Map of Sevilla

Google Maps doesn't cover the parts of Spain I visited yet so I took a couple of bad photos of the map I used to get around while I was there and composited them.



The circles are hostels, the large one farthest east/right is the Dona Lina. The smaller one next to it is the Dona Lina tapas bar. Farther north and west is Hostel Dolores which some old guy I ran into drew on the map for me. Like in Istanbul, there are a number of old people employed to pick out foreigners and get them to spend money in some way. In Istanbul it was the rug dealers. In Spain its hostel salesmen. He was nice enough. Anyway, you can see how close the Dona Lina is to the cathedral (lower left), the university (center), and the Plaza de Espana (right). Directly north of here, about 1.2km, is Santa Justa station where I arrived and left by train for Madrid and Granada. The Plaza de Toros and Torre de Oro are southwest of the Dona Lina. So everything was pretty close by.

One Last Set Of Pictures From Spain

I've posted the last of the pictures from Spain. These are from the last day in Sevilla . They cover some places already seen on the first day but also include a walk along the river and a few places not visited the first time around.


Not the best picture but the best I could do with a 6" tall tripod on the street at night. There was some temporary construction going on around the cathedral, thus the fencing seen at the bottom of the photo.


One of the many bridges that cross the Guadalquivir river. This is one of the two very modern designs.


The other one.


These were all over the city. Most of them were painted in various ways but this one happened to be covered in broken glass.


The facade of the Museo de Bellas Artes. Rather than go in here, I visited the art show outside.

Granada

I added the first half of the pictures from Granada. These include images from the train ride and the Alhambra.

**Updated: All of the Granada pics are now up.


The cathedral in Granada. (Gypsy?) Women stand outside the cathedral with rosemary and try to get money from you by reading your palm. They are the annoying counterpart to Istanbul's rug salesmen.


Looking up at the Alhambra from a Granada street.


A tower of the Alhambra with view out over Granada.


Detail of a wall in one of the Alhambra palaces.

More Pictures From Spain

I've uploaded all the photos taken up to the time I left Sevilla for Granada. These include photos from around the cathedral, the university, the alcazar, Palacio de San Telmo, the Plaza de Espana, and other random buildings in the Santa Cruz area of Sevilla.


This is the Hotel Alfonso XIII. It's the only 5-star hotel I saw in Spain. Room rates on Expedia ran from $800-$1500 per night. I did find a deal for a one night stay at $384. The building is located immediately next to the University.


The facade of the Palacio de San Telmo. The palace was closed for renovations when I was there.


The Plaza de Toros in Sevilla. The picture doesn't capture the true color of the plaza. This was one of my favorite places in Sevilla.

I took the tour of the Plaza de Toros. On the wall they have the heads of some of the better bulls. The tour was given in both English and Spanish. Someone jokingly asked why they don't include the heads of the bullfighters too. Everybody laughed at the absurdity of that. I wondered why.


The red doorway on the right is the Dona Lina. It's a restaurant on the bottom floor with 2 or 3 floors of guest rooms above. The street is typical of this area of the city.

Pictures From Spain

I've uploaded 32 of the 400+ photos I took while in Spain. These 32 are from around the times I arrived in Madrid (flight) and Sevilla. Due to a problem with Gallery Remote, there are duplicate images in the gallery. I will fix that tomorrow as well as add and annotate as many of the images as possible.


Urban area somewhere near Madrid. The airport pictured is not Barajas.


The wall of the Alcazar in Sevilla. This was approximately 2 minutes walk from the Dona Lina.


Giralda tower, part of the largest cathedral in Spain and the 3rd largest Christian cathedral in the world. Inside you can see the sepulchre of Christopher Columbus.

Madrid

Made it to Madrid with much effort. Tilted at some windmills, looked for a hotel that no longer exists, etc. Finally found a place on Gran Via, apparently the main street for all commerce and cinema. Reception says I can get a cab around 5am tomorrow. Flight leaves at 7am.

Again in Sevilla

I took the 4:30 train from Granada to Sevilla. Arrived here last night around 8 under threat of rain. Made record time over the 1.5km from Santa Justa to the Dona Lina which, fortunately, had a room. It never did rain more than a sprinkle so I went back out last night to look around. Ate at La Cueva again. The schedule for eating is my only complaint about Spain. An egg is not a breakfast. For lunch, many places only serve bocadillos which are not like the bocadillos you get at Subway. It is simply meat on bread. If you´re lucky the bread is heated. If you´re really lucky, its heated and buttered. But that is it. Dinner is not until late in the evening. So last night I had a big meal for dinner at La Cueva, having eaten nothing but a chorizo sandwich for lunch and a power bar for breakfast. I had an enormous salmon with baked potato, vegetables, and a green tomato covered in a delicious (but unknown) sauce. I´ve wanted to have paella but a lot of the places that serve it only serve it for two or more people.

I have only two minutes left to complete this entry so I must hurry. I´ve decided not to travel today and instead relax in Sevilla and see some of the sites I missed. Tomorrow morning I go to Madrid, not sure what time the train leaves yet. I´ve arranged to stay at the Dona Lina again tonight.