6/7 Lee and I are getting quite used to bus trips and this one was the usual efficient, comfortable and cheap journey. I enjoy watching the countryside and saw lots of orange groves again along with beautiful sunflower fields. There were olive groves as we approached Seville. We made a brief stop in Huelva where we passed a megacenter and a shopping center that looked like it was from Katy. We didn´t see any traditional shopping centers in Portugal so this was a splash of reality. There were also atrocious housing developments being built around Huelva and Sevilla that looked quite similar to something Perry Homes would build. They were identical, within inches of each other, and just ugly. As we neared Seville we even encountered our first traffic jam and freeway construction which provided fond memories of home.

We had nowhere to stay in Seville and rather than spend the heat of the afternoon lugging our huges backpacks around in search of a room we ditched them at the bus station for 3€ . That allowed us to do some sightseeing while looking for a place to stay at the same time. The Seville Cathedral had short visitation hours so we went there first only to find that they were closed for the day. We´re getting somewhat irritated at these attractions that are arbitrarily closed for the day for some unknown reason.

The Real Alcazar is right across the Plaza de Triunfo from the cathedral so we headed there instead. The Real Alcazar was an incredible place that just can´t be captured adequately in photos. It is stunning and even moreso considering it was built in just 2 years in the 10th century. Originally a palace built for the governors of the local Moorish state, this still functions as a royal palace... the oldest still in use in Europe. The complex has an intentionally confusing floorplan and showcases several different architectural styles with each trying to outshine the others.

It was in the Real Alcazar that Queen Isabel debriefed Columbus after his new world discoveries . Even with all of the changes over the last 600 years, the Real Alcazar is still considered Spain´s best example of the Mudejar style. The complex just had endless places for good photo ops including the fantastic gardens. There is a Moorish garden and a little further what was used as the backyard for the Christian ruler.

At this point Lee insisted on finding a place (I was enjoying be free of my heavy backpack)to stay so we walked through the Barrio Santa Cruz to check a couple of places in Let´s Go. The first one we found, Hostel Bienvenido, was nice and had several different options. We settled on a large room with a little sunroom over the street for 36€ a night. Since it was siesta (roughly 2:30-5) and most everything was closed we rode the bus through town to retrieve our luggage from the bus station.

After ditching our bags we wandered around the extremely narrow, pedestrian streets of the Barrio Santa Cruz. It was the old Jewish quarter and the narrow streets helped provide shade from the brutal heat. We went to dinner at a great pizzaria from Let´s Go -Pizzeria San Marco. Lee pointed out that our dinners were often pizza but that tended to be one of the less adventurous meals which was my preference. This restaurant had a striking, spacious interior and was located above the ancient Arab baths. I also loved Spanish restaurants which are all now required to be non-smoking (bars are excluded) .

Our excellent meal was followed by a stroll through the pedestrian-only streets of the neighborhood. It was great not having to contend with traffic. Seville is building a light rail system that looks to be almost complete (and very similar to Houston´s). Throughout the city there are numerous parks and gardens providing great green space. I visited Seville 15 or more years ago and was not impressed. The city has really done a great job of making itself more tourist-friendly and sprucing up the town. There are a few too many US chains - Starbucks, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, etc. for my taste. The architectural styles made Seville a really neat city in which to walk. You´d just stop and admire one building after another. We headed back to our hostel around 11pm and I was just amazed that all of the restaurants were full of energetic diners (on a Thursday). I may never get used to European schedules.

6/8 Took a daytrip to Cordoba (see separate entry) . Returning from the train station we walked down to the Plaza de Espana which Matt had recommended. The structure is very impressive but is in deteriorating condition. It is a huge building and must have been incredible when it opened in 1929 for an international fair. Across the street is Maria Luisa Park which is a pretty urban park with jogging paths, lakes, and a wide variety of plant life. Some trees were just enormous including monster magnolias which provided much needed relief from the 34 degree(C)weather.

Lee and I strolled down Constitucion Avenue which is the main street in town and a big, pedestrian-only people-watching mecca. We found another cool restaurant, Pizzeria Tia Mana, from Let´s Go. We were intrigued by the Mexican menu items. After several probing questions Lee settled on the chicken burrito while I was nervous about the Mexican food and picked the Pizza Americana. This pizza had chicken, chorizo, egg and corn on it which I have never seen served anywhere in America! It actually wasan´t bad but was an unusual taste . Lee´s selection looked much better and got an excellent review.

Lee and I headed back to the hostel after a long day and walked and walked and walked. We started noticing the same people over and over and realized we were going in circles. Barrio Santa Cruz is just a maze of these narrow streets with no landmarks and few street names. We consulted a couple of maps and finally found our way. We can sleep in tomorrow since the Seville Cathedral doesn´t open until 11am and our bus doesn´t leave until 3pm.

6/9 Headed to the cybercafe this morning to work on travelogue. Lee and I went to the Seville Cathedral when it opened. The cathedral is the third largest in the world after St. Peter´s and St. Paul´s. It is absolutely massive on the inside. The ceiling is 37 meters high. No flash pictures were allowed so it was impossible to convey the enormity of the church. It is cavernous on the inside yet has very intricate stonework and detail. It was pretty incredible to see the tomb of Cristopher Columbus. I wondered what kind of shape he was in after all these years.

The Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. It was started in 1184 as a mosque but was converted to a cathedral in 1248. Construction on the current cathedral took place between 1434-1517. Lee and I climbed the Giralda Tower for great views of Sevilla.

We then headed off to the bus terminal for our 15€ trip to Tarifa.