Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Adios Sevilla, Hola Cadíz . . .

Hola from Cadiz! The train ride from Sevilla took about 1 1/2 hours and went pretty smooth. I watched the view the whole time and saw some sheep and horses and farm land. Pretty cool!
Well, this morning before I left for the train station, I stopped off at my local bar to get my last breakfast in Sevilla. I think I became a regular there (at least a temporary regular) since as soon as I walk in the waiter already knew what my order would be. I really enjoyed my time in Sevilla and you might even say that I left part of my soul there!

The highlight without question was getting to see my first live flamenco show at Los Gallos and I am still smiling about that experience. I was able to see most of my must see's here but missed out on a couple of things because I got a little distracted.

The Tapas bars are also very popular here in Sevilla although they are not as high octane or as plentiful as they are in Madrid. But they are still many to choose from and they are very good and also cheap!

The other highlight for me was my day trip to Cordoba and seeing the Cathedral and 1,200 year old Muslim subterranean well. And the shop owner was so nice. In fact, here he is . . . and the well is located in the room behind him.


Overall my stay in Sevilla has been an awesome experience! The people are all so nice and friendly and helpful and I felt very comfortable here.

Since I've been raving about the trains so much I thought I'd do a bit of show and tell. In the train stations they either have these lighted boards or some type of posted bulletin which lists all the trains (destination and train number) about to depart (they also have them for arrivals) and once your train gets near to arrival they will post the platform number. Then you need to get over there as quick as you can because the trains for the most part run on time here in Spain and if you're not there, you'll miss your train. I barely made my train today (actually ran down that long escalator, hopped on and within a minute the train started to move). Yikes!


Another thing is if you have luggage you want to find a place to put it in. On my ride to Cadiz, I just locked my luggage to a pole in the back and found my seat.

So I arrived safe and sound here in Cadiz. Here's my hotel which I found off the Venere.com Site on Slow Travel. It's a very nice hotel. The rooms are huge and it is only one block away from the ocean. (ooh I'm going to get spoiled here).


Welcome to Cadíz . . .


Thank you everyone for all of your comments! My Spanish Adventure has really lived up to all my expectations and I'm not even done yet! Whoo hoo!

Leslie, that is so cool Alessandro's friend and GF will have a great time in Spain. Girasoli, let's just say that I never went back to Starbucks again. . .:) And the Churros is like a long straight donut only 10 times better. Marta, yes I have had Churros with Chocolate too! So delicious. Marta and Girasoli, Plaza Espana is pretty huge and I had a hard time finding an angle to photograph it. The tile painting is pretty impressive too. Sandra, Annie and Marta . . . Cordoba is a very nice town and the Cathedral almost makes me speechless just to think about it. And I just loved the 1,200 year old well. And I agree that the tile work is very beautiful. I don't know that I've read anything about that well in any guidebook. According to the postcard the owner gave to me it was just recently discovered in 1995. Shannon, that's so cool that the toasted bread reminds you of the arab bread your grandma made for you. I just love it. So much so that I ate that breakfast toast practically every morning it was so good!

Thanks so much again everyone. I am definitely having fun and enjoying my Spanish Adventure!

Bye for now . . .

7 comments:

  1. Ok, I think I might speak for all of us... hand your camera to someone with a really good camera around their neck, and then show us some pics of you. :)

    Alessandro and I did that a few times on our trip together and we also set it down and clicked the timer. :)

    Your pics are fantastic and are making this an incredible read! Way to go!

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  2. Wow, your hotel sounds great! From your train station photos, I am guessing you don't have to lug luggage up/down stairs like most places in Italy? That sure would be a nice change. Are all the train stations like this? So far, which place did you like better - Madrid or Sevilla? I still have not caught up with all of your posts but love the photos!! Have a wonderful time in Cadiz! I can't wait to read more :)

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  3. Hey Kathy, great report and wonderful photos! I can't wait to hear about the souveniers you've bought. That shop with the well looks like a great place!

    Thanks for letting us travel along with you!

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  4. Hi Kathy, sorry if this is a duplicate; I tried to leave a comment earlier but I'm not sure if it went through.

    Sounds like Sevilla captured your heart! Your photos are wonderful and I can't wait to hear about the souveniers you bought. And how lucky that you don't need your warm clothes and could ship them home!

    Keep having fun!

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  5. Hi girls thanks so much for all of your comments . . Leslie,it's funny but I have always enjoyed being behind the lens more than in front of them. I think the last ones I have of me in them are from my trip in 2005 and that's only because I went with a friend. If I find someone cool to take it then maybe ... but knowing me I'd probably find them interesting and will want to snap their photo instead... Oh Girasoli, until you asked your question I hadn't noticed that I have not been struggling with steps here in Spain. So far I have not had to lift my luggage up any stairs other than the steps to get up on the train. There are either these long escalators or it's just straight onto the platforms here in Spain. It is really hard to say whether I like Madrid or Sevilla better. They are both different and I like different things from both cities. But if I had to choose, I would probably say Seville. That would be my first instinct... Annie, don't worry about duplicating. It's hard to keep track because I don't post the comments right away but that's okay if it's a duplicate. I always enjoy hearing from you. I bet you're getting really excited over your Venice trip coming up. Wouldn't it be neat if it snowed while you are there!

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  6. Yes, I'm very excited but like you, I'm starting to flip between "woo hoo" and "yikes"! Hope to do a bunch of stuff to get ready this weekend.

    Get this...we had a tiny bit of snow in NC this morning! It's gone but still, it was kinda cool.

    Hope you keep having a blast!

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  7. Hi Annie, I know that feeling of doing the flip flop! Hope you get the things you want done this weekend! Maybe the snow in NC is a sign to come and you'll get a little snow while in Venice. That would be really cool . . . much more fun I think then High Waters. Take plenty of photos for us when some really cool stories. I love all reading about all the history and stories that you uncover.

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It's me Trekcapri (aka Kathy). Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.