Share some questions I received about our trip to Spain!
Hello friends! Happy Monday! How was the weekend? We spent some time at Aulani, which was an absolute DREAM. P and I are huge lazy rivers fans and love pretty much anything Disney.
For today’s post, I’m sharing a final recap of Spain. Sorry for taking so long, but I had a lot to say! I can already tell you that we will definitely be back and I’m thinking of seeing how much time we can spend out there. The pilot will be retiring from the Air Force in January (!) so that opens up a lot of options. Fitnessista in Seville has a nice ring to it, just saying.
Here are the questions you sent IG!
Spain Q&A post
Are there problems with language barriers? I would love to visit but I’m nervous about it!
So my family speaks Spanish, and I used to speak Spanish, so I understand it almost perfectly. However, I don’t have much experience or confidence Speaking Spanish. Growing up, I always answered family members in English, and in college, we spent so much time studying Spanish (reading novels, analyzing poems, writing essays) but very little time actually doing it. Becoming more comfortable speaking Spanish was a huge goal of mine, so I started taking weekly private Itaki lessons in January. It has made a huge difference and I don’t freeze like I used to!
It was quite amazing to get to practice in Spain, and I also found that they are extremely patient and I think they appreciate the fact that you are trying to speak their language.
If you don’t speak Spanish but would like to, I highly recommend Italki. You can also download this audiobook for phrases to know while traveling.
What made you choose Seville to visit over other cities in Spain?
We have good friends there so that was the main goal of our trip! They have lived in Seville for the past year and absolutely love it, and we knew we wanted to pay a visit (and also give P a chance to see her best friend in the whole world). Next time, we would love to see Madrid, Barcelona and head to Portugal.
How/why did you choose the area you went to and how was the food? I’m half Spanish
We stayed near our friends at Alfalfa Plaza. It was a great location, close to many restaurants, cafes and shops.
Hotels, areas explored, modes of transport, safety.
We ended up staying in a VBRO since we were going to be there for a longer period of time (about 10 days). It was so nice to have a small kitchen with fridge, living room and washing machine. For transportation we walked almost everywhere. We love seeing new cities on foot so this was perfect for everyone.
We rented a car for Cadiz and took the bus a few times to get from one end of the city to the other.
In terms of safety and cleanliness, Seville BLOWN ME AWAY. It’s honestly the first time in my life that I haven’t had to feel like a helicopter parent. It was very normal for children to walk down the street to buy something in a store and then walk back. I didn’t have to fear that they would go to the bathroom in restaurants by themselves. We also had several meals on patios while all the kids played in a nearby playground. It felt like a gift to give the kids, because even though we’re lucky to live in a safe area of Tucson, the rest of the city doesn’t feel the same.
What did you notice about the food and portion sizes?
The food was different from what I expected, but obviously we loved it. (You can see a food recap here!) There were more fries that I thought there would be and the vegetables were on the rare side 😉 At the same time, the food was still light and fresh. The tapas portions were also larger than I expected. In the states, tapas are like two bites. In Seville, they absolutely share the size.
I also want to mention here that we ate like KINGS (just like in Italy and Greece) and #1: the food didn’t make me sick or lethargic and #2: it was so incredibly cheap. Our most wonderful dinner (4 adults at Mariatrifulca with two bottles of nice wine and many dishes) was 200 euros. In the states, it would easily be $600+. I also got groceries one night (charcuterie board, two packs of chicken, snacks, beer, wine) and it was 40 euros. At Whole Foods, it would be at least $200. Our food costs in the states are out of control and unfortunately of a much lower quality than what other countries have access to.
How did you plan your trips? Do you use certain websites? Travel agent/consultant?
For this particular trip, I asked my friend Sam for recs and she gave us a bunch of amazing ideas. I usually like to plan one *thing* each day, whether it’s some kind of excursion or sightseeing, or a special meal. I don’t like to overload our schedule so it really feels like a vacation with lots of time to relax or open space for impromptu shopping and exploring.
We had so much time to relax and drink coffee (or cruzcampo or albariño) while the kids played in a nearby park.
I use travel agents for some trips (highly recommend Laura– closed Aulani for us!), and for others who are more “go with the flow”, I like to design myself.
So tell me, friends: what’s on your travel bucket list right now? Somewhere you would like to visit this year?
ho ho
Gina
