Me encanta Sevilla!

Sevilla most definitely stole my heart.
The passion, kindness, creative spirit & gregarious nature of the people in this city is palpable.
It's nearly impossible to find a seat at a restaurant on the weekend because it's packed with friends and family dynamically engaging with one another for hours & hours & hours. People do schedule in a lunch date, and then get on with their regular life. People go out to lunch to be present with friends or family for hours. And, the waiters don’t mind a bit. Actually, the waiters don’t even check on you after you’ve received your food. It’s not customary to turn tables over at a high rate here. 

Spanish people work very hard and long hours, however, they also seem to understand how to balance work & play.

I loved walking Sevilla’s city streets solo at night.
I never felt alone.
 And, I most definitely never felt nervous, instead I always felt invigorated, welcomed, and alive.

Plaza del Toros

A place that left us all feeling a bit uneasy; bull fighting isn't for us. 

We made the best of it by being silly, acting like bulls & talking about the complex relationship humans have with animals.

Box of refuge for the bull fighter

Atticus blew off a lot of steam in this ring, running circles upon circles around the ring.

Mom & Cecilia art museum outing 

This charming man proudly showed me a picture of himself when he was thirteen years old.  In the picture he was learning how to make churros with his tio in a similar store across town.

Needless to say, the kids loved the churros con chocolate. 

Trevor and I are not fans- the chocolate way too sweet. 

Spaniards have quite the sweet tooth!

Sweet potatoes & roasted chestnuts, made daily by this man on the street in the Trianna district, are some of the kids' favorite foods in Spain so far. 

Taking a moment to relax & eat a falafel on the steps of the Catedral de Sevilla.

See the words written in bull's blood on the wall behind the kids? 

That graffiti dates back to the 17th century, and is believed to be the work of doctorate students celebrating their degree.

Catedral de Sevilla- third largest cathedral in the world.
Cecilia is already feeling a little cathedral overload:)

Walking, lots of walking.

Sunset pictures from the Setas de Sevilla

Plaza de España

Torre del Oro

La Barbera de Sevilla

In order to save money, I bought barber scissors & gave the whole family hair cuts. 

A restaurant that only served decadent chocolate (and coffee). 

This was a happy place for us all! 

                  After our chocolate treat, we made our way to Alameda de Hercules to play. 

       One thing we notice about Spaniards is that they laugh & play a lot together. We thought we   would emulate them and play a game Trevor and his brother made up called Hot Box. Yes, hot box.    It involves running between bases and trying to avoid getting hit by the ball the opponent throws at  you. We played this until we were sore from laughing & sweaty from running. Many people watched with curiosity, often laughing at our silly antics. The kids were doubled over and seriously red faced                  by the time we wrapped up to go to a Flamenco show near our place in Triana.                                                  

Bailando de Flamenco in Triana

Tapas at 10pm often meant napping on the walk home.

Trevor and I have always believed the best way to get to know a city is to wander the streets. The kids don't always consider this a fun activity, but most of the time they accompany us with smiles. More often than not, if given a choice to go for a walk or stay home and play Legos, they choose the latter.

Which is why I was surprised when I yelled "I am going to watch the sunset from the bridge. Be right back!" and two children gleefully pulled on their shoes, ran down 7 flights of stairs and burst off ahead of me down the street to watch the the colorful light show. 

Trianna Bridge (above)

Trianna Market (below)

Never bored. 

There is always an option to tell a story, read, write or draw.