Hola from Seville

On one of the bridges across the Guadalquivir River

 I am having a wonderful time in this beautiful city with my beautiful daughter as my tour guide and excellent companion.

The flight on Sunday was fine, six hours on the plane. The six hours in the Madrid airport waiting for my connection to Seville were harder.  I saw what some other people were doing at 6:30 a.m. local time   (12:30 a.m. my time) and did the same – I put my coat down on a table, dropped my head down onto it, and fell asleep. For a change of scenery, I saw down at a gate and fell asleep in a chair.

I picked up some Spanish just by being at the airport. When I got to Seville and asked where I could get a cab to the B&B, I learned that the airport taxis were on strike and I would have to take two buses or one bus to the bus terminal and then a cab to the B&B.

I got the correct change and got in line for the bus. After a few minutes everyone ran to the other end end of the pick-up area to where the taxis line up, calling out, "The strike is off!" I guess I was getting my first taste of Spanish culture.

Yesterday, on my first full day after getting over jet lag, we went to the Seville's awe-inspiring Cathedral, said by some to be the largest cathedral in the world. We saw some amazing things, such as Christopher Columbus' tomb. After walking around, we climbed the Giralda, the decorative brick tower on the side of the cathedral. It seemed like it might be hard, but it really wasn't because a series of ramps leads to the top, built that way so that the guards could ride to the top on horseback.

From the top, there is an incredible view of Seville.

We also went across the street to the Alcazar, the royal palace surrounded by beautiful gardens.

People in the city walk everywhere and eat outside even if it's a little cool. We walked a lot, and it was tiring, but our daily siesta is refreshing. This is just my kind of lifestyle, with a late dinner eaten at a leisurely pace. Restaurants don't even open until 8:30 p.m. We have been eating a lot of tapas, a good way to try different kinds of food. Orange trees and palm trees line the streets.

Our hosts, Rosa and Carlo, are especially friendly and helpful and give us a good breakfast of fresh orange juice, coffee and typical Spanish fare: toast with salt and olive oil, tomatoes, Spanish ham and good cheese. That's what I'll want to eat when I get home. You can't get the ham in the U.S., and I hear that people try to smuggle it out of the country wrapped in clothes.