Estamos en Espana (Jay's post)

Estamos en Espana, y me gusta mucho este pais!\r

\r

The last day and a half has been wonderul, we're having a great time in Spain. We landed in Madrid yesterday morning, and after dropping our stuff off at Hostal Madrid we ate some great paella and tapas at a local cafe: muy sabroso! Despues we went to El Musea del Prado and gazed upon some of the amazing works of Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, Bosco, Caravaggio y otros. \r

\r

After this we were exhausted and jet lagged (it was well after 2 am in Thailand, but only early evening in Spain). So we decided to go to a park, and what follows is my only complaint about Spain: the park police don't like it when you try to take a nap on the grass. First we went to El Jardin Botanico Real (Royal Botanical Garden) but found only park benches. So next we went across the street to a huge park: Parque de Buen Retiro. As soon as we walked on the grass (hoping to lay down and nap in the afternoon sun) a police officer started yelling at us. We were too tired to try to comprehend what he said but just moved along. \r

\r

At this point we decided to head back to the hotel for a nap. It was 9pm and the sun was still high in the sky. We'll see tonight, but my guess is that the sun sets around 10:30 pm this time of year. I didn't wake up from this nap until 3 am, and Jolene slept until 8 am! We are more or less on schedule today, I think.\r

\r

I'm glad that i took 4 years of Spanish Language classes in high school, but I wish I had practiced it more over the last 13 years. Actually, we were able to comunicate pretty well in Madrid. I understood 50 to 70% of what people said to me and was able to get my idea across. But today we took the speed train to Sevilla, where we plan to spend several days, and we're having more difficulties communicating here. I'm not quite sure if it's the Andalucian accent or whether the locals speak more rapidly. THey certainly seem to be having a bit of fun with us turistas. Anyway, we once again had a lunch that consisted of tapas and wine (we ate paella for breakfast in La Plaza Mayor de Madrid). We are loving it here!\r

\r

Having spent a month in SE Asia it is a bit of an adjustment being in Europe. First of all, it is no longer taboo for us to hold hands or even hug in public as is more or less the case in SE Asia (outside the norm, at least). Also, it felt a bit strange at first to wear shoes (actually sandals, we only wore shoes once in the last 8 weeks -- see post titled Socks) indoors. It was definately a nice change to not be sweating throughout the entire day (it's hot in Sevilla, but it's not as hot as SE Asia, and it's dry heat, not humid).

Then there's the sticker shock that comes after living in SE Asia for a month and then going to Europe and euros. I'm very glad that the value of the dollar jumped just before we got here, but it is still very expensive compared with Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. For example, our last few nights in Bangkok we spoiled ourselves at the Rembrant with a big, luxurious room with many amenaties (big bathtub, pressed bathrobes, slippers, nice view on the 20th floor, swimming pool, etc.) for the same cost of a nice but very small room in Madrid or Sevilla. Our taxi ride to Bangkok airport cost less than $3, but the equidistant one in Spain was closer to $30.\r

\r

Spain is absolutely beautiful. We love the quaint alleys and distincly European feel as we stroll through the city streets. At the moment we are across from El Catedral de Sevilla which is hundreds of years old and has Muslim and Catholic history. It's a beautiful structure, apparently the largest cathedral in the world (according to the lonely planet Andalucia). We are going to read more about it tonight and take a tour tomorrow.