POR FIN. I'VE FINALLY DONE IT!

I'VE BEEN INSIDE ALFONSO XIII, THE NICEST HOTEL IN SEVILLA. It's where all the celebrities go when they visit. NOT KIDDING. Okay, I didn't take any pictures because I was going there with my friend, whose parents are STAYING THERE for a few nights, and I didn't wanna feel creepy. But I will show you GOOGLE'S PICTURES

Here's the outside of that GORGEOUS PLACE.

But before I go into the story - my abuela always calls me 'reina' when I leave or after she says Buenas Noches, but I never realized that's what she was saying until now.. I thought it was niña or something.. but reina means QUEEN. It's probably similar to how moms and dads call their little daughters 'princess'... but I was like AWWW.

Okay anyway, Alfonso XIII. Beautiful on the outside. Ever since I came to Sevilla I was like, I NEED TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE THAT WORKS THERE, or find someone that stays there, and befriend them so I can see the INSIDE. WELL TODAY WAS THAT DAY.

My friend Molly has her parents visiting.. and let's be real, they've GOT to be loaded if they took 12 days off work to visit SPAIN .. and they haven't just been in Sevilla, they've been taking trains and planes within Spain going all over. SO IF THEY ARE STAYING IN ALFONSO XIII... daaaaaang. So after class, Molly was like, I'm gonna go visit my parents in Alfonso XIII, wanna come? And I was like OH MY GOD RACHEL THIS IS YOUR CHANCE. OF COURSE YOU WANT TO COME. But class gets out at 8:30, and dinner is usually around 9:30 or 10, so I was like sure I'll come but I don't know how long I can stay. 

WELL WE WALKED OVER. AND I COULDNT BELIEVE WE WERE GOING INSIDE. There were a whole bunch of NICE cars (Audi R8s?? Does that mean something to anyone else? It means nothing to me) outside.. apparently they were having some event .. TEST DRIVE? I don't know.

So we walk inside, it's gorgeous. Her parents are on the second floor, so we go to this FANCY DOOR and open it and it's this WITTLE ELEVATOR.. we get in with some French people, and get out on the second floor. They're in Room 227.. Molly knocks on the door and her Mom answers and invites us in.. I'm like THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME SEE YOUR ROOM I'M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW.

This is what their room looked like:

THIS IS WHERE MY WEDDING NIGHT SHALL BE.

So gorgeous. So Molly and her parents talked, they were very nice, her dad was a jokester.. They're from California, so they were all excited about OBAMA WINNING and I was like I go to school in DC, so all my friends ran to the White House after the win! And then they were like Wanna stay for dinner? And I said I have something with my Señora, but they invited me to dinner tomorrow so YAY. Actually, they invited me to dinner at Abades Triana, that place along the river that I may have mentioned NITO told us about... he payed $150 for two people. Oh my gosh.

But then they were like, well would you at least like to stay for a drink? There's a bar downstairs. AND IT WASNT LATE YET AND I WASNT READY TO LEAVE THIS HEAVEN SO I SAID YES. So we go down to the Tapas Bar, getting a little lost on the way but it doesnt matter because it's SO BEAUTIFUL, someone is playing piano music but I can't find the source of it!

So we get to the tapas place, and the waiter is KINDA CUTE and very sweet and we sit down... Molly and her dad argue over who's going to order because Molly wants to impress everyone with her Spanish and her dad just likes to order (it was cute hah). THEY GOT JAMON IBERICO AND TWO PLATES OF CHEESE SO OBVIOUSLY I WAS IN HEAVEN. And fruit! So many delicious things! And we were just talking about our Señoras, and where her parents had traveled too, and lots of things! And I got a tinto de verano! They were so nice, they treated me... Molly and I just found out we both share TRAVEL ANXIETY and they suggested we both go to Barcelona together.. which is definitely an idea, I'll have to see the price!

And then, it got to be 9:55 and I got worried I wouldn't be hungry for the dinner my Señora would have prepared, and Molly's mom was like 'Rachel if you need to go, it's no problem! We'll see you tomorrow!' Which was nice of her, because I didn't know how to politely say I had to go, so that was lucky hehe. So I stood up and shook the parents' hands, they were so nice to have treated me, and just nice in general! Apparently they're having a tour tomorrow of the hotel which I was invited to BUT I HAVE CLASSS WAHAHAHAHAH.

Anyway, I start leaving, and I walk out of the bar, and I pass the waiter who for some reason is not at the restaurant. And I say 'Hasta luego!' and he smiles and says something like 'Muchas gracias. Buenas noches, Rachel.'  IM NOT KIDDING IM PRETTY SURE HE SAID MY NAME. Now, I had my backpack with me (that has my name on it) and I know that a couple times the father had used my name when asking if I wanted coffee or something, so maybe that's how he'd heard it... I did like, a double take, because he obviously pronounced it very Spanish-y (and adorable) so I wasn't sure if he actually said it, but what he said is not similar to any Spanish word, SO THAT MUST HAVE BEEN IT. So I thought that was SUPZ CUTE so I left smiling.

And I walk down the stairs to exit, and the doorman turns around to say goodnight, and he must've seen my big smile because HE gives me a big smile (he's cute too.. good idea of that Alfonso XIII, hiring beautiful employees to work at SUCH A BEAUTIFUL ESTABLISHMENT) and says 'Hola! Qué tal!' and I say 'Hola, bien y tú?' and with another big smile he says BIEN. But it was raining so I was walking very fast but I DONT MIND BECAUSE IT STILL HAPPENED AND AS SOON AS IT DID I WAS LIKE MY BLOG MUST KNOW.

Oh, and I didn't even have to worry about messing up my abuela's dinner plans because she was just gonna have me heat up some pizza, but since I already ate, no pasa nada, save it for another day! I did eat the salad and a banana though. I haven't been eating Arroz con Leche y Canela lately. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

I don't REALLY regret not taking pictures, because as beautiful as it was, it really was just a hotel. I'm sure if I got to explore more I would have taken pictures, but yeah.. just a very beautiful hotel.

AND IM SO GLAD I FINALLY GOT TO GO INSIDE.

LOOK AT THIS

AND THIS BATHROOM SO BEAUTIFUL I WANT TO CRY