"Spain" a Spain Travel Page by diosh

i spent a short time in Seville last year,as the guest of my generous friend who took me to Nairobi!
We went primarily to find a house to rent for my friend,prior to looking for a property to buy.
We stayed in the Alfonso XIII hotel,continuing her quest to keep me in the style to which I was unaccustomed! It was like staying in a Moorish Palace-marble halls off which the rooms lead,which seemed to go on forever-a gentle breeze wafting the delicate muslin curtains at the open windows.
I got up early the first morning and wandered around the city by myself,to take in the beauty of it.i wandered down little alleyways,discovering delightful architecture and houses adorned with pots of tumbling geraniums.All the while I could hear the clip-clop and tinkling bells of the horses and traps that carry tourists around the city.I stopped for a coffee at a cafe opposite the cathedral and just watched the world go by.A shoe-shine man was positioned near to where I was sitting and he offered to polish my shoes!He kept repeating,"Eengleesh-shoe-shine?"
I agreed, 'yes it was 'shoe-shine' in English!'
That was the sum total of his command of English.He did a marvellous job on my dusty leather mules,that had never been polished before!The cost of this entertaining interlude was 4 euros!
I strolled back to the hotel and woke my still slumbering friend,so that we could go for a 'clip-clop' ride.She had said that was the first thing she wanted to do-so off we went in search of the perfect pony to take us on our trip!

We found the 'perfect' pony and proceeded at a leisurely trot around the city,taking in the amazing sights.My friend insisted on sitting up-front with the driver,whilst revelling in the joy of it!
After the second time around,our driver stopped to buy us drinks!
He had made friends with these two daft English women by now and my friend had almost decided to buy one of his foals from his farm!We had yet another trip around and left him,after paying an extortionate bill,arranging to meet him later to visit his farm!
Fortunately I managed to allow my good sense to prevail and disuaded her from this rash course of action!
I had spotted the laughter amongst him and his fellow drivers!He must've thought all his Christmases had rolled into one!
i managed to drag her away and we went in search of a place for lunch,saying that we really should start looking for estate agents rather than pony farms!This was after she had parted with 150 euros for the experience!

This is turning into a saga!
- but I must mention our taxi driver.He drove us from the airport when we arrived and offered us help getting around the city.We called him after lunch and he met us and guided us to estate agents-first treating us to coffees.He had brought with him a local newspaper and had 'ringed' various properties for us.He took us to the agent and then to the first property we viewed.He was an enormous help as he spoke English and could translate what my friend's basic Spanish couldn't cope with.
We returned to our hotel,agreeing that we would see Dominique later,as he had offered to take us to a fantastic Flamenco show.
Anyone visiting Seville must go.It's at L'Arenal and is the best in Seville.
We dined in the hotel,watching fountains in the courtyard.-then went off to Flamenco!We took the !st house we saw and Dominique and his family remain firm friends.He charged us 60 euros for all his help!