Algeciras, Seville, Jerez and Cadiz.....Spain

We stepped off the ferry in Algeciras at about 5pm and headed from the wharves towards the town. We had our backpacks firmly insitu and we were feeling like teenagers off exploring the world - not a care in sight! We had decided our time in Algeciras had to be cut short due to the long ferry ride and we needed to start heading to Seville. We found the bus station and purchased tickets for the bus at 7 pm - express to Seville. As it was only 5pm we thought we would find a bite to eat and log on at an internet cafe to book our accommodation in Seville. Our estimated time of arrival was to be 10pm. There was a nice little kebab bar near the bus station and he told us where the internet cafe was. We checked email and the inevitable Facebook, ate a kebab, booked into a hotel and headed back to the bus station to catch our bus in plenty of time - it was about 6.30. So we sat at the bus station and bought a cup of coffee and watched platform 22 to see when the bus would come in. Well we sat and sat and thought the bus was late. Ron went to ask if there had been a delay.........no delay........the bus had already gone and we had neglected to check time zones - we had gone forward an hour and had not changed our watches! The girl in the ticket booth looked at Ron like he was a dim witted idiot and issued tickets for the next bus at 9 pm! We had not thought for a minute about the time difference! I wonder how many others have made this mistake - C'mon fess up...let us know!

So now we arrive in Seville at midnight. There are no taxis at the bus station. There are no busses at the bus station (other than the one we got off) and we have no idea where our hotel is! We trudged off into the streets nearby to see if we could hail a passing cab. After a while one came along and we hopped in and were taken to the most gorgeous little boutique hotel in the old part of Seville - lovely room, lovely courtyard, lovely bathroom, lovely bed, deep sleep!

We have now become Big Red bus junkies and first thing we asked at reception was whether there was one in Seville - sure enough there was and it stopped about a kilometre's walk away from us. Off we went to find the stop. The walk took us along the river which is a lovely pictuesque stroll - rowing boats, people walking, jogging and pushing prams: skateboards and rollerskates, bikes and scooters; and the steady hum of the morning traffic. Once on the bus we did a full circuit of Seville and picked out the places we wanted to return to, namely Triana and the Plaza de Spana, El Arenal Flamenco Club and the Museum of Fine Arts. 

Alighting from the bus we walked across the river to the area known as Triana and went in search of Tapas and a glass of good Spanish wine. Well the Spaniards are used to the odd tourist or two. The Brits flock here in summer. We were taken into a cafe with the promise of tapas and wine. They served up enough seafood tapas for half of Britain (if they had been there) and we had the best wine we had enjoyed on the trip so far! It was delightful walking the streets of Seville on a Sunday with all the locals out drinking coffee and children playing about.  We visited the Museum of Fine Arts which was spectacular - see photos on our website - and then returned to the hotel to prepare to go to the Flamenco Club - El Arenal. It was very traditional flamenco and we had front row seats. The tapas was very tasty and the sangria was my choice for a drink.

The following day we hired a car and went to Jerez, the home of Sherry, and cadiz, an island on the southern coast of Spain. The Spaniards seem to sip sherry at any time of day and I have to agree it is a nice tipple! Once again the hiring of the car had to do with the weather and we had a pretty wet day for our drive to Jerez and Cadiz - not many photos I am afraid. However there were dry patches as we went through the countryside and once again it was just nice to sit and relax in a warm car and take note of the scenery and the daily activity. Spain is as fascinating historically as many of the places we visited in Europe on other tours. Names are dropped like Columbus, Vespucci and Cortes. It would take a month or more in any of these towns to learn about the history and soak up all the stories.

On returning to Seville we stopped in at the Plaza de Spana (see photos) and booked the bus for our last leg of the trip - to Lisbon in Portugal. We will revisit Spain if we get the chance. In fact we would love to have another 100 years to live so we can visit all the places we have been over again and really get to know them - ah! but this is the tragedy of being a tourist and not being able to live everywhere, though we are giving it a go!