Exploring Sevilla

Alarm at 9am (blessed sleep in!). I took my time getting ready, and left at about 10.30. I was going to get a coffee downstairs, but all the tables were taken, and I found out when I went to book a couple of extra nights and pay the bill that the guy’s English was quite bad. So I headed straight out after eating my cake and drinking some water. I went to Prado de San Sebastián first, which wasn’t very exciting (I sat and ate the rest of my cheesy, hammy toast thing), then onto Plaza de España, which was much more interesting. It’s an enormous, ornate monument to Spain, with a fountain, and arched bridges, and tiled representation of each province. Very impressive. I bought a fan from a woman there. Then I walked south to the river, passing the Torre del Oro. The river was nice, but not terribly exciting. I kept following the river until I found the other bus station (Plaza del Armas) and found the times to Huelva/Faro.

Then I went to the Plaza de Toros/Museo Taurino to find out about the bull fighting. I did a tour that included the bullring, the museum, the chapel and the stables, which was good. I decided I didn’t want to see a bull fight after all, because the bull usually dies. I headed on to the cathedral and Giraldo Tower, paying €7.50 for the privilege of admission. The cathedral wasn’t as amazing as Granada – there was some work being done too. The windows were nice, the stone was nice, Christopher Columbus’s tomb was worth seeing, and Giraldo tower was cool because the whole ascent was in ramps so that horses could go up it.

I was very hungry by now, so went looking for gazpacho and salad. I found it in a nice restaurant north of Cruces. It was very good, and just what I needed – something healthy. I rested for a couple of hours in the hotel, then went out to the internet cafe again. I found out that Huelva isn’t worth bothering with, but both Faro and Lagos are. Dodging the smelly horse carts, I bought a sausage roll from a woman who spoke absolutely no English and got narky about it, and some gelato from another, who didn’t. No consistency – some v good English speakers, and then none. Back to hotel, bed 11pm.