Off to Spain!

I cut seventh period Thursday and headed to Dulles for my flight to Spain. My flight was on time and uneventful. I couldn't sleep, so I watched two movies, an Audrey Tatou (De vrais mensonges) and Morning Glory, both of which I enjoyed. The food was great -- especially as it was served with French wine. Air France is sooo the way to go.

Of course, flying Air France, one lands in DeGaulle to transfer. So not the way to go. First of all, the archetectural design is abhorrent. It looks like stunted fuselages scattered randomly across the landscape. Passengers then have to traverse this maze of fuselages to get from checkpoint to checkpoint, without benefit of clear sign postings, before boarding a bus on the tarmac for a standing room only ride to the connecting flight. I ended up sprinting the last 50 meters in my stocking feet to make the bus after passing the final security checkpoint. Not a pretty sight I tell you.

The remaining flight to Madrid was swift by comparison to the transatlantic crossing. After changing my money to euros, I purchased my train ticket to Seville. Unfortunately, the 4 p.m. train I was planning to take was booked, so after I was ticketed for the 12 n. train across town, I, too, booked!

En route the bus passed the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza where I had hoped to get a Jean-Leon Gerome poster for Chris. Due to the time and my total disorientation, I did not stop, but continued to the station and the AVE train to Seville. Train was great. Comfortable (even in coach class!), panoramic windows, beautiful countryside, and uber fast.

Two and a half hours later I was at San Justa station in Seville. I am totally sure I snored on the train -- both due to the polite smiles I received from other passengers and the startled feeling on awakening!

Seville's transportation system is pretty sweet, so I was easily able to find a bus to the University and from there traverse the twisty, cavernous alleys of the Santa Cruz district to the hotel. The street names are posted quite consistently on the walls of the corner buildings, so map guidance is a breeze.

Hotel Alcantara is a small boutique hotel. It was very sweet and proved to be very convenient to everything we wanted to see. I got settled in, then wandered back to the bus to the airport to meet Sami. After we returned and she settled in, we went out for tapas and sangria before cleaning up, and settling in to bed!