The plan for today was to visit Seville, 2 1/4 hours inland by car. We left right after breakfast and arrived at about 11:30. We travelled on good 4 lane highways virtually all the way, through varied countryside, including mountains and "plains in Spain", marveling at the seemingly endless plantations of olive trees.
Following Rick Steves' guidance we found an underground parkade very close to our destination in the centre of Seville. As we emerged from the parkade and were trying to get our bearings, we promptly sighted a Starbucks, a welcome sight for those of us in need of a WC.
First was a tour of the Seville cathedral, the world's largest church by area (we saw the Guinness certificate on display inside). An incredible display of gothic architecture! It also contains the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Sherry, Evelyn and I also walked up a spiraling ramp in the adjacent Giralda Bell Tower, while Ron took a rest in the Court of the Orange Trees. The weather was a rather warm 36 degrees here, much warmer than in Malaga on the coast.
We found a sidewalk cafe with misters, where we shared a great tasting plate of garlic shrimp cooked in olive oil. Then we did a walking tour through the quaint narrow streets of the Barrio Santa Cruz.
Finally, we toured the Alcazar. This is an amazing palace originally built by the Moors in the 10th century and revamped in the 14th century.
After negotiating some tricky traffic circles on the way out of Seville, we returned to Malaga the same way we came. We finished the day with another wonderful late dinner at the hotel restaurant.