Yesterday was a blog free day!

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Geo: 37.389, -5.99045

Yesterday was a blog free day! But you will be pleased to note that today is not but I will just recap on recent activites:-

Sunday: Today we will not collapse at 15:30 and succumb to the "Siesta" !!! An early start and we head left out of hotel towards the Casa De Pilatos a wonderful tile "encrusted" Palace owned by the same family since the 1500's. However their prize possession - some marble inlays had been "pilaged" by the British and now languish in The British Museum.

Equipment failure: We invested in an audio tour and were provided with "natty" hand held devices that you held up to your ear........Room 8......."This was the boudoir of The First Duke of Paella and who had it designed in the early Tapas style" ........and so on......suddenly mine burst irreversibly into Spanish...after the second room so I was non the wiser about any of the exhibits (despite Cathy's best efforts to repair, it was totally "effed"!!) The Palace and gardens were fantastic and well worth visiting.

Seville has a huge amount to offer: Lavish boulevards, palaces, ornate squares, cathedrals and cobbled alleyways all compete for your attention. The Parque Maria Luisa some 30 mins walk from the centre is well worth a visit. A huge ornate folly called the Plaza De Espana is the central attraction. Constructed in 1929 for the Great Ibero American Exposition it cannot fail to impress. In itself, it would be the star attraction for some cities. Fountains, lakes and ornate turrets festoned with figures and statues feast your eyes. There are also little tiled seats and murals depicting each town and city in Spain.

The Park itself is vast and well kept. More fountains and little ceramic object d'art abound. One is a memorial to a famous Spanish writer who wrote about "Love lost - love never found ---blah blah. Sadly, a major drain failure nearby stifled ones appreciation of this delicate work of art!!

Off we stomp again. This time making for the magnificent Seville Cathedral and La Giralda. The worlds 3rd largest and only a tad smaller than St Peters and St Pauls. The Bell Tower is a "puffing" 38 slope climb but provides superb panoramic views over the city. Yes slopes....no steps so that horses can ride up to the Belfy.

Again we collapse at 15:30 and head for our room......

FLAMECO!!

At around 1930 hrs we stoll out in search of Paella and Cervesa! Around a "cobbled" street corner I suddenly hear the unmistakable sound of male Flamenco singer. I hear North Africa in his voice - the Arabic musical world uses a different tonal system to the traditional 8 note octave in western music. It is emanating from a small bar. We are accosted by a little man in yellow shorts who had obviously had a few "sherberts" and we ventured in..........three young lads looking like drug dealers from Buenos Aires were playing and singing. We join in.....the little man in the yellow shorts is clapping and winking at all the women. He gives me a manly bear hug....the guitar plinks wildly....the singing reaches a Tappasy crescendo....this is the real Spain!

TODAY MONDAY WE HEAD FOR CORDOBA!! BY TRAIN!

Please click on this - you will need sound - a tribute to "my Spain" of the 1980s!!!!

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A major sight seeing day in store!!!!!

RENFE: The Spanish Train System. Wow - I remember my parents having to travel back from Spain by rail in the 1950s after a moderately bad car crash (minor injuries). The went 3rd class overnight and shared a cabin with a group of men playing cards, smoking strong fags and eating Chrizo. Hard wooden seats and very unpleasant. Todays Spanish Rail System must be the envy of the world. Modern TGV links - super hi-tech trains - punctual.

We arrived at Santa Justa Station in Seville just after 1000hrs and despite some poor Spanish on our part we were soon clutching our TGV tickets that would whisk us the 141km in just 40 minutes. At times we hit 250kph!

TIME UPDATE: 1015hrs - Train 2102 (AVE Class to Madrid Atocha - 2hrs 30 mines) glides out of the station. No garlic in air as I think back to my parents tales from the 1950's. This is a serious bit of modern kit that even makes Eurostar look a football special train from 1971! Through the smoked glass of our window I note we are in a parched arid region of Andulcia interspersed with small villages, olive groves, corn fields and quite impressive mountains on the horizon. In the distance you can spot the odd ruined castle. This is an unforgiving climate where water is a precious commodity. The train slows and only 45 min after leaving Seville as we reach the outskirts of Cordoba.

CORDOBA! The very name conjures up images of men "clanking" about in armour and cod pieces, riding on horseback off to fight the crusdades! "TOMORROW CORDOBA THEN ON TO JERUSALEM!"

The outskirts belay what is lurking behind the walls of the citadel. Another medieval labyrinth of fantastic narrow cobbled lanes beckon you to explore. The predominant colour of the buildings is white showing off the beautiful flowers cascading from little balconies. However, this is just the warm up act. The main reason for visiting this City is to visit the magnificent "Mezquita de Cordoba".

The Mezquita dates back to the 10th century when Córdoba reached its zenith under a new emir, Abd ar-Rahman 111 who was one of the great rulers of Islamic history. At this time Córdoba was the largest, most prosperous cities of Europe, outshining Byzantium and Baghdad in science, culture and the arts. The development of the Great Mosque paralleled these new heights of splendour.

It is an eclectic mix of Islamic and Christian archtecture. You walk through a maze of middle eastern style arches and columns only to find ornate Roman Catholic alters and domed ceilings in the middle!

Even Cathy who has visited a huge array of sites is "knocked over" by this gaff. Wow she crows.....better then St Peters.......St Bazils in Moscow.........possibly only outdone by Tower House in Finsbury Park!!

The sun burns hot here and the temperature is up at 39 degrees as we head into "101 Tapas" for a bit of nosh. This place is the tapas HQ of Southern Spain! We tuck into an array of squid, chicken fritters and Andulcian potatoes enthusiastically.

QUOTE OF THE DAY - overheard being spoken by a passing Brit in Dr Scholl sandals....."if you don't water your do dahs they will shrivel up and die!.......enough said....sound advice.

Soon it is time to stroll back to the Station to catch the TGV back home to Seville. WE WILL RETURN!

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