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Why Seville tops as one of my favorite cities!

When you think about visiting Spain, the first cities that come to mind are probably Barcelona and Madrid! That was the case when I started to plan out this trip, but things changed as I started to do some research. Initially, Seville only served as a resting stop for us between Madrid and Morocco. However, the more I looked into it, the more interesting places I found. Seville is a small enough city to explore within a few days, but also a city we did not feel like leaving. We enjoyed our time there and did not waste a single minute. Even on our last day there, we explored the city early in the morning until it was time for our train back to Madrid. If you are planning a trip to Seville, check out all the things we did there! I will also post about all the wonderful restaurants we tried and loved!

Real Alcazar De Sevilla

The Real Alcazar is the most popular tourist attraction in Seville, but there are a few things to keep in mind if you plan on going. The word “Real” translates to “Royal” and is pronounced “Re- AL”. So if you are looking for directions, don’t ask for the real Alcazar. There is no fake one! Secondly, be sure to look up how the entrance of the royal palace looks. The entrance is just a big gate with a huge line of people in front of it. It does not say “Entrance” or “Real Alcazar” anywhere there! Since Seville was actually a stop for us, I did not book tickets in advance to the Alcazar. If you plan on visiting, it is best to get your tickets online, in advance. This will help you to skip the lines and get to the front.

Catedral De Sevilla & La Giralda

The Cathedral of Seville is a huge Cathedral located in between all the hustle and bustle of Seville. It covers a huge block or two and is beautiful from any which angle you look. The Giralda is the bell tower located at one end of the Cathedral. You won’t miss either if you are in the area! We spent some time sitting on the steps nearby and people watching and staring at the magnificent church.

Plaza de Espana

The Plaza de Espana is a larger than life place. Looking out at the wonderfully made and symmetrical semi-circular building, you realize the beauty of Spain. We walked around the whole area and spent lots of time there. My husband rode on a Bird scooter around the area (before the bridges). We also toured the area on a horse carriage with my parents and we even rode a paddle boat in the small water way along the plaza.

Parque de Maria Luisa

We explored the whole park on a horse carriage with my parents initially. This gave us a quick tour of the whole place without having to walk the whole distance. But we loved the scenery and the vast area so much that on our last day, we walked to the park with my dad. We got these cyclotour bikes and rode around the park on it for about thirty minutes. This was ideal because the park is huge and this allowed us to park the bike and get off whenever we liked and get back on.

Las Setas De Sevilla

The Metropol Parasol is a big wooden structure located in the Plaza de la Encarnación. Since our Airbnb stay was only a block away from this location, this was the first thing we walked to! Because I had not looked into this structure, I did not know that there was an entrance and a pathway on top where you can see the whole city from! Definitely missed the opportunity for this beautiful view. I suppose we were in a bit of a rush to get to the main city. Lesson learned.

The entrance fee for this is only 5 euros and the best time to visit would be either early morning or late evening, to see the sun setting on the city!

Plaza de Toros

Tip: Make sure you have the right
plugs to use in Europe!

The plaza de toros is a grand bullring used for bull fights and includes a museum that shows details of bullfighting. During our last day in Seville, we walked by the plaza and stopped to take a look. As an animal lover, I didn’t think this is something I would enjoy.

Food

One of the restaurants we ate breakfast was at the Spala Imagen (Grupo Spala). Several people, including our airbnb host told us about this small restaurant. It was packed when we got there, but their service was decent. We ordered some coffee and green tea along with Spanish omelettes and paninis, which were all delicious. We also tried potato tapas that morning, but honestly did not care much for it.
The coffee in Spain has got to be one of our favorites. Even my dad, who doesn’t drink coffee on a regular basis was having at least one cup a day.

100 Montaditos, Seville

This was one of our favorite restaurants in Seville! Located conveniently right in the midst of the bustling city, this is a great place for a quick bite. We tried out a few different kinds of hotdogs out of the 100 kinds they had, hence the name of the store. We enjoyed it so much that we returned the next day for lunch! Hubby also loved the variety of beer. And did I mention the prices were very reasonable for a spot like this?!

They have a few locations in Florida and more coming soon! Check them out here!

So, for the main question. Will we come back to Seville?
Tip: Feel free to dress
less conservative
while in Europe.
But keep it classy!

If I got the chance to visit Seville again, I definitely would for a day or two! There were a few things that we did not do because of not getting tickets prior and because my
parents were traveling with us. We skipped out on visiting a famous place because of the long line and not being able to wait for so long there. If given the chance, I would love to go back and visit once more just to do the things I missed out on!

I felt that there were more things to do here in Seville than in Madrid. I’ll have a post coming soon on the rest of Spain. Until then, check out all the cool things we did in Italy here!

How to get around in Seville?

Since my parents were with us during the trip, we opted for Uber, taxis and a little bit of walking. If it was just my husband and myself, we would have gotten the City Sightseeing Bus tickets to tour the whole city and done a lot more walking on foot. It only costs 21 euros for the basic pass and 29 for the premium (10 and 16 for kids, respectively). Kids under 4 get to ride for free! This pass allows you to ride for free for 24 hours and includes stops at all the major sightseeing locations. The premium pass will give you a few extra perks such as a 1 hour free bike rental, free pass to the aquarium and more!

Tip: There will be many people handing you a brochure for the sightseeing tour. TAKE ONE even if you decide not to use the bus! It has a big map and so much valuable information on it.

Spain travel documentary

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How to catch a ferry from Spain to Morocco!

When I was planning our Spain & Morocco trip, one of my biggest fear was the ferry ride. Planning how to get from Seville to south of Spain, and then from there to northern Morocco was not easy. With the distance, my parents and the little time we had, making this trip hassle free seemed close to impossible. After tons of research, I finally decided on how to make this long stretch of commute in just one day. And it turns out everything went very smoothly, with no interruptions or problems.

From which cities can you get a ferry to Morocco?

In order to catch a ferry, you need to get to either Tarifa (slightly closer in distance) or Algeciras. Both these towns have daily ferries that go to Tangier and Tangier Med (40 mins further out from the medina). Depending on where you are starting from, traveling to one of these towns in Spain is the most difficult.

How to travel to these cities in south of Spain?

If you are traveling from Barcelona or Madrid, I would definitely recommend taking the train until you can get as far south as you can. We had a day in Seville and so our trip started from there. One option I looked into was taking a train from Seville to Tarifa. However, taking a train would take us six hours, which is three times longer than driving. The cost for train tickets for four people is also not cheap. But if the next option was not available, this would be our go to.

The second option was renting a car from Seville and driving to Tarifa. I looked up car rentals and luckily found Enterprise in Seville! But the only place to return the rental was in Algeciras. We decided to go with it and make the ferry trip from Algeciras. So, my husband took an international driving permit (click here for how to get one). He drove the 2 hours from Seville to Algeciras with our phones for GPS and printed directions for back up.

How about the rest of the trip?

We returned the rental at Enterprise, conveniently located right next to the ferry station. From there, we booked our tickets for the next ferry. One of the ferry companies offered a free 30 minute bus ride to Tarifa to catch the ferry from there. This was ideal, because the ferries leaving from Algeciras only goes to Tangier Med. Tangier Med is further out from Tangier and would require a 40 minute drive once we land in Morocco.

We relaxed, had some lunch at their cafe and waited for the bus, which took us to the Tarifa station. Soon after, we went through the checking and initial screenings and boarded the ferry. When we got inside the ferry, all our luggage had to be placed in a designated area. Once upstairs, we quickly went to immigration booth with our passports. The line was very long, so we tried to get there as quickly as possible. Sometimes the lines are so long that you can still be in line even after the ferry has arrived in Tangier. The ferry ride itself from Tarifa to Tangier is only about 45 minutes long.

(Side note: The immigration officer needs to see everyone in the group, holding their own passports. Since my parents were with us, we let them sit and we called them up when we got closer up in line. I am sure if you are traveling with young children or elder parents, they don’t mind if you do this. The people in the rest of the line were very understanding and kind.)

Ferry companies, prices and timings…

There are a few companies to choose from. Most of the ferry companies have around 6-12 round trips daily, each leaving 2-4 hours after the previous one. We chose the company called Intershipping, but it really doesn’t matter which one you choose because they all work with each other. What is important is getting the ferry at your most convenient time. All the round trip tickets were open tickets, which is great for travelers like me! Since we traveled during the off season, we were able to catch the next available ferry with no problem. That may not be the case during peak seasons.

Prices range from 40 to 90 Euros for a round trip ticket, depending on when you’re booking and traveling. We paid around 70 Euros per person, but you can pay much less if you book online. Since we were driving into Tarifa the morning of, we wanted to be more flexible.
Check out their website for more details HERE!

Tip: There is a 1 hour time difference between Spain and Morocco. Make sure you plan that into your itinerary!

What about landing in Morocco?

The ferries stop in two places; Tangier (inside the medina) and Tangier Med (40 minutes away from the medina).
We landed in Tangier, took our luggage and got right off. There is no checking or screenings coming into Tangier since we did that part on the ferry. However, there is more checking and immigration process going back from Tangier to Spain.

I hope this gave you an idea of how to travel from Spain to Morocco. Although it seems like a complicated plan, it’s really not that hard. If I had to make the trip again, I don’t think there is anything I would change.

Information for INTER SHIPPING
Time From Tarifa: 8AM, 12PM, 4PM & 8PM
Leaving from Tanger: 9AM, 1PM, 5PM & 11PM
Phone number: 00 34 956 684729
Email: info@intershipping.es
www.intershipping.es

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European Travels getting more complicated!

Anyone planning to travel to Europe in the future? Well, make those trips happen now!
2020 is the last year to travel to Europe without needing a VISA. Starting 2021, US citizens will need a Schengen visa or ETIAS visa waiver to travel to the European Union!

The ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) is a border control system put in place by the European Union to better protect it’s countries. If your stay is less than 90 days, you can apply for the ETIAS visa waiver, which is the new type of travel authorization to enter Europe. This VISA waiver will be valid for 3 years from the day of approval and can be used for multiple entries to the Schengen countries (see list below).
** limit of 90 days within every 180 day period.

If you are staying for more than 90 days, US citizens will have to apply for a Schengen visa.

The 26 Schengen Countries include:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are not part of the Schengen countries even though they are part of the European Countries. They have a separate set of requirements and rules for entering those countries.

Why is the the European Union making this change now?
They are doing this to improve security and safety of their citizens and visitors. It is also an effort to cut down on illegal immigration and terrorism.

Requirements & Rules for applying:

  • Apply via the ETIAS website by submitting an online form.
  • A valid passport
    • passport may not be more than 10 years old
    • passport must be valid for three months after the planned stay
  • Credit or Debit Card
    • to pay the service fee of about $8USD.
  • Email Address
    • to print and carry as a backup copy

Planning on getting an International Driving Permit? Check out this post!

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Seven Things you should know before visiting Italia!

Planning on visiting Italy or any of the neighboring countries? Italy was our first country in Europe and we did a lot of research prior to going, which made our trip rather smooth. However, here are a few things I wish we looked more into before our week trip to Italia!

1 You have to pay for water at restaurants. I know… absurd, right? For a city that has free clean running water from outdoor taps, you have to pay for water inside the restaurants? Yep. It’s true! So, what do Italians do? They drink lots of wine instead!

2 Most of Europe has a sales tax per night, per person, for hotel stays. We had charges ranging from 4 Euros to 6 Euros per night. Not too bad, but it can quickly add up. Plan for it because it’s in the fine prints when you book your hotels.

3 Pick pocketing is no joke. Keep your belongings close to you and always be aware of your surroundings. While we were at the Trevi Fountain, a lady had been pick pocketed nearby us. There are so many people in these tourist spots that it’s so easy for someone to come in close proximity to you and take something right out of your pocket! We were very cautious about this and kept an eye on each other and others around us all the time.

4 Italia is known for all the delicious lasagna, baked ziti, pizzas, salami, calzones, and more! With all that pizza and pasta carbs you’ll be eating, make sure to drink a lot of water or take something to prevent you from getting too stuffed up. No one wants to be feeling bad while on vacation!

5 The roads and sidewalks in most cities are not paved. They have cobblestones, which makes it harder to walk on. Having sturdy, comfortable walking shoes is key since walking the best way to get around in Italia. I recently got a pair of these Khombu Women’s Sandals from Costco for just $10 and I love it! I wore it every single day around Spain and wish I had it during my Italy trip.

6 The lines in the tourist areas are extremely long! It will help cut that down by a little if you are able to get the ROMA pass (or passes in other cities). I highly recommend the pass because it comes with free bus rides and quick entrance to some busy attractions. The easiest way to purchase them is to get it at the airport (you will need to show passports). We bought the 48 hour (2 day) pass and it was only 28 Euros per person- definitely worth it.

7 Read restaurant reviews BEFORE you go into the restaurant! Many restaurants with bad reviews add a tent-like extension to their store, hide the name, and try to attract tourists with menus and deals. One time during the trip, we failed to check the review before sitting down. Once we sat down and realized it was a terrible restaurant, I had to fake getting sick to leave. And they were not happy! >_<

Have you been to Italia? Anything else you would add to this list that I have missed?
On the side note, I also wish I knew just how good the food in Italy was. Check out this blog post to see all the must have food before your Italia trip!

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