Friday, October 29, 2010

The treasures of Seville - The Bhatia/Heinrichs Tour - day 3

The pleasures of a tour can be magnified or limited many times before you even leave the hotel. An early morning call back to our hotel in Malaga was needed to have them send us some things that had been left behind. With that minor hitch resolved, we all met down in the patio for a light breakfast before Alvaro arrived to take us around his town. One of the things that people comment about frequently is the difference a tour guide can make when he or she is truly enthusiastic, really passionate about the job. And Alvaro is definitely one of them (and remember, its AL-va-ro, not al-BER-o, which is the color of the sand). His guiding us through the mazes (intentional to confuse invaders) and his ability to answer any questions completely and immediately were highly appreciated. When we stopped for a coffe it was to be introduced to a former Torero, and, after a quick coffee and an amusing eldery lady who tried to sell us some lottery tickets we were back into action, visiting the anta Cruz quarter, the Reales Alcazares and finally the Cathedral.

After taking a pass on climbing up the Giralda minaret, the rest of the day was left to relax, take in the Sevilla sun and just generally enjoy the vacation. We met in the evening for a great tapas dinner at Las Teresas and then back to the hotel for a night cap of some of the brandy Ranbir had bought at the winery - accompanied by some sweets from the local convent which the hotel had available for us. An exquisite end to a great day.

Up next: A visit to Cordoba.

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