hi all. here i am on the internet at a place across from the Alfonso xiii hotel in Sevilla, loving every minute of my time in spain. wow. i though of you all when i saw the bright blue lights of bar brillante as i left the atocha station in madrid! I have lots of great recommendations for places to eat, but first things first. MADRID!!! the city is glorious in crisp winter, even with some rain. everything was holiday festive. the hotel palace gave us a room overlooking the neptuno fountain, and the whole paseo del prado is light up beautifully. we saw the cabalgata de reyes, which was a huge parade. more disney like than i imagined, bt fun. we have had tapas in huertas, ate at the casa vasca, and soaked up every minute of the ambiente. a lovely quiet morning in the prado, an evening at the theatre -- don juan tenorio, a classic play performed starting on the dia de los muertos. bookstores, bars, walks... just wonderful. we took the ave to sevilla yesterday. the alfonso xiii is fantastic, and sevilla, though as cold as madrid (yes, you all warned me and i did bring warm clothes) is amazing. our room looks like some kind of moorish palace room. we saw flamenco at los gallos-- very worthy spectacle, performed with dignity. great tapas in the barrio de santa cruz. a morning wandering around the alcazar, which beats the cathedral hands down for beauty, serenity, and wonder. thanks to whomever recommended the cafe de las indias, which is fantastic for breakfast and merienda. well, maybe i wont be able to check in again til i get back, but i wanted all ofyou to know that, even thought i´ve been coming to spain for 26 years, this trip is special because of all the conversations we have had on this board. gracias a todos, un saludo, y que bien, estar en espanya finalmente. oh, ps, there is a full moon rising over the alcazar which i can see from this internet place. tonight we will stroll in the barrio de santa cruz under a full moon.

rgf, ¡¡qué celos tengo!! sounds like you are having a wonderful time in sevilla and madrid, after spending four months in sevilla a year ago, reading your message brought back so many memories.
tell us more when you get a chance!!!!!!!!

Glad you're having such a nice time rgf!!!
I wish I could be there too!

So glad to hear from you. Wish all eight hundred+ of us were there with you, don't you?

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!


[This message has been edited by Nicole (edited 01-08-2001).]

hi again!! here i am, in rainy and cold sevilla, but loving every minute. yes, i do wish you all were here. it is fun to see all the u.s.a. students at the unviersity, which is right next to my hotel. we have found a great tapas bar-- las teresas-- in santa cruz and eat there every nite. yesterday we walked over the puente de isabel II into the triana neighbrohood, then had lunch in a restaurant with a tower overlooking the guadalquivir. also visited the hospital de la caridad to see the paintings and the famous tomb of miguel de manara, the original don juan of the legend. the afternoon was plaza de espanya and parque de maria luisa. today, cafes, newspapers, bookshops, stores, and other distractions from the rain. tomoro, <<carmona, then thursday back to madrid! this is a fabulous time to bein spain despite the cold. i cannot imagine sevilla in 40 degrees centigrade as it often is in summer. i will post all my restaurant-tapa ideas when i get back to usa. saludos

If you are looking for another good place for tapas...try La Fabrica in the Plaza de Armas...it is a pub that makes its own beer and has terrific tapas(limited selection before 8pm..but after 8 the have a great menu!! Plaza de Armas is an old train station converted into a shopping mall

Sigh.....so many memories of Sevilla...I am so happy that you are enjoying yourselves despite the rain, rgf. And Carmona is beautiful, we had the chance to explore one of the castles which gave a super nice view of the city. The funny thing was that this man who owned the Chinese restaurant at which we ate had not in his life heard of Hawaii, he kept asking us if it was in Canada, or if we were from Kuwait, and no matter what we said he had not heard of it. Anyway, I REALLY wish that I was in Sevilla right now......even if it means holding my breath through some areas of the María Luisa park because of the you-know-what smell from the horses, ja, ja, ja.
PS I know what it is like in Sevilla during summer and you do not want to be there when it goes past 40.

[This message has been edited by ilovemadrid (edited 01-09-2001).]

[originally posted by mclarke on 1/18/01 11:08 AM..]

Sevilla is a smaller city than Madrid. The Hostal Atenas was closed to everything such as eateries, shopping and tourist attractions. My daughter and I visited the Giralda, Alcazabar (the castle), Tower of Gold, a building used in 1929 World Exhibitions. I was not impressed with the Alcazabar castle because I first visited the Alhambra. It made the Alcazabar looked very plain since it is an imitation of the Alhambra. One of the visits we really enjoyed was visiting Casa de Pilato's upper floor. We were the only tourists at that time seeing the 2nd floor. The palace's 2nd floor made you feel that there was life. We found very interesting in one of the rooms two portrait of Isabel de Portugal facing each other: one portrait was the real Isabel who did not look beatufiful; the other portrait that was sent to King of Spain looked so beautiful. We saw original paintings of Goya and Giordanno. The Duchess still occupies half of the palace.
We visited Hostal de Lauria where the myth that the writer of Don Juan wrote the story while staying at the inn. We also ate at their restaurant and my daughter had grilled salmon and I had roasted chicken de Sevilla. The serving was so huge. We took our time to eat. The lunch cost around $30 for two which inlcuded large Salmon, half of a chicken, Sangria, cafe con leche and lemon souffle (very good dessert). The Casa is near Hostal Atenas. On our last night we went at a Flamenco Bar and experience first hand singing accompanied by guitar and violin. No Entrace fee. The place is difficult to find because there is no intersection street. Luckily one of person we asked in the street was heading that way. It was fun!