Day 2: South to Seville

Restless night due to jetlag and Schnitzel barking at lots of sounds from the corridor. We couldn't hear anyone else in other rooms, so hopefully he didn't disturb anyone else. Awake fairly early, particularly by Spanish standards, so after taking the dog out for his business we went looking fairly unsuccessfully for some breakfast. Only place open was Starbucks, so a pair of pastries would have to do.

Did a bit more wandering and watching the city wake up, marvelling at the sight of my own breath in the chilly morning air as it's something I haven't seen for a long time! Temperature was somewhere under 5 degrees - not frigid, but definitely the coldest we've been in a long time. Madrid is fairly cold by Spain standards since it's in the middle of the arid plains, a long way from the ocean, and about 1800 feet above sea level.

Wandering completed, we headed back to the hotel around 10am and packed everything up, ready for our train trip south to Seville where we'd be staying for the next week. Caught a metro train to the main train station; was a little difficult considering I had a heavy backpack, lighter day-pack, plus I was lugging Schnitzel in his large crate but we managed OK. People stare a bit at the bright yellow crate, but most take no notice. He behaved himself very well in the crate on the metro, no barking or anything! Probably a bit scary for him, even though we're right there.

We'd arrived an hour early for our midday train (deliberately), so I found some seats and waited with our luggage while Shandos searched for packed lunches. Heavy security at the station as well, and a memorial plaque reminded me that this was the location of the Madrid train bombings in 2004 which I'd forgotten about entirely (though it was obviously big news at the time). Schnitzel got a bit restless with sitting around in his crate, and took a dislike to wheely suitcases bumping over those visual-aid strips on the ground and creating a racket, so he did a bit more barking.

Finally we got on the train which was fairly crowded, but thankfully with reserved seats. My large backpack and Schnitzel sat in the luggage rack at the carriage entrance, while our smaller bags went in the overhead lockers. Unfortunately for Schnitzel he had to stay in his crate for the journey, so I left him out there while we sat inside. He was a good boy and didn't bark at all, though I imagine again he was probably quite scared.

The train trip itself was quite nice - comfortable seats and a great view of the Spanish countryside. Lots of arid semi-farmland, rolling hills, small villages, classic villa style houses with white stucco paint and orange terracotta roofs, and even a couple of old stone castles. Not sure what speed we got up to, but the journey was all over in 2 1/2 hours so I imagine we spent most of that at around 200km/h!

Arrived in Seville on schedule at 2:30pm, and had a little difficulty finding our way to the hotel. Shandos thought there was light rail but we couldn't see any evidence of it, plus there was no wifi in the building and neither of us had data available on our phones yet. So we settled for an old-fashioned way - asking a local for help in broken Spanish. It turns out the light rail doesn't go to the train station, so we were better off getting a taxi, which we did!

We met our host Pedro outside the apartment, and he showed us the ropes. Apartment is a good size, with a separate lounge-room, dining table, kitchen and bathroom as well as the bedroom. And it's ideally situated just a minute or so's walk from Seville Cathedral and all of the other sights in the Old Town.

We did a bit of relaxing for an hour or so before heading out for a wander. Most things here are walking distance for us, so after a brief look at the outside of the cathedral we wandered past the Real Alcazar (old royal palace, as featured on Game of Thrones), down to the Plaza de Espana and the large park nearby. The park turned out to be a hidden gem! A huge size, with lots of different areas, landscaping, fountains and other water features, sculpture, and of course lots of orange trees that the city is famous for. We spent a good few hours just wandering around, and sitting to enjoy the ambience and warm weather (it was about 23 degrees in the sun - still a little crisp but much warmer than Madrid).

Schnitzel was enjoying himself and mostly behaving, though there were lots of horse & carts around which upset him - he's never encountered them before so he barked quite a bit at first before gradually calming down. It's the loud clip-clop of the hoofs that he doesn't like.

Went back to the Plaza de Espana for another look around, but decided to wait for later in the week to have a proper look as we were all feeling a bit tired. Stopped at a bodega (bar) just near our apartment and had a couple of small tapas plates (spiced potatoes, and Iberian ham), plus a drink each. Schnitzel spent most of it asleep on our laps! It felt quite strange, since we were in the middle of the bar and restaurant area, but everywhere seemed closed! Very odd for a Friday night.

Back to our apartment where we both crashed pretty quickly, despite purchasing a bottle of red and a baguette to have with the olive oil Pedro had left us (he works for an olive oil company apparently). We only had a glass each and the bread before falling asleep on the lounge! Schnitzel woke us up around 11:30pm with a few barks; I realised he hadn't been out for his business so I took him out. While waiting, I noticed that all of the bars and restaurants were open again and doing brisk trade! I knew they liked to eat late here, but I'd forgotten just how late!Read more