Sevilla

It is a miracle of God that we´re still alive!! We drove from Sevilla to Cordoba with at least five different maps - none of which we could really read. Everyone we would ask would give us a map and highlight the route, with pen, drawing through the names of the streets. We decided to throw away most of the maps and just go by intuition. That mostly served us well. We arrived at the tour point in Cordoba at exactly the moment the tour was to begin. They were waiting for us! Each tour has been such a treat. Usually we just like to explore on our own, but the tours and guides have been great and we´ve learned so much!

Much of our time on the tour yesterday was spent in the cathedral/mosque, the Mezquita. This was the largest mosque in the world, but is now a Catholic church. I honestly don´t know how these people worship in these places because the art, architecture and all the decorations I find so distracting. We didn´t realize how effective the Spanish Inquisition had been at ethnic cleansing. There are no Jews or Muslims left. We also visited a historic synagogue in Cordoba, which is now just a museum.

We made it back to Sevilla driving. Some of the streets are so narrow it seems like there is a toothpick space only on each side. Didn´t see any casualties though. A vespa would be the way to go here. We spent the late afternoon and early evening walking, stopped at a Catholic church and stayed for part of the service. We noticed that all the people in the service were older. When we stepped outside, the steps were covered with young people drinking beers and wine from the bars across the street. We´re also noticed that children´s bedtime here must be on the go. We saw so many strollers and carriages, late at night and the children just sleep when they´re tired - I guess they´re used to being on the go.

Finally at the end of the day we stopped and bought a magnifying glass so that we can read future maps! We walked for a couple of hours last evening and passed a couple several times, dragging their luggage through the streets, looking for their hotel. We did know how they felt, but at least we weren´t lost for several hours.

Today we will be exploring Sevilla again, taking a tour of the cathedral and also several museums that we saw while walking last night. This cathedral in Sevilla is the third larges in the world. There are also many, many smaller churches. It is interesting to listen to the guides who only refer to Christians. Our hotel here in Sevilla is again beautiful and so well located. We walked acrosss the river on Tuesday night, ate tapas and enjoyed the view of the city from that perspective. The sidewalks and walkways here, as everywhere we´ve been in Spain, are works of art. We haven´t seen a plain concrete one yet. They are different types of stone and the ones in Cordoba were made from small river stones and in some areas were actually mosaics. No wonder people walk everywhere - it is a pleasure!

It is a good thing we´re walking because the food is so wonderful. We especially love the churros and I think of my mother the first time she ate beignets. She couldn´t get enough and that is how I feel about churros. Surely something so delicious could not be bad. I have a little anxiety about my next cholestrol test though! Oh well, we´ll just keep walking.

Thank you to anyone who is reading our blog! Lee & Marcie, I did not give Luke to a trucker! It was a sweet little old lady. Jane, you must indeed come back to Spain. Judy Craigo, I hope you survived and enjoyed Music Week at KOG! Please convey our gratitude again to KOG!! The certificate you gave us said "One Dream Vacation" and that is exactly what we are having! Our one regret is that we cannot speak the language. Terry could read a little of the Hebrew yesterday, I understood a few Latin words of the mass Sunday, but we´ve never learned Spanish! Joe, I could recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but no one here seems interested. Perhaps that will be our next adventure - immersion in another language!

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