No sleep in this morning. Wanted to visit the Mezquita (mosque) about 9ish as it's free before 10.30am plus groups aren't allowed in.

We made it in about 9.30 so managed to experience the vastness and tranquility before the hoards of tour groups invaded.

The Mezquita is massive! It even has a cathedral inside it which was added in the 16th century and took 250 years to be completed.

The original mosque was established in AD 784 and was much smaller but as the population grew so did the mosque with changes and additions right through to the 18th century.

After visiting the Mezquita and a bit of late breakfast we wandered over to check out the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Kings) which was built in the 13th century. The gardens were lovely with many ponds, some with quite large fish in them.

It was getting quite hot so after the castle we went in search of ice cream. There seems to be people everywhere today, loads of school groups too. Spanish kids must be born screaming as they don't seem to know how to speak normally, they have to yell out loud everything to their mates. I don't think it improves much as adults to be honest as most spanish people seem talk loud.

Time for a siesta to escape the crowds then off for some cervesas and tapas.