17.06.15

As I write this I think I might pass out! Today has been so busy! We (Jim, Granddad, Val and myself) went on a coach trip to Seville to see the cathedral and explore the city. The day did not get off to the best start when we woke up at 6am and got to the pick-up point in good time and the coach was half an hour late. We thought we had been forgotten or left behind!

The journey was very long and I slept through most of it. I even struggled to wake up once we had arrived. I realised quickly you would need a good week to fully explore and appreciate the city of Seville and all it has to offer. It is beautiful and has a very rich history. We were driven past the various pavilions of the Americas and were dropped off in the Spanish Pavilion which was absolutely draw dropping. The Photo above does not do it any justice!

We were then rushed away to walk through the old Jewish quarter on our way to the cathedral. As with many Spanish cathedrals, this structure was once a mosque which was converted into a place of Christian worship after the crusade. I feel like I have explored Spain in chronological order by accident: First the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, where all the Islamic rulers of Spain would reside when in control of Spain. I then visited Cordoba to specifically visit the breath-taking mosque-turned-church which was converted shortly after Christian take over. And today I visited the medieval Cathedral of Seville. This particular cathedral is the third largest in Europe after Rome and London. To be totally honest we would have preferred to go straight to the cathedral look around and then have free time to explore but the packed scheduled didn't really allow for this and we all felt a bit like cattle being hurriedly herded around the city. So we pissed off and did our own thing totally abandoning the group to have more fun!

We headed straight for the river and had a nice relaxing boat ride. In my opinion boats are one of the best ways to see a city. We had a late lunch on the boat and for the first time all day we felt like we were going at out own speed again.

Jim was very eager to go up the tower known as the ‘golden tower’ which is also a museum. We went up to the very top and I was very impressed when he also wanted to look around the museum. We then retreated to a café and waited to get back on the coach.

Although it doesn't sound tiring, the early morning, the crowds and the heat combined made the smallest action a huge effort and by the time we got in we were all ready to pass out. Grandad made me a simple tea of his incredible tomatoes on toast and I watched a Napoleon documentary before bed.