Portugal here we come.

Oh no we don't.

Tuesday 12/3/13

Today is Portugal day. It's taken us months, and a couple of tries to get there, but today was going to be the day that we finally get to Portugal.

I pulled back the curtains and saw a dark grey, cloudy sky, dumping rain all over Seville. Bummer. Looks like it's another day in Seville for us.

We dodged the rain drops by hiding under awnings and running in between the shops. After lunch we found a little tile shop that sells antique ceramic tiles and also manufactures and sells reproduction tiles. There was some really cool tiles here and some were over seven hundred years old. They were a bit out of our price range though. Even the repos were pretty pricey.

Then we went off in search of a bit of history.

Remember Susona, from the Jewish Quarter museum a few days ago. After her part in history she declared that when she died her head should be hung above her house as a reminder to people to not betray their family and friends. This was done. Her head was put on display and stayed there for a hundred years. These days there is a ceramic tile adorned with a skull and her name hanging above the door of her house.

We went and found the street, and the house, and the tile.

Then it was time to visit the Alcazar, the Royal Palace that was originally a Moorish fort. This is another one of these places that is enormous and goes on forever.

Unassuming entrance.

One very small section of one of the buildings.

Enough room for a decent sized party.

A lot of the walls were adorned with

large paintings or tapestries.

Have a look at that ceiling detail.

There was a large collection of fans on display.

These were obviously a status symbol, not just a fan.

Made from exotic materials and decorated

by well known artists of the time.

A few sixteenth Century tiles on display.

Some went back to the thirteenth Century.

Keep this flatware away from the kids.

Nice security doors.

There is just so much work here. Everything is so detailed.

A bit over the top for our backyard,

but it works here.

Every small corner had something to see.

I wasn't even going to go into this small side room,

then I poked my head around the corner.

Wow.

After roaming around the Alcazar for a few hours we were exhausted. There was so much to see and take in.

Our plan was to go back to the hotel, repack all our gear, and be ready to take advantage of the fine weather forecast for tomorrow. Then we would be on our way first thing in the morning. We were so worn out that we had a bit of a feed and crashed for the night.

I wonder if we'll get to Portugal tomorrow. I hope so.