explanation but they told me to try one. I liked it and ordered some of them for everyone to try. They explained that there were no more left to cook, but put the rest of the cooked ones in a paper cone and  gave it to me for free. Things were looking up, or they were taking pity on my poor Spanish. I took the paper cones of pescaditos fritos and the calamari back to the family. Nick was excited but Katy and Matt were far less impressed, especially with the pescaditos. “They have eyeballs” was Matt’s only remark. Nick was a trooper trying the pescaditos and wolfing down all of the calamari. Katy and Matt were still left empty handed so I tried again. Katy requested some empanadas she had seen, so I looked at the menu board and picked an empanada at random. I think it was tuna. What I received looked more like a meat pie than what I thought of as an empanada, so I also ordered a chicken empanaditas which was the filled pastry I was expecting. Katy was happy, and I found something Matt would at least try. We called it a day and bought some pasta at the store on the way home for dinner.

Calamares Fritos y Pescados Fritos

Empanada y Empanaditas

Calle Feria Day 2 – Tapas bar: With a bit more confidence now, we decided to try the market for a late lunch. An older gentleman came up to me and started explaining something to me far too quickly. When he noticed I wasn’t really following along, he switched to English and explained how the market works. For 4 euros you get a  ticket included 1 tapas and 1 drink (alcohol or pop) anywhere in the market. I ordered a couple glasses of vino tinto and a chicken fajita tapas, while Katy chose a ‘carne’ paella. The boys even let us order them some chicken chow mein.  This I ordered with a “uno … (finger point)… por favor”. By all accounts this excursion was a success and we planned to make it a regular stop, until we went back the next day at 3pm and it was closed. We ended up with Italian thin crust pizza that night. We tried the next day at 4pm and again it was closed, so we headed out to the Alameda (avoided the Mexican restaurant) and had some delicious pork cheeks tapas while the kids played in the playground. We headed home around 8pm and the Feria market was now open. We are still figuring it out. The late night lifestyle seems to be the rule but we haven’t yet figured out what they do with the kids.

Paella Carne

Pizza Tradicionelle

Calle Feria food market: The food market is great to have just down the road. I ventured out with Matt the other morning to pick up a few things. One of the vendors noticed Matt’s Canada sweatshirt and asked where we were from. He used to live in Vancouver, worked on Granville Island, and had a brother in law in Nanaimo. Small world. He left us to shop, but came by a couple times to help when my Spanish was failing me. I ordered some fruit, vegetables, bread, Queso Manchego and sausage for sandwiches. I then eyed up the Jamon Iberico and had a sample. Delicious.  I was sold and ordered 200 grams. I took advantage of my new friend from Granville Island and asked him to recommend a bottle of red wine, as what we had sampled so far was quite cheap (3 Euros a bottle) but not as enjoyable as we would have hoped.

I was pretty happy with myself for getting all the items I had sought and was ready to go home proud of my first shopping adventure and hadn’t really thought about price until I was given the cuenta (total) which was far higher than expected. Not wanting to admit my lack of understanding, further stretch my Spanish language skills or just admit my mistake, I simply paid for it and headed home. It wasn’t until I looked at the bill closely that I realized the Jamon Iberica sold for 100 Euro/kilogram (I spent 20 Euros on ham!) It was delicious though and went tremendously well with the recommended vino tinto (Viejo Mundo for 9 Euros), but I won’t be repeating that purchase…

Jamon Iberica y vino tinto

I am sure there will be a few more stories to tell before we are done.

Katy and I have both travelled a bit before, but this trip required a lot more preparation than we are used to. Planning for 4 months with a family of five adds unique challenges. It has meant countless hours spent researching destinations, flights, accommodation and transportation. With 3 kids aged five and under, we wanted to be as prepared as possible.

Packing for 4 months with three children who cannot yet carry a suitcase means choosing what to take very carefully. We are travelling with only two checked bags, a stroller, a diaper bag and a carry-on backpack each.  We know we can get what we need here, but with 3 young kids the more logistics we could take care of ahead of time the better. This meant packing diapers, pull-ups, baby wipes, formula, toys, bottles, medicines, first aide kit, sunscreen, nightlights,  and of course in this day and age there were laptops, phones and LeapPads for the kids. Just minutes before leaving for the airport we were still cutting weight to meet the flight restrictions….

Travel insurance was another piece we needed to do a little research on. My extended benefits from work give us 30 days of travel insurance and we booked everything through our travel credit cards which in the past would normally be enough for us. This time, with a trip length of 120 days, (not to mention a five month old) we decided we needed to supplement this. When I tried to extend through my benefit provider we found that they would only insure the entire length of the trip, so we couldn’t benefit from the existing insurance. Luckily with the help of our insurance agent we were able to find a plan that would compliment our existing coverage and give us some much needed piece of mind.

Speaking of 120 days… We had originally planned to spend all 120 days in Spain, Portugal and France. We booked our flight into Seville and out of Paris accordingly. After booking the flight I discovered that my visa would only allow 90 days because of the Schengen Agreement. This wouldn’t have effected Katy as she also holds a UK passport which means (for at least the near future) she holds an EU member passport. This meant a little juggling of our plans. Luckily we are allowed 90 days within an 180 day period. We decided to detour south after Seville to visit Morocco for a couple weeks, before flying to France for a couple months. After our time in the Dordogne we required a second detour, so we decided that three weeks in Croatia would be a nice way to end the trip, before returning home by way of Paris. This did cause a little initial stress but it was definitely a first world problem that added a little more unknown to the trip to that will stretch our comfort levels a little and help us grow.

Phones required a little more planning than in the past. Worldwide calling and roaming plans are getting better. We first checked it out with our carrier and we were able to add $10/day to call and use data in Europe to a max of $100 per month. This would have worked well for Katy to keep up with work back in Canada, as even though I am off until July, Katy needs to keep working with her show, the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular, while we are away.  Unfortunately, when we called back to confirm a couple weeks ago the price was $12/day with a maximum of $200 extra per month. This put adding to our existing plan financially out of reach, so we are back to the more traditional plan of purchasing sim cards at each destination and Katy communicating through email as much as possible. With the necessity of naps with young kids and wanting to be able to split up during the day and find each other again, we believed having phones was a must. Luckily we found a voice and limited data plan for just 10 Euros/month in Spain. It means no texting, but it is a cheap way to stay in touch. We will see what we find for options in France and Croatia.

The flight was the first thing we booked after sketching out an itinerary. I checked out our travel points, but sadly we were woefully short for airfare for five. Happily, I found a great tool to aid in the process. Google Flights was a handy way to explore flights, compare prices, flight length, layover and levels of service. It even emailed alerts when the price went up our down and kept a history of prices so that we could book at what we believed would be the best price. I used it to select every single one of the flights (9 in total) we ended up booking. The actual booking was done through the individual airlines and I found that knowing the options and itinerary before working with the airline made a huge difference. In the end I booked using each airline’s website because in all instances it gave me a better price than over the phone.

Our initial flight found us leaving Nanaimo at 12:15 pm and arriving in Seville at 3:15pm the next day. We had a 3 hour layover in Calgary that allowed the boys to run around and wear some energy off, us to get some lunch, and a much needed diaper (and clothes…) change for Olivia. We then had an 8 hour flight to Frankfurt. The flight went well, with Olivia sleeping a respectable amount in the basinet (the other screaming baby nearby actually let us relax a little as it wasn’t our child keeping everyone up), the boys glued to the in-seat TV’s for the better half of the trip before sleeping for the other half, and Katy and I catching perhaps a couple hours each. The connection in Frankfurt left us with a mad dash to an adjoining terminal after going through security. We were the last to show up for the connecting flight to Seville and after some tense moments when they couldn’t find the booking for Olivia and Katy, we breathed a sigh of relief as we went through the gate to board a bus to the plane. I’m not sure how well we would have handled the missed connection with the three kids… The flight itself was uneventful and we landed in Seville on time. We then unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a taxi for all of us to our apartment, but they were adamant that they could only take 4 people maximum in a car, even though they didn’t require car seats in taxis in Spain. So Matt and I went in one with the luggage and Nick went with Katy in the other with Olivia on her lap. I counted two occupied seats and two empty seats in each taxi… With our limited Spanish we decided it best to just nod and say “si”. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we do that…

When we arrived at the apartment we breathed a huge sigh of relief as it looks like a great home base for the next month. More to come soon after we catch up on some much needed sleep!