Alcazar De La Reina Carmona

Hotel was on top of Railway station, so went off to Seville first thing, picked up rental car, and had quiet wander around and lunch in centre of Seville before heading out to Carmona, a beautifully-preserved   old hill town 35 km north of Seville. When the rain eased, the view over the plains was wonderful! We spent a couple of nights there, exploring the town and doing a day-trip to Cordoba.

... Sevilla is probably best known for its Cathedral, the 3rd largest in Europe after St. Peter's and St. Paul's here in London. It is probably the hottest place in Spain, and temps in the mid-90s are a bit unknown for us Northern European residents, so we would need to take advantage of the mid-day siesta. Kathleen was quite a trooper, willing to withstand some stroller time bouncing on the cobblestones in between her ...

We found Seville to be one of the prettiest cities in Spain and possibly in Europe that we have seen so far. The wealth of the Americas flowed through this city (and Cadiz) for 3 centuries, and traces of this wealth are visible everywhere. The city was somewhat impoverished after the loss of Spain's colonies in the Americas but underwent a revival after Spain joined the EU, and the city held a world fair in 1992. That ...

... in the 9th century, it was taken over by the Spanish in the Reconquista in the 13th century. The result is a sprawling complex of palaces and gardens with a mixture of Moorish and Spanish architecture. The gardens and fountains were absolutely beautiful. Tonight we are taking Stan to La Carboneria for more flamenco.

... one on a pretty little street with the cathedral in the back ground, we sat outside in the still 25degree heat and Tammy enjoyed lots of free olives. Once we had finished we noticed a large crowd forming by the cathedral and walked down to discover one of the first parades of semana santa (holy week), it consisted of lots of people with candles as well as a large float, covered with gold, roses and candles. We should now say that we have ...

Leisurely breakfast of coffee, fresh orange juice and toasted mortadella sandwich at Bar Alfalfa, our chosen "local". Not a hint of sweet things at brekkie over here. Locals eat Churros (deep friend long stringy donut dusted in salt) or toast with olive oil or Iberian ham pate. Cramped at the bar are elegant ladies in hats, builders, students and a few tourists. No one gives a rat's bottom about the smoking ban and the air is thick with cigarette fog and morning gossip. Walked for ...

Oh yes, maybe it sounds funny, but i have another sister (got six!) who moved to spain, so I was helping here, and driving down all the way to Sevilla, spend there about two weeks. Isn´t it a nice place. In 02 I returned with a friend and spend some time in Barcelona.

... out. But then my host parents just picked them up, started pulling the skin off and then just biting into them! Then they would just pull the spines back out of their mouths! I was pretty horrified!! The shrimp are the same way. You have to pull their heads and tails off and I just can't do it! I feel like their little black eyes are staring at me! Every kind of meat also has a lot more fat on it here that I'm used to, but that's not too big of a deal. So basically it ...

... with lended me her's. The new number was only 24 Euros where a new phone would have been 59 Euros. In Spain you only have to pay for calls that you make and any calls that you receive are free. However, having a cell phone is still much more expensive then the United States. Any calls I make between 6am and 4pm cost me .59 Euros a minute and any calls between 5pm and 6am are .12 Euros. Once you run out of minutes, you just go to the store and pay to add more. Later that night, Becky and I ...

... to express how extraordinary they are in my entries. I know that there are so many other places throughout the world that are filled with history and culture and passion and education and God and everything else that matters in life, but from my tiny window of experience, these places will enrich and empower ever human being who visits them. With that being said, I would like to note that both London and Paris offer completely ...