Today is Matt´s birthday. We celebrated by waking up at 7 in the morning in Barcelona, dashing to the metro station to get to the train station, hopping a high speed train to Madrid (2.5 hrs), then taking a final train to Sevilla (another 2.5 hours), where we are now staying in a quaint old 3-story house converted into a hostel.



The Spanish countryside was beautiful. Immediately outside of Barcelona were dozens upon dozens of small vinyards and farms. Old stucco and stone houses littered the countryside, accompanied by an occasional small city. Each small city had its own cathedral in the center, which was easy to spot, even at 300 km/hr. As we traveled further away from Barcelona, the land became rockier and less amenable to farming, but no less beautiful.



My immediate impression of the people of Spain is that they are welcoming people. Barcelona was a busy metropolitan city, occupied by not only Spaniards but thousands of tourists from all over Europe and the globe. Every restaurant on the major roads (i.e. Las Ramblas) had menus in Spanish, French, and English - at least. Any the people that worked in the shops respected us Americans, which was pleasant.



Now, in Sevilla, the population is less touristy and more Spanish. Today, we did some shopping and have a big day planned for tomorrow, consisting of visiting the 3rd largest cathedral in the world, a 7th century Moorish castle, and attending a Flamenco show at 9pm. We are hoping to have a taste of traditional Spanish life in this vibrant city.