Sunny Mallorca

Back to the beautiful Island of Mallorca! And it was a gorgeous day to welcome us back. Seville was so much fun, I would highly recommend it, even if it did rain waaaay more than normal.

On Wednesday we toured the cathedral. Absolutly amazing!! It is the 3rd largest cathedral in Europe. We had a guide, Alfonso, and as it turned out we were his only crew that day. He gave us an excellent tour for 1 1/2 hours. He was very knowledgable and witty and afterward Jim and I climbed the Giralda Tower that is attached, 12th century. 29 floors!!! Yes that's right, we went up 29 stories..... fortunately it was a ramp system and not stairs, that was because it was originally built by Muslims and the old guy that went up 5 times a day to give the call to prayer went up courtesy of a donkey. I'm sure he loved that little fellow, it was a bit of a jaunt. The view from the top was as expected and did not dissapoint. It is the tallest structure in Seville and all buildings must stay under it's hight. It was fun to see the little maze of streets that we were staying in. Our hotel was in the old Jewish quarter, it's now called Barrio Santa Cruz. Most of the streets are too narrow for cars. Basically, take a piece of paper, put 6 or 8 random dots..... then draw 4, 5, or 6 "spokes" out from each dot and connect them to the other spokes. There! You have a map of the area hahaha What a delight to explore! The dots are plazas, some small, some a little bigger. All have a fountain or statue or "something".

On Thursday we took a tour with Alfonsos partner, Conception, of the Alcazar. This place is around 7th century, it is the Royal Palace. The tour is of the main floor, but the second floor is still an active royal residence when the King or his family is in town. Again, amazing!! And having a tour guide with a small group, this time we were 6, was a delightful time.

We're off to explore Italy on Wednesday. Starting with Sorrento. Hope we enjoy it as much as we have been enjoying Spain these past 5 1/2 weeks!
Barb