7/29/09-7/31/09 Cathedral in Seville and Granada

7/29/09 Maria, Jodi and I met her family at the Seville Cathedral. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral and the third largest church in the world, built in the 1500's. It has 80 chapels but only kings are said to be allowed to marry in the main one. Many sections of the church were closed off but we were able to see Columbus's tomb, many alters and climb the 345 foot tall bell tower. We saw great views of Seville from the tower so the hike was well worth it. After the cathedral we went back to Maria's and had a delicious Spanish lunch and then took a much needed siesta! Jodi and I booked our hostel and train ride to Granada and then we all got ready to walk around the city some more, as well as eat a typical dinner of tapas. 

7/30/09 Today we traveled to Granada via train. We made the train with 5 minutes to spare! We wouldn't have made it at all if it weren't for Maria and her Spanish skills. Phew! We were hoping to sleep on the train but it wasn't comfortable so I finally got to do some reading. When we arrived we found the hostel easily and were greeted by a very friendly older man who owned it. He gave us a map and told us all the cool places to go. Our room is really decent! We have a private room and bathroom... it's all they had. I prefer an 8 bed room so we can meet people but we'll try for that in Barcelona. We grabbed a bite to eat and thank goodness the waitress was so nice. We couldn't read the menu that well and I accidently ordered myself nasty, fried, little fish again! She could tell I made a mistake so we tried again. This time I got lentil stew and it was delicious! Afterward we found some really cool streets and shops. Granada has a very comfortable feel to it and it is gorgeous. One of my favorite places thus far for sure. We took a taxi to the top of the city. The roads are winding, narrow, steep and made from cobble stone. We went to a bar that let us do "take out" drinks and then sat on a rock wall overlooking the Alhambra. A man was playing the Spanish guitar and kids were playing in the streets, even though it was 1:00am. I wanted to see a discotec (a club) so we went to a promising one. Apparently is was too early for Spanish people and/or people have vacated Granada for the summer because it was dead. Moving to the coast for the summer is typical as it's much too hot to be inland.