After my introduction to our time in Lisbon the other day, I got to thinking more about our time in Portugal. We really did end up leaving with a totally different view of the seaside city than when we had arrived and all in all, really enjoyed Lisbon. The colorful… Read more
I’ve got to be honest, Lisbon kind of shocked me. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting and at first as we wandered the city (albeit pretty tired from our early morning flight from Spain), but we were kind of taken aback. At first glance Lisbon seems to… Read more
Now that I’ve finished all the recap posts from our trip through Spain, I hope you’ve fallen just in love with the country as I did. It’s an incredible place and my love affair with Spain, I feel, has only just begun. Spain is one of those countries that… Read more
Granada surprised me. Whereas the rest of our stops in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla) felt very European, Granada felt very Middle Eastern in nature. From the food to the architecture to the languages spoken on the streets, Granada is very much in close relation to it’s near neighbors, Morocco… Read more
When we added Granada to our Spain itinerary, there was no question that one of the main draws to this ancient Southern Spanish city is the incredible Alhambra fortress high above the landscape. We found out quickly, that while the Alhambra is definitely the top draw for people coming to… Read more
On our last day in Sevilla, we really only had the morning as our train to Granada left mid-afternoon so we headed out after sleeping in toward the Triana district of Sevilla. This area right over the canal is a more local area and we were curious to see it…. Read more
After our morning spent taking in Sevilla’s tourist attractions like the Giralda Tower and the Real Alcazár, we wanted to get a better taste of the rest of the city, so we headed out that afternoon (after a siesta of course) to see the rest of Seville. The city is really… Read more
Spending my childhood in the Middle East has created a lifelong love affair with Arabic design. My favorite architectural designs and patterns always stem from a Middle Eastern influence and so it’s safe to say that I knew I would fall head over heels in love with the Real… Read more
After taking in the dawn in Sevilla, we headed back to the hotel, slept a bit more and then got going to explore the city during the day. Our first stop: the Sevilla Cathedral and Giralda Tower. Our fantastic hotel was only about a 5 minute walk from this… Read more
We arrived in Sevilla in the evening and upon seeing the city a bit as the night was falling, we knew we wanted to start exploring bright and early the next day so we got up before the dawn in Sevilla to see the city. Nick always loves getting up… Read more
I think one of the things that sets Nick and I apart from other tourists when we travel is that we don’t base our trip around what the guide books say we should do. We make a list of things we want to see and do, but if we don’t… Read more
Whenever we travel, one of our favorite ways to get from place to place is by train. It’s something I wish the West Coast of the US did better, because in Europe and other places in the world it’s so convenient and the pros almost always outweigh the cons: you… Read more
Our final day in Madrid we caught the train to Sevilla around 4pm, so we spent the remaining time taking in alleyways that surrounded our hotel, wandering through Retiro Park, checking out the famous Metropolis building and ending with a long Italian lunch in the sun. We started at our… Read more
We only had 1 overnight in Madrid at the lovely ME Madrid but since it was so centrally located, we still got to see a lot of the city. Madrid had a very different feel than Barcelona, it’s more ornate in a way, more traditional. I find it hard to… Read more
We’ve started getting upgraded a lot at hotels when we travel and one of my favorite things is getting an upgrade to a beautiful room with more space and a gorgeous view. The thing is, getting upgraded at hotels is a whole lot easier than getting upgraded on flights,… Read more