Spain: Day 5 - Seville

 May 31st

We got up early today to eat breakfast out with Christi’s family’s lawyer. Many years ago Natalia’s aunt was in a terrible accident with a train in the states. It was in her best interest to be back in Spain with her family, but as part of the agreement her lawyer must visit her twice a year and see that she is well taken care. We happen to be visiting during such a visit occurred. So we sat with this lawyer that has known this family for nearly 20 years, truly incredible to know about this unusual circumstance that brings him to Spain from the midwestern united states twice a year! We had jamón y pan, cafe con leche and you guessed it…. Fresh OJ! 

From there we quickly gathered our belongings because we were headed to Seville to spend a few days together exploring before Max and I headed out to Italy by ourselves. 

We took a bus to Seville and checked into the coolest Airbnb near one of the shopping centers of Seville. It was all marble floors and walls, with a small kitchen and three bedrooms with AC units in each room. Thank goodness, because so much of Europe doesn’t have AC! 

We had a small lunch before everyone closed for siesta. From there we went to Aldi as a group which was conveniently located just a minute walk from our Airbnb. We were amazed at the two story building that held cheap wine, fresh bakery items (there was a bakery inside the Aldi!), and beautiful local cheese and meats and fish. As an Aldi fanatic, I was super impressed with Spanish Aldi. We bought a ton of drinks and snacks to have in the airbnb. From there we relaxed and took a nap and then got ready for our self-made tapas tour!

We all researched together different spots and went to 3 different tapas spots to drink sangria, eat small bites and sit and let the sunset in the background of the Seville ski. We headed to a dance club nearby (on a Tuesday no less) and were greeted by American throwback songs, more Barcelo y Coke Lites, and actually quite a crowd of tourists and local Sevillians alike! 

We stayed out into the night dancing and drinking, truly a Spanish experience we were living.

xx. 

Spain: Day 4 - Cadiz

 May 30th

Today we planned to go to Cadiz which is accessible by either ferry or car/bus. A few of us felt the night before more than others ;)

We got to the bus station and ordered a quick cafe con leche and jamón y pan to stuff down before boarding the bus. We didn’t realize at this time that Spain still required masks on their public transit and we were scrambling for masks while boarding! We ended up being short one mask and a nice passenger offered one to us. Whew, it was stressful, as the next bus to Cadiz wasn’t for another 2 hours. But we made it!

Mark and I sat together and planned out the morning, as a few. of others *ahem* were struggling with lack of sleep and too much alcohol. We decided to head to an ancient Roman Colosseum as our first stop in Cadiz. We did lots of exploring and walking through the streets of this 5 square mile island. Every street was picturesque and the water was brilliant and sparkling in the hot summer sun. 

We stopped for lunch on the most beautiful street and sat outside and shared tapas and sangria into the afternoon. We then walked to a Castillo de San Sebastian and Alex and Mike went for a little swim, while the rest of us decided against having wet clothes HA.

We then split up and loitered around the island, stopping for ice cream, to drink wine, finding little courtyards with live music. It truly was a beautiful city to wander, around every corner was something beautiful and delightful.   

here is European-Clout Maxwell 

xx

Spain: Day 3 - Chipiona

 May 29th

Today we headed out for breakfast. Jamon y pan with the choice of olive oil or a tomato spread which was kind of like salsa. And of course we had to have fresh OJ and cafe con leche. This became a sort of ritual for the mornings going forward hah!

Today we headed into the town center to shop, so Natalia, Cristi and I went into some shops to buy clothes and Cristi bought me and Nat scarves to wear in our hair like the Spanish girls do :)

We had a beautiful lunch of Spanish tapas with mussels, clams, fried sardines, squid, fish liver, and so much more. 

lunch in town & vino tinto

We then went to an old Chipiona original maker of Moscatel called Bodega el Castillito. Cristi bought us a bottle to take home and we cannot wait to share it with our families! It was delicious and was the perfect way to end our afternoon enjoying the town center. 

We drank coffee on the patio when we returned and took naps and relaxed. Cristi, Max, Mike and I decided to walk down to the beach and have a drink and continue our conversations at one of the chiringuitos. Max claims he had the best mojito of his life! We then ordered a few rounds of Barcelo and Diet Coke, which basically will become a drink of choice for the entirety of this trip in Spain! 

barcelo y coke lite

One neat thing about Spain is that they will pour your drink into a traditional Spanish tumbler (literally all the cups were the same shape and size, in every restaurant across Spain!) with these HUGE ice cubes that were spherical. They pour your liquor of choice over ice and hand you the glass along with your mixer of choice in a small glass bottle. So for example, all the rum and cokes we ordered we mixed to our liking, which I really appreciated! 

Natalia and Mark joined us and we all watched the sunset. Cristi was such a darling host and I enjoyed our time immensely getting to know her, her family, and her hometown in such an intimate fashion. I’m so thankful to have been welcomed lovingly into her family.

our beautiful hostess with the mostess, Cristi

We went eight deep in the Peguet so that we avoided an Uber into town, Max and Alex sacrificing their bodies by folding themselves into the trunk!!! Ridiculous. We ended up back at Trinity’s with Natalia’s Tío Manuel and drank until the early morning and returned back to hot Spanish-style pizza (good thinking ahead Tío Manuel!). Noticing a theme yet? 

Ciao ciao xxx. 

Spain: Day 2 - Chipiona

 June 28th 

We slept until 1pm. I guess we needed it! We got up and went to the beach and found a table at one of the chiringuitos and had a morning “summer beer” by Cruzcampo, sort of like a shandy! Lazed around at the beach until lunch time which was at 3:30. Natalia’s uncle prepares lunch daily for Natalia’s family. Natalia told us that it’s very common for families to gather every day to eat together for their “big meal” of the day. The evening usually consists of tapas or just a salad and bread. 

Normally her cousins and aunts and uncles all come to eat with her abuela. We sat outside on the patio and feasted on fresh salad with oil and vinegar, bread, olives, salami and ham, fresh goat cheese and manchego, home made fries, chorizo, more snails, steak and fried chicken that had been marinated in wine. We were in heaven. Then some relaxed by the pool and others went to the ocean. 

We ended up going back to Pericky again, since we got started to late and all the restaurants were really full and we have such a large group. We were joined this time by Natalia’s mom, Cristi and her childhood friend Marisol. So it made for eight adults. It was so delicious and the evening turned a bit cold! We went to a bar called Lo de la Lola and had a few more drinks and then us ‘kids’ went to Trinity which is an Irish pub where the party continued yet again until the early hours of the following day! 

Pericky

walking home at 4am

Nat & Tio Manuel

The weather was absolutely stunning. It’s like California, just sunny, breezy, coastal. The food is a lot of seafood, some fried and others fresh. The drinks — flowing and often in excess :P

Ciao until tomorrow!  

Spain: Day 1 - Chipiona

May 27th

Buenas!

Our next adventure and international trip is … drumroll…. Spain & Italy!

Our friends Mike and Natalia were heading to Spain this summer and we asked if we could join them!
 This trip was so special because we are staying with Natalia’s Abuela and Tía. Their beautiful home is situated across from the ocean in the colorful and coastal town of Chipiona outside of Seville. 
This was our first trip abroad as a couple and Max’s first trip to Europe! It was amazing being welcomed with open arms into such an incredible family and introduced to the culture of Spain by locals. 
Our first day we traveled via MIA -> MAD -> XRY. It was a long journey but it was an overnight flight that had us landing in Jerez de la Frontera at 5pm local time. We took a taxi to Chipiona and put on our swimsuits and went to Natalia’s cousin’s kiosko for Moscatel. This is a wine only produced in Chipiona and is much like sherry. We walked to the beach and sat down at one of the Chiringuitos, which are like small open air restaurants with outdoor seatings and covered tents and umbrellas. We relaxed and had some snacks and made dinner plans for later that evening. 

drinking summer shandys at chiringuito

disco dancing at Picoco

As many know, Spain is known for their laidback schedule and late dinners, so following suite we had tapas at Pericky at 10:30p sitting outside drinking wine, eating fried squid, langoustines al ajillo, tortillas de camerones, snails, croquetas, and so much more! 

We the went to Picoco which is down near the beach and we drank Puerto de Indias (gin) and soda. Downstairs there was a dance club and FINALLY Natlia’s brother Mark & friend Alex were able to meet up with us after a long day of traveling! We danced and sang and stayed out until 4:30am that morning. Definitely getting used to this kind of schedule ;) Teichenne Strawberry Liquor shots were a girly fav. 

Walking home along the beach, it was a successful and very full first day in Spain!