Sunday, March 22 - Triana, Plaza de Cuba, Los Remedios, Feria grounds, Metro

The first week we were in Spain we had beautiful 70 degree sunny days.  Last week it rained or had a chance of rain sporadically throughout the days.  And as we approached the weekend, Scott and I wanted to do some exploring, but with the weather in mind.  Luckily, the rains held off for us both days and we were able to explore outdoors.  Some of our indoor options included being in the car and touring around the outlying neighborhoods, Ikea (yes Gabi, we have one of those here too - crazy, huh?), or a big hardware store similar to a Home Depot or Lowe's (Leroy Merlin).

Back to Sunday's adventures.  There's a neighborhood called Triana that's just across the canal.  It's about a 15-20 minute walk from the apartment and it has loads of restaurants and cafes overlooking the water.

We walked along the water on the western side of the canal.

Here's a view of the Torre del Oro from the other side (aka - not our side).

Scott climbed up the stone stairs and enjoyed the view to the other side, and also the view peering down at the rest of us.

Here are Devon, Rosa, and I quacking along with the ducks in the river and looking for fish.

We stopped for unch in the Plaza del Cuba.  We had a few tapas to continue to try to find new foods that we like.

From there we strolled down the pedestrian street of Calle de Asuncion.  Even with it being Sunday afternoon and not too many businesses and shops open, I still really enjoyed it.  I look forward to going back there when everything is open.

We did find some shops open including another branch of the place where we'd bought our phones on Sunday.  It turns out that my phone was a lemon.  Before realizing that, I probably spent 1.5 hours in the store with one of the workers trying to figure out why it wouldn't leave roaming state.  Eventually he recommended that I keep it there and let them spend more time trying to figure it out.

The kids were somewhat patient, but 1.5 hours is too long to wait.  Luckily, there was this playground just 2 blocks away that Scott took the kids to.

Afterwards we stopped at this bakery for an afternoon snack.  The kids had what looked and tasted a bit like French toast.  I had a pastry with spinach and pine nuts inside.

Our intention was to get to the Parque de los Principes.  On the way we saw this and we were drawn to it.  It's part of the fairgrounds for the big fair that takes place in Sevilla every April.  It's called Feria de Abril.  We've heard great things about it.  And, after seeing the fairgrounds, we're now even more excited for it.  

Finally we made it to the park.  It had a bunch of playgrounds all next to each other.  And there are beautiful trees, and pergolas, and grass, and fountains, and a dog park, etc. in the park.  We plan to go back.

From there, we hopped on the metro to get to the other side of the canal.  We did this to:

1. try it out
2. because Devon spent the entire day saying that all he wanted to do was ride a train

The train ride was just 2 short stops, but it definitely made Devon happy.

From there (Puerta de Jerez) we walked the 2km+ home.  

We tried to stop and buy some groceries for dinner, but nothing was open (Sunday afternoon).  And I wanted to get home and bring the dry laundry inside.  With all of the rain, it had been hard to keep up with getting clothes dry.  With the sunshine we had during the day, I took my chances.  It paid off.  And shortly after returning home, it did indeed start raining.

That night I had the chance to watch UVA in the NCAA tournament (too bad it was a loss).  Scott streamed it from ESPN.com on his computer and hooked up to our tv.  And we had the chance to skype with my parents, Scott's mom, and the Jackson 5.