My wife and I spent just over a week in Spain, returning home this past Sunday, April 20. We flew United, MSY-IAD-MAD going out and returned from Madrid through EWR. We focused on Southern Spain, hitting Seville, Granada, Toledo and Madrid. We had a wonderful time, the people were very kind and friendly. I had a little bit of a cheat code in that my wife is Cuban so she was in heaven getting to speak Spanish and it opened doors to us as tourists that we may not have gotten without her ease of communication. It was the first time in Spain for both of us. We have made several trips to Europe, and we were excited to see and live the Spanish culture for a short time.

Upon our arrival at MAD, we breezed through immigration and baggage pickup, and took a taxi to the train station in order to take the train to Seville. I was considering booking a car ahead of time, or even an Uber, but once we saw the amount of taxis lined up at the airport we just flagged the next one up and he immediately jumped out and loaded our bags. He dropped us off at the train station and gave us some instruction on where to go once we were inside.

The train to Seville was about 2:45, smooth and easy ride. We caught a quick nap on the train and once we arrived I had arranged a car to take us directly to our apartment. We booked a place on AirBnb in the city center. Tight streets, but the driver took us right to the front door. We spent 4 nights in Seville and it was lovely. Our stay coincided with Semana Santa, so we saw floats and processions in each city all week. It is a really big deal to each community and the people wait for hours to see some of the pasos (floats) exit the church on the backs of members of the brotherhood. A highlight for me was eating Iberian ham. I have long heard about it and it is a staple of the Spanish diet. It is literally on the menu of every place we visited. Most tabernas have cured hams hanging from the ceiling waiting to be cut. We also had amazing churros and chocolate. They were not like what we know as churros here, but more like a beignet. Combined with the rich melted chocolate, it made for a wonderful treat.

We rented a car our last day in Seville and the following morning we drove to Granada. Our first afternoon there we went to a church to see a procession exit. The band arrived and started playing just as the rain began. It rained for about 10 mins and then word spread that the parade had been cancelled. The pasos are made of wood and adorned with luxurious golden threads and silk so they try to keep them out of inclimate weather. The next day we toured the Alhambra. It was amazing. We rode the bus from town up the mountain to the entrance. This took most of the morning and after eating a bite we walked up the Albaicin neighborhood for a view of the palace, and had a drink at a rooftop. Beside the Alhambra, Granada also played a key role in Columbus' expedition to America. The Reconquista was complete in1492 and it freed up funds for Ferdinand and Isabella to move forward with exploration. There is a statue in the main square of Columbus presenting a map of the New World to Isabella.

After 2 days in Granada, we drove to Madrid. We stopped in Toledo for about 3 hours to have lunch and walk the streets for a bit. It is a medieval city and was very crowded. We could tell we were close to Madrid as the city was full of day-trippers. The crowd was a lot more "touristy" than what we encountered in Seville and Granada

Our last stop was Madrid. It was the busiest and most diverse city on our trip, which was expected. On our previous Euro trips, the larger cities have been our least favorite, as most major cities seem to be rushed and not a true picture of the country. While this was true in Madrid, we still had a great time, and the people in all of the shops, cabs, restaurants were very welcoming and friendly to us. We had our favorite meal of the trip in Madrid. It was a small restaurant and we were seated way in the back by ourselves for a bit. As the waiters would come by we would engage them in small talk and order some tapas and beer. After an hour or so and plenty of beers, a waiter began bringing us dishes on his own that he would eat on his breaks- not on the menu. I finally told him "no mas" then he went to the bar and brought us a few after dinner drinks. He was a lot of fun, and I will never forget his reaction upon seeing our tip. Our bill was 83 euro and I told him to round it to 90. He couldn't believe it. We heard him bragging to the other waiters that he had the best tip of the week. We usually tip 1-2 euros per meal, but he went above and beyond and the drinks were flowing.

All in all we had a great time. We spent 9 nights in country- 4 in Seville, 2 in Granada and 3 in Madrid. As always, I appreciate this board for helping plan our trip. The resources here are truly incredible.