Stick a fork in this baby; she's done!

Final day in Spain.  Whew!  It was a day spent figuring out what goes in what suitcase to most effectively get everything home in one piece.  I think we're in good shape, thanks to my sticking to the plan of bringing clothes I didn't care all that much about and leaving them all behind.  Tonight, I will discard my houndstooth jacket (don't worry Cynthia, I have 2 more in the more fitting smaller size), 1 t-shirt and a pair of jeans that used to fit me to a T, but yesterday I was able to get off without unbuttoning them.  Yeah, sorry, I always lose weight on vacation and this one was no exception.

But mostly today was a day where we had a series of lovely encounters with fellow travelers.  First one was on the train from Sevilla to Madrid:  Darren & Frank and their 2 kids.  Our itineraries were practically mirrors of each other.  They hit the same cities around the same time and went to Las Fallas because Frank had seen a special called "Weird Festivals of the World".  He saw it on the History Channel; I caught it on HDNet.  They were so much fun to talk to.

Next we met a charming older couple who spent about 2 1/2 weeks each year walking a pilgrimage tour.  They started somewhere in France and would wind up somewhere -- I'm not sure.  I have to do some googling to find out exactly what they were doing.  But apparently, it's a big deal, you meet a lot of people and you recreate an historical pilgrimage.  What an interesting conversation we had!  They were from Cincinnati.

And tonight, our vacation capper:  a meal at Restaurant Botin, the reported oldest restaurant in the world per the Guinness Book of Records.  Founded in 1725 and continuing uninterrupted on the same spot ever since, it is either an over-priced tourist spot with mediocre food or a must-do experience when you visit Spain.  Our experience was a very good one.  The service with spot-on, the food really really good.  Our tummies are happy, our minds are happy, everything is happy.

On the way there, we got a little lost and asked a local policeman directions.  He spoke English and was as charming as any Spanish native we've met so far.  Shared his experiences at the restaurant ("I do not theenk eet ees the oldest, but they eenseest they are so") and the dishes he liked the best.  What a sweetie!  Our 3rd delightful encounter of the day.

And we continue our gentle re-entry into the big bad world (yeah, we've been keeping up a bit with the news, but not too much):  we have yet another splendid room in a splendid hotel and tomorrow, we do not hassle with a taxi.  I have arranged for pick-up service to take us directly to the airport where we will enjoy Envoy (aka "First") class on US Airways at least at far as Philly.  What a way to end our two weeks.

I'll sign off with some final photos.  If I'm too tired to enter another blog when I get home, I just want to thank all for following our adventures.  It made it oh so much more fun to know that we weren't traveling in a vacuum, but that others were keeping up with our adventures!

A good shot of the Cathedral showing the dueling architectural styles:  Christian church, Muslim bell tower.

And the Cathedral at night from the Solarium of our small hotel, just a 2 minute walk away.

Gene in front of the Ave train that was responsible for our going to Spain and not England.  He wanted the high-speed train experience and he got it.   "Ave" means bird, implying the train flies like one.  And they make it look like a duck.  Don't know if that quite fits the image they were going for, but it sure is cute, especially when its red nostrils light up.

Restaurant Botin

So I ordered the suckling pig specialty and dang!  it comes with a little tail and snout!!!! EEEEUUUUUWWWWWWW!!!!!   But it tasted pretty damned good and -- sorry vegetarians -- I'm higher on the food chain.

The view from our table.  Okay, the view from our table after 2 or 3 glasses of their Sangria.  Yum!!

The happy couple officially celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary and kiss the vacation goodbye!