Zara

While sightseeing throughout Spain, we happened upon a store called Zara. It's a perfect blend of trendy and simple, chic and urban, young and adult. The prices points vary from cheap (think Old Navy prices) to more expensive classic pieces (more like a Banana or JCrew). I loved it! B was so sweet in allowing me to go into a few in the different cities in order to find the dress I wanted in my size. One I am wearing to a wedding this summer, so you'll get to see lots of pics! Zara has men, women, children, and home. The home stuff was incredible, and I wanted to bring so much of it home with me.

I think the Zara site is difficult to navigate, and you can't order the home stuff online from the states yet (HUGE bummer). But, for those who are fortunate enough, there may just be a Zara store in your town in the US. Funny that I have one not far from me (at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie), and I never knew! I'll definitely be heading out there occasionally to see what the American offerings are! Here is the list of all the American stores! Check it out and let me know if you go!

The end of our vacay................

The rest of our time in Seville was spent

1. Walking around more parks and plazas





2. Visiting the Cathedral (ehhhhh..... I apparently am not a true fan of Gothic architecture as I thought it was way overdone, too ornate, very dark, and not "churchy" enough for me. Can churches feel more or less "churchy" than others? Maybe because the worship area was so small and everything seemed devoted to the shrines all over rather than the point of worship- Jesu! I don't know.....it just didn't have the same life and devotion that I felt from La Sagrada Familia.)
From the outside
It was amazingly tall- this pic doesn't do it justice. I totally felt like a tiny mouse in there!

Christopher Columbus's tomb


3. Watching the UAFE championship game Manchester United vs. Barcelona. This was BY FAR one of the best experiences we had. I loved watching the locals get so hyped about their teams. Soccer is amazing, and I wish we Americans appreciated it more. Lots of good looking, sweaty men running around and you can actually see their faces (unlike football and hockey)??? Yes please!!
Can you see how sweaty we were? The bar was seriously wall to wall people and SO hot. Apparently there are no fire marshalls in Spain! There were even people sitting in the windowsills and on top of all the tables.



4. Walking across the river, having a drink at a cafe, and picking up gorgeous pottery pieces! B's parents gave us money for graduation, so we bought four round, blue and white serving pieces as a part of their gift. They're all different patterns but they're similar enough that they go well together!
The view from our riverfront bar.

A beautiful building on the river.

On Friday we took the train up to Madrid from Seville and took a taxi to our hotel. We stayed out at the Hilton which is by the airport. Our original plan was to take their shuttle into town, see the major plaza in Madrid, perhaps go to the Prado, etc. Instead we got to our hotel (it was incredibly modern, swank Hilton for sure. Much nicer than the one in BCN), worked out in the gym for an hour, layed by their super cool pool and just chilled. Since we were in a suite, we had access to the lounge on the 4th floor which had free internet access, heavy snacks out at all time, free drinks from 4-10 (wine, beer, cava, liquors), etc. We ended up playing cards up there for awhile while snacking and even ate dinner at the hotel. While I feel slightly bad that we didn't see Madrid at all, it was wonderful to just hang out and rest on our last vacation day. I think it made the long travel day flying back to the States the next day SO much better!

So, that was our honeymoon in a nutshell! We had a great time and would love to help anyone else who is interested in going to Spain. We definitely feel like we have great recommendations and also things to skip. Thanks to all of those who have read these long posts!! Mwah!

The Alcazar

Once we left Moraira, we headed to Seville for the end of our trip. The drive across southern Spain was one of the most gorgeous things we have ever seen. Lush farms with olive and orange trees everywhere, snowcapped mountains in the distance (yes, snow in Spain- who knew?), tons of countryside fields full of sunflowers, all just incredible. We were jaw dropped the whole trip!!

Our first morning in Spain, we did as our guidebook suggested and went to the Alcazar. I'm going to show you lots of pictures below, none of which do this palace any justice at all. It is a truly gorgeous, enormously expansive buidling which is still used by the King and Queen of Spain when they are visiting the area. There is no separation of indoor and outdoor spaces here. The light is incredible and there are gardens everywhere. There could easily be a semester long class on the architectural elements in the building with a strong focus on the ceilings. I've never seen more incredible work anywhere! Truly, the Alcazar and La Sagrada Familia are why everyone should visit Spain. Add on an amazing dinner in Barcelona and a fantastic lunch in Seville, and you are truly set for a great vacation!

The tile work in Seville is astounding. The yellow and blue combinations were my favorite.


Isn't the light here pretty? It shows off all the details that the Moors created before the Christians took over the building in one of the crusades.


There is no glass in the scrollwork below, so you can see how the indoors and outdoors flow so seemlessly into one another.


Yellow is one of the more dominant colors throughout the Alcazar, including most of the outer walls of the building.


Ceilings are below. The yellow one with the crest is my favorite, but all are so impeccably done that it's amazing!!





Blair in an alcove off one of the bedrooms. The planter pictured here is used throughout the building, and, not only are they huge, they are gorgeous! We wanted to steal one to bring home, but weren't sure how we would have fit it inside a suitcase!


Me inside the Alcazar


The lushness of the gardens.


The top of one of the sides of the building. I can't even begin to describe the layout to you because we got lost a few times throughout our tour!!


I'll end with a shot of our bed in our hotel in Seville. Do you know how excited I was to walk into the hotel and have this adorable pink and green toiled bedding just waiting for me? It couldn't have been more perfect!!

Moraira, Spain

Moraira is a darling beach town between Valencia and Alicante on the Mediterranean shore. We were staying in a family friend's house- part of the reason we chose Spain for our honeymoon was to enjoy our time at this house! What we didn't realize, however, is that this town is not Spanish at all. It is a German resort town and is definitely more German than Spanish, in every way. The property manager who let us into the house barely spoke a lick of Spanish, and she lives in Moraira year round! She was able to get across the word "banditos" to us. She kept waving one hand at us and saying "5 min" "5 min, everything gone." Apparently there have been a few breaking and entering problems in the area! We did FREAK out that night when, after coming home from our paella dinner, all the lights we had left on (as she told us to) were all out and the house was pitch dark. I was terrified and had B go in and check the whole first floor while I stayed in the car. We finally realized that the fuses were tripped- then we had to find and deal with a Spanish fuse box in the dark with only my cell phone as a light. Interesting first night to say the least!

The views were gorgeous, I loved cooking dinner with my husband, we enjoyed cava and wine while chatting about our future together, we went on long walks, we got great color, and we thoroughly enjoyed the pool! Below are a few pictures of our days there!!


A picture looking at the house from seaside. You can see the upper level of stairs that takes you to a deck on top of the house. We spent a wonderful evening enjoying drinks up there. Definitely one of my favorite memories.


The town esplanade


The port in Moraira. Gorgeous, no? We loved walking through all the boats (just like we do up north!)


The lighthouse at the end of the rocky pier. Isn't it pretty? Can't you just see it in Maine? Okay, maybe the houses in the background aren't reminiscent of Maine, but the light is perfect!


A beautiful open air bar that sat right on top of the Med.


Dinner at Options- a great English spot in downtown Moraira. Fantastic meal!


My Pimm's No. 1 at Options. It was Pimm's Cup, lemonade, strawberries, cucumbers, and mint. One of the most delicious things ever!


Me with Il Fach in the background (on the left).

Other sites in Barcelona as well as some Bubbly!!

So, I'm saving our amazing dinner post for later. I'm still dreaming about it in my sleep, and I just don't have the words to describe how amazing it was. Maybe I'll have B do a guest post- he's better with words than I am!

So, instead I'll show you a few random BCN pictures
The first is at Santa Maria Del Mar (gorgeous and old church), and the second is of their pews. I adore the look of these pews, and they just seemed to glow with years of use and refinishing. I am definitely traditional when it comes to churches, and I wish all pews looked like this. Give me a well made wood bench anyday over a cushy stadium style seat (I have enough padding back there :P).


B and I also went up to Montjuic which is their version of an urban park. They had gorgeous botanic gardens up there as well as the most adorable cafe. Our lunch up there was one of our best- good food, peaceful, great views, etc. It is also where the Olympic Stadium is. B was in heaven here. We've vowed we'll go to an Olympics someday- now it's just deciding when (he's voting for winter, I'm still stuck on summer).




My first Coca Light!! It definitely tastes different than Diet Coke, and it tastes SO much better with a lemon than without.


We took a tour of the Catalan Music Hall (El Palau). It was gorgeous inside but no pics are allowed as it is a private building. B and I both wished we had gone to a concert rather than gone on the tour as the tour was short and relatively uninteresting. Bummer! This font is on the outside of the building and I just adore it. Wouldn't it be a great font for an invitation??


Biggest croissant I've ever seen!!


We had to rent a car to get from Barcelona to Moraira (the beach town) and the Cava Region just happened to be on our way, so we stopped to do two winery tours and tastings.




The next two are of B and I checking out the cava bottle shaped car- fabuloso!




Isn't this an interesting wine rack? We almost had it shipped home to us! We just have no idea what our future house will look like our how the space will be configured, so, alas, it stayed in Spain.

Next up, the beach town......aka heaven on the Med!