Early morning up and at em joining the buisness men and women that catch the 8:45 Express flight to Seville. Carry on baggage meant an easy exit and the direct bus to downtown meant an easy (and cheaper) transit. Again we find ourselves in the historic center. Well actually there is another area called the historic center but this area, Santa Cruz, has a much more interesting history. It is, oddly enough, the old Jewis quarter built in such a way as to allow the residents to lose themselves in the oddly narrow disjointed streets and thus thwart anyone who would want to persecute them. Lost in this labyrinth you can stretch out your arms and touch both sides of the street. We bumped and waddled our lugguage down the cobblestone streets to our destination for the next two nights.  
Arriving before noon gave us the whole day to explore. Today we joined the masses for a 'Hop on Hop Off' tour. Resting our feet we sat in the sun as the bus took us through the different areas of town and across the river that Christopher Columbus set sail on to discover America.  
The bus took us past the area that once held the World Expo 1929. Many mansions remain in good repair. One large building, built as a hotel but never used as one, was in such disrepair by 1933 that the owner gave it to the government. It now houses the guardia seville in a pretty swanky neighbourhood. Looking at the palacial buildings built for the expo it is hard to imagine anything surviving as the world was about to enter the dirty thirties... and then there was the Spanish civil war. When the bus took us through the site of Expo '92 I felt like we were going through a ghost town. I don't even know if world expos are being held any more but, from the look of this site, they spend a lot of money to "build the future" only to have the excess and waste a future reality. There were, however, a few buildings still in use and the graffitti was stunning?!
The bus tour gave us an overview of the town. I would love to have seen it in the days when it was considered the most important city in the world. You can imagine the main tower (called the golden tower) covered in gold in the days the Moors ruled the area. The Moorish influence is all over the town but felt most especially in the beautiful Reales Alcazares and the Seville Cathedral and La Giralda. Oh... and in the fact that Seville has numerous orange trees with inedable fruit (except to export for the Brits to make marmalade) but a seed that apparently, when dried and ground up, makes an excellent gun powder. That's what we were told anyway.  
The Reales Alcazares is a beautiful palace that you can get lost in. Surrounded by gardens that are lush even at the beginning of March
The Cathedral started out as a mosque then got reinvented during the reformation. At one time it was bigger than the cathedral in the Vatican. When the pope heard that he got upset so a wall was built in the interior of the Seville Cathedral to make it smaller. Huh? Christopher Columbus is or may be buried there. There is a tomb with his name on it. Apparently there was no love lost between the Royalty and Columbus near the end of his life and the famous explorer (who was born in Genoa Italy) said he did not want to be buried on Spanish soil. If you look at the tomb you will see that it is raised a good seven feet in the air which, aparently, is a compromise.  
By the end of our time in Seville we have put many kilometers on our shoes, met some delightful locals, figured out the tapa thing a little better and learned more about the history of this fascinating part of the world.  
So many of our travels in Europe center around the Romans or Egyptians history. Here, though there will certainly be influence from the latter, it seems the Moorish influence is stronger.  
Today we pick up a car and head off to explore.
Two things I forgot to mention...
1) The streets in all the older sections of town are built close together to keep it cool in summer when the temperatures can reach 40-45C. Even in the newer sections of town they aren't that wide.
2) When we were here 44 years ago we were told the Guardia Civil had hats with a flat back to remind people of the firing squad and to keep them in line. Today we were told that the flat backs are a convenience which allows the guard to lean back against a wall when they want to have a smoke. Think that last one is a 'smoke screen'