Seville - 2

A lovely day in Southern Spain, with bright blue skies and temperatures reaching 30C or so. Such a contrast to the weather we left at home in England.

We spent some more time this morning exploring the amazing little village which is our hotel (see yesterday's blip) and then wandered out into the town. 

Even though we are only here for a short time, we are not rushing about to try and see all the tourist sites.  (Indeed, the long queues in the hot sun this afternoon for the cathedral and the royal palace did not tempt us).  Instead we spent a lovely time wandering the streets of the Santa Cruz area where we are staying.  Lots of lovely narrow alleyways and splending squares, with delightful architecture all around.  We also strolled across into the El Arenal area and down to the river.

The streets are lined with cafes, and we enjoyed lunchtime Tapas with a view to the cathedral. Indeed, frequent stops at cafes seemed to be the correct way to spend the day!  Our evening meal was in a wonderful restaurant in converted 12th Century Arabic baths, sitting beneath lovely stone arches, entertained by a classical guitarist. The food and service were excellent, too.

Even late at night, people were sitting out at pavement cafes and restaurants in T-shirts and shorts, as in this view of a restaurant just beside the cathedral.

I think this is a city to which we should return.