Exploring España: Family Weekend

FIRST, look at this tree: There are clumps of leaf explosions at the end of every branch! Incredible. I don't understand how this tree works.

CÁDIZ:

So, last weekend, I had the wonderful experience of meeting my family in Madrid to begin our journey of southern Spain. With all of our busy schedules, it's near impossible to have family get-togethers in the States. Imagine my excitement when finding out that we were not only having a family vacation, but one in SPAIN of all places :)

First stop was Cádiz, an insanely beautiful and relaxed city on the beach. Where every court/plaza looked like this:

With INCREDIBLE Lion King-esque trees that look like this:

We enjoyed beautiful weather - sunny, warm days with some cool, breezy evenings - delicious food, and a gorgeous beach. Every meal was a mini adventure. We tried some cazón (recommended to me by both by host mom and intercambio) which I later found out was dogfish, gazpacho, and my favorite: tortillitas de camerones. They are fried potato dough things with seasonings and little shrimp inside. SO GOOD. We had to get them twice. The picture shown below is the first time and the fried part tasted just like Arby´s french fries. Mmmmmmm...

One either side of the beach was a fort and castle and it was really cool to check them out. On the edge near the fort, everyone had parked their boats. Just anchored them wherever they wanted. No big deal.

We strolled through this nice park area near the beach. There were some statues representing the city of Cádiz, one including fire, and sooooo much pretty vegetation! Ah! I love the plants that grow in this type of weather! So exotic and interesting. Here's a birds of paradise tree (shout out to my floral department friends):

Sunset with my mommy :) It was bright until about 10pm. Amazing. In Cádiz they get to watch it rise over the water and set over the water.

SEVILLA:

Sevilla is about an hour inland and is a very beautiful and historic city. On day one we came across this outdoor,vintage flea market. Tons of people were selling coins and currency, stamps, or paintings. My brother got an old coin from some competition years ago.

This is the giant and gorgeous cathedral only two blocks from our hostel. The details of the interior were mesmerizing. The ceilings (my favorite), organs reaching from floor to ceiling, statues, and decorative borders all around. There was also a bell tower that we climbed not knowing that it was 34 RAMPS. It was never ending. But worth it. We were able to see some great views of the city and, of course, see the bells!

This was the best meal we had. The best dish at the top right is cheek of lamb (right, dad?), the middle is some spinach garpanzo bean deliciousness, bottom is some seafood paella. I also ordered a mega tastey hamburger. Boring, I know. But it was better than any I've had in the States = worth it.

The vending machines in Spain sell beer. Needless to say, my bro and padre were digging it. I love my family.

Day 2 we went to Alcazar Palace. I was most excited about this one. I had heard there was a giant garden in the back and I looooove pretty nature. The palace looked like a fort on the outside but inside there were tons of plazas, fountains, intricately decorated buildings, and almost everything outside had pretty painted tiles.

First. Check out this other funky tree. It has hips?!? Why can't we have these trees in the states?