Seville & Madrid (again)

Firstly, I apologise for not replying to the comments left.  I have been quite busy, days pass, and I realise I haven't done so.  Nonetheless, I do appreciate them, thank you.

Secondly, I need to correct the Granada post - more for my information than yours.  It was from Córdoba that we visited Ronda,  not Granada,  but the information is still the same.

From Córdoba Carol and I caught the train to Seville.  Neither of us had been there before so it was a good opportunity to continue exploring as a tourist,  and though enjoyable, I must say I would have loved to have been on foot!  Bearing in mind that all the health professionals I saw in the UK seemed very sceptical that I would be able to resume my walk so soon after surgery, I thought it prudent to meander 10+ kms each day exploring pack free!

Seville is a lovely city, and like each of those we had visited thus far, quite touristy.   Indeed, given that we weren't in the peak season, it was hard to believe the numbers of tourists.   By late morning each day the streets were jam packed with people of all nationalities.  

The Plaza Mayor has an extraordinary canopy over the top, visible from quite a long way, and despite the intermittent showers, was a hive of activity in the late afternoon.

The Plaza Mayor, Seville

The Seville Cathedral is something to behold.   It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, and the third largest church in the world, after St Peter's Basilica in Rome and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida in Brazil.  

The Cathedral tower

Views inside the Cathedral

One of the numerous doors outside the Cathedral

Various facades of the Cathedral 

Narrow streets aplenty in Seville

This is another Cathedral which was built on the site of a mosque, though evidence of that no longer exists.  It took almost a century to build, opening in 1519,  covers an area of just over 11,500 square metres, and the former minaret of the mosque is now the bell tower standing 105 metres tall.

Christopher Colombus, and his son Diego, along with other dignitories are buried there, and in 1987 it was designated a UNESCO world heritage site. 

One of the things I had carefully planned while in Spain is to see the amazing pageants that occur in the lead up to, and during, Easter.  This is known as Semana Santa.  We happened to poke our nose into what we thought was a church, but it was one set up with a miniature display of the processions that occur in Seville, so I was delighted. 

Just some of the extraordinary Semana Santa miniatures on display. 

After 2 days of meandering around Seville we returned to Madrid.  It was a change of plan as we were meant to head to Avila where we were meant to meet Jill.  We had a message from her to say Avila had declared a state of emergency due to flooded rivers, and so rather than add to their problems we decided it would be prudent to stay in Madrid, for Carol to leave for home from there, and for Jill to meet us there.

Snow had fallen on mountains near Madrid too

In the short time since making that decision we had several dramas!  Everyone travelling on longer distance trains has to put all baggage through a security belt.  Carol and I did that, but when she went to collect her shoulder bag it wasn't there, only a bum bag which looked similar!  

I immediately sprinted, carefully, down the platform passing as many passengers as I could in an effort to see her bag, with no luck.  It was decided the best thing to do was to catch the train, with the train staff putting a callout for the bag.  Carol was convinced it was stolen, I thought it was likely taken by mistake.  With some quick phone calls via my phone (Carol's was fortunately lost - in the missing bag), and some even quicker tech support from family in Australia, we learnt the bag was on our train.  Carol's son in law was able to set an audible signal going on the phone, while Carol wandered through each carriage listening to the signal on my phone, and listening for it somewhere on the train. Voila - she found it, crammed behind a suitcase, and yes, a man thought it was his!, having no idea what the beeping was above his head, until Carol appeared!  It was fortunate her phone was in her bag rather than in her pocket.  A calamity averted!

While we waited for Jill to arrive Carol and I took a day trip to Segovia.  This is the site of an extraordinary aqueduct that goes right through the town.  I will be going back there for few days as part of my plan to see Semana Santa.

The Roman aqueduct in Segovia.  Note the snow on the hills in the background. 

A Church in Segovia

The train station is well out of town, so we caught a bus into and out to the centre.  With storm Martinho hovering (snow on the mountains, floods etc) the trains were unreliable.   Watching the board very carefully we saw that our return journey was delayed by at least an hour, until - it suddenly was on time!.  We were dashing down the escalator as the train was pulling in!

The next mishap was Jill's arrival.  She arrived minus her pack, which had been left behind in Singapore (or maybe even Adelaide).  Carol headed home, and Jill and I meandered around Madrid, never too far, just in case the pack was delivered.  Eventually,  at about 8.00pm we received a message that the pack was at Madrid airport.  We had already wasted a day, and rather than wait for them to deliver it, we hopped in a taxi, collected the pack, and returned by the same taxi which kindly waited for us.  Jill is still waiting for the €66 reimbursement,  which she has been assured is coming.

Lunchtime

Pack and Jill reunited!

The following morning we set off, via the metro,  to the train station,  and a train to Avila.  The fourth near calamity occurred when I managed to drop my ticket onto the train track.  It was fortunately retrieved, and we were on our way!  But that is for the next post.

My foot and leg are good so we are all set to walk the Camino Teresiana from Avila to Alba de Tormes.