January 1 and 2 (Monday, Tuesday) – At Sea; and CADIZ for SEVILLA, SPAIN

January 1 (Mon) – At Sea – A lazy day around the ship catching up on rest and sleep. We did do 2 pub quiz’s – one we got all but 2 correct tying with one other team but lost in the tie-break. The second we got 23 out of 30 correct. The show was the Barricade boys – a group of four singer that all perform on the West End stage and have in common that they were all in Les Miserable. Also there was a magician who had a very amusing banter – Mark Shortland.

January 2 (Tuesday) – CÁDIZ for SEVILLA, SPAIN – [Starboard side to dock; Drive RHS 9:00-5:30] (Capital Madrid; Sevilla population 700,000; Cadiz population 140,000; Guide – Silvia; Driver – Juan) Tour – Sevilla on your own.

Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula and the oldest in the Western world with 3,000 years of history. A very large naval Andalusian port on a long penninsula, Cadiz is the capital of the province on the Costa de la Luz (Light Coast) stretching from Gibraltar to the Portuguese border. It was founded by the Phoenicians some 3,000 years ago, dominated by the moors from 711 AD and where the Spanish Constitution was signed in 1812.

Since Courtney had to return to England for work we opted to take the coach from Cádiz to Sevilla (1:45 Hrs) and have the day on our own. Although the start of the day was cool it became a hot sunny day and we took full advantage walking some 6 miles around the town. On the ride to Sevilla, the guide gave us maps and a list of the more important places to see which were (in no particular order) – Real Alcazar [Moorish Palace] (12th to 19th Centuries), Palacio de San Talmo [San Talmo Palace] (18th Century), Capilla de Santa María Jesus (16th C), Museo Marítimo Torre de Oro [Gold Tower Maratime Museum] (13th Century), Catedral y Giralda [Cathederal and Bell Tower] (from 15th C), Iglesias de Santa Cruz (17th C) [Church of the Holy Cross] which is in the heart of the Old Jewish Quarter and a area number of narrow streets and restaurants, Plaza España [Spanish Square] (20th Century); The Plaza de Toros Real Maestranza de Caballería [Bull Ring] (18th C), and the shopping area around past City Hall on Constitution Avenue near the 17th Century Church and convent of the Holy Angel.

When we arrived in Sevilla, we were dropped in front of the Alfonso XIII Luxury Hotel and went straight to the Moorish Palace – Real Alcazar. However, the queues were so bad that it would have taken us over an hour to get to the ticket office and Courtney had to leave within the hour to the airport. So we sadly bid her adieu as she took the flight to Gatwick and home to Wokingham. Once she left the 4 boys, headed to Starbucks for a coffee and thus fortified, headed out to the river – Canal de Alfonso XIII passing the Bull ring, and to the first stop – The Museo Marítimo Torre de Oro. However, as we were still carrying our coffee and no drink is permitted in the museum, we continued the walk along the river where there were various 2, 4 and 8 men skulls practicing on the river. When we got to the Puente de los Remedios, we took a left through the Maria Luisa park, along Avenida Rodriguez de Paso to the magnificent Plaza España, which was built for the World’s fair in 1920. Other countries also built structures and we passed on entering the city, the Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, USA, Brazil and others on the Avenida de Delícias. It is a magnificent semi circular structure with a central fountain and a moat like structure permitting small boats to row in a full circle around the area. We then wandered up the the Old Jewish neighborhood and stopped at a little sidewalk cafe for a real home cooked Tapas meal at the Casa Placido Restaurant including Cola de Toro (Bull Tail), Spanish Omelet, Chorizo, Goat cheese all going down with a glass of local beer. We then continued along the narrow streets eventually getting to the Cathedral, which from the outside is magnificent. We tried to enter and stood some 35 minutes in the queue to pay the entrance fee, as we still were not at the kiosk, we opted to leave as we only had half an hour before we had to be at the meeting point for the return coach ride at 3:30PM. We went in and saw the Alfonso XIII Hotel and eventually boarded the coach, returning to the ship in time for dinner, the Pub quiz and the “La Danza “ (dancing) show.