2024 10 Spain

Spain 11,

Oct. 24, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

‘If you can’t always get what you want, then if you try sometimes, well, you just might get what you need’. Thanks Mick.

Today was an exploration day to walk around and see what I could in Sevilla. Sevilla is arguably one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever visited. I know, I say that about all the (girls) cities. Every thing in the Old City has been cleaned and renovated to perfection. There are pedestrian walk ways every where. The cafes, bars and restaurants are plentiful. The only problem is the volume of tourists. It is Oct 24 and not too crowded, but there are tourists everywhere. My old adage, ‘if you have heard of a place, so has everyone else, and it may not be useful visiting unless you don’t mind ‘tourists’, rings true.

I started my day by spending several hours trying to change my telephone number on the SNCF website. The security is just too thick. Not having one of my daughters or grandchildren with me to help me, made it impossible for me to navigate the site. SNCF needs a telephone number to confirm a trip and they only have my Canadian number. I now have a Spanish sim card and I can not use it to book a trip. So, I will just have to wait until I get to Paris to book my itinerary in France.

I walked around aimlessly in the Old City and just visited what ever I came across. The Sevilla Cathedral is worth a visit for sure. I first visited it in 1970 when there was no entrance fee. The second time I visited it 10 years ago there was a small entrance fee but you were not allowed to take pictures. This time, the entrance fee had quadrupled but because I am a French (EU) citizen over 65, not only did I get a reduced rate, but pictures are now allowed. Wow, what progress. I was a little disappointed as I could not find a quiet place to pray. I have the sneaking suspicion that the place is kept open to serve the tourist trade rather than the worshipers.

I am always impressed when ever I enter a European cathedral. First of all what strikes me is the enormity of the building. The planning that must have taken place to construct the building which took place often over 300-400 years. You must overlook the fact that slave labour was used and certainly more than 6000 people were killed in the process. 6000 workers died in the construction of the stadiums in Qatar for the World Cup and I have yet to hear any protest by the authorities in the UN. They are obviously too busy with passing judgement over …….I won’t go any further. I saw the tomb of Cristopher Columbus. Very impressive. Rumour has it that the old boy was Jewish. If so, I wonder if he and I are from the same tribe. I also climbed up the steeple to get a view of Sevilla. Great view from the top and well worth the 34 ramps to get there.

I next wandered over to the Palace. I had visited it twice in the past and wanted to see it again and take some photos. Unfortunately, everyone else in town had the same idea as me. Tickets were sold out. This never happened in the past. Those darn tourists…… I walked over to the University of Sevilla. What magnificent place. It rivals any other university in Europe such as Oxford or Munster. The students are really lucky to study here. I hope that the education standard matches the magnificence of the surroundings. The campus even has a moat which is quite deep but dry.

I am sitting in an out door restaurant, in the middle of a plaza sipping wine and writing my blog. I ate seafood paella for the first time in my visit to Spain.

Tomorrow I will ride to Cordoba.

Love,

Brian