Madrid has ruined me. I am still wandering round in a chirizo starved haze since that awesome night of feasting. Still, the last few days have been excellent fun, almost fun enough to take ones mind off chirizo. Almost.

After Madrid we took a quick train down to Seville where we checked in, via a little pintxos stop, at our hotel. I'd been excited about this one for some time. Figuring we would be about due some relaxation and comfort AND wanting to stay in a traditional Andalucian property AND finding a stonking deal online (us, demanding?!) I booked us in to a lovely 4 star hotel in Old Sevilla. Our hotel was a traditional square design with the rooms based around a courtyard decorated with Moorish tiles and little wrought iron tables. We enjoyed our complementary glass of sherry and made a gleeful call home. I also got to have a bath, a real bath! With bubbles! Ah the travelling life!

Seville is just wonderful. It is the capital of Andalucia so a very busy place but the old town is still all winding streets and bars tucked round corners. It has the largest gothic cathedral in the world but what really captivated me was the Moorish architecture from Andalucia's Islamic past. Within the cathedral is still contained the minaret of the former mosque.

In the afternoon we visited the Alcazar, a Moorish royal palace. What is fascinating about the place, beside being breathtakingly beautiful, is the traces of both Islam and Christianity in the place which speak of a more complex relationship between the two faiths and the development of history in this place than perhaps popularly reported. Within the vibrant geometric tiles that cover the walls are arabic sentences, 'All strength comes from Allah' and yet on the entrance to a room used as a Christian Chapel an inscription reads 'Blood of Christ heal me'. That these two sentiments were left to coexist even after the Christianization of Spain is remarkable and wonderful.

The traditional squares and perfectly symmetrical archways gave the place the most amazing tranquillity. One of the Christian Kings wrote of the Alcazar, 'whatever happens let me die in Sevilla and in the resurrection rise in this place.' I was enchanted by it and could quite see his point, I could have spent hours walking the gardens but as it was we were off for a day or twos rest at Ben's aunties near Malaga. It's been a refreshing time and as I write we are back on the road again. This time for more Moorish explorations in Granada! Horrah! Perhaps I will find some chirizo...