Inter Rail 1986 Day 9
Sunday 31st August 1986
The alarm went off at 7.30am with us having decided the night before to delay our departure to take in some more
sightseeing in the cool of the morning. Got up, paid our bill and left the luggage downstairs with the receptionist who was a bit more friendly
than when his siesta was broken, before heading off into Sevilla.
We spotted the top of the Giralda tower of the Cathedral at the top of the hill. This Minaret was constructed by the Moors between 1184 and
1197, up to 76m. in height. After the reconquest in 1568 the Christians fitted the minaret with the bell tower, reaching a total height of
almost 100m. We set off confidently towards it and then spent the next 30 minutes wandering up and down the narrowest streets imaginable with
no sign of the Cathedral. Had to stop, have a coffee and ask for directions.
Eventually, we found ourselves outside the cathedral. It is one of the last Spanish Gothic cathedrals and the third largest Cathedral in the
Christian world, after Saint Peter's in Vatican city and Saint Paul's in London. It didn't look that big from the outside.
As the shorts problem struck I didn't get to have a good look inside so didn't get to see the Tomb of Cristopher Columbus. Looking in from the
doorway it appeared huge inside and reminded me a lot of Liverpool being really high with massive plunging columns.
It became apparent that it is bare thighs that God has a problem with as Eli rolled her longish shorts down to her knees and was let in. The
gender of the thighs is not an issue as Roger was also excluded. Jon and Eli went for a look around inside whilst Roger and I stopped outside.
We ended up watching a very interesting scene when a taxi "stopped" and then had its boot unloaded whilst it slowly rolled backwards.
We then headed back to La Plaza de España. It was even more impressive in the daylight as we found that all the spare patches on the walls and
bridges were ceramic tiled and around the outside of the semicircle were pictures, maps, decorated seats and shelves depicting all sorts of
towns in Spain going from A - Z with each Spanish province represented in a tiled alcove. It was beautiful.
We had another wander into the gardens and then made our way back to the hostel to pick up our packs to head off to Granada. We left on another
of the yellow/blue airconditioned trains which was just about on time. The scenery between Sevilla and Bobadilla was quite unedifying - dry,
dry, arid and brown. Got talking to a Moroccan lad who told us the cost of the ferry trips to Ceuta and Tangier.
Bobadilla doesn't really appear on any maps as it isn't really a lived in place, just a spot where 4 railway lines from Sevilla, Granada,
Malaga and Algeciras meet in the middle of nowhere. We successfully made our connection at Bobadilla and arrived in Granada at 5.30pm. A little
man outside the station offered us a room for 650 pts each (two rooms sharing double beds) so followed him and after viewing the rooms,
settled in, dumping the bags.
Set off for the Alhambra de Granada as we were suffering Cathedralitis. It was a long way up a hill. The pedestrian pathway was hellish steep.
I was knackered by the time I got to the top. We had fallen on our feet again. A visit on a Sunday afternoon is free although it does shut
earlier. We missed out on the inside of the Royal Palace because we went up to the watchtower.
The 360 view from up there was breathtaking covering the whole of the City of Granada with the Cathedral in the middle, the plains away in the
distance and the mountains all around. Whilst we walked back down to the hostel, Jon bought a skin wine bag and I bought a book on the Alhambra
but had to use plastic as the budget was creaking. Spotted a plastic taking restaurant which we went back to once we'd got back to the hostel
and changed. Eli and Roger ran off to use the phones after ordering which confused the waiter totally and they ended up with starters and main
courses arriving practically together.
We bought a bottle of wine from the bar across the way and sat playing contract whist until some ungodly hour of the morning.
Note
- Begging is on the increase as we move south. Loads of women with kids pestering you in the street.
- There are loads of touristy horse drawn carriages plying their trade around Sevilla. Didn't try one. Looked to be too expensive for
us on our meagre budget
 Sevilla |
 Sevilla |
 Giralda Tower |
 Plaza de España |
 Plaza de España |
 Plaza de España |
 Alhambra |
 Alhambra |
 Alhambra |
