N: The Seville Cathedral is the third largest in Europe and the very largest Gothic cathedral. Immense, beautiful, and different from the Italian ones we've seen, we were awed by it. Among the gold and silver alter pieces paid for by New World gold, was the current tomb of Columbus, whose bones have resided in many towns over the years. His son is also entombed here.

Perhaps the most amazing part was the adjoining tower which we climbed. The tower, which predates the cathedral back to Moorish times, is large enough to contain a spiraling ramp allowing a rider to ascend the tower on horseback! Of course the views were breathtaking and the sound of a bell chiming rattled our vertebrae.

That evening we trucked over to another part of town, a pretty park on Alameda de Hércules, that was near another tapas bar on Kevin's list. Casa Paco was a small casual place frequented by locals, except for the exchange student at the next table showing off his mediocre Spanish to his visiting parents. This was a scene we encountered several times on our trip.

B: Another drizzly day in Sevilla. Unfortunately, Kevin was not able to meet with us while we were there. He recommended a flamenco show that advertised that it was open every day. For some reason, they were closed and would reopen after we had left town.

Rick Steves recommended a restaurant for breakfast on Plaza Santa Maria Blanca (across the street from our hotel) called Café Bar Carmela. The owner was very excited when I showed her the recommendation in Rick's book. She said she had not known about it before.

Again, at Casa Paco l asked the waiter to bring us a variety of tapas. They were much more homey in style than at La Azotea the night before, yet they were also delicious. We were the first patrons to arrive at 9:45 p.m. and 15 minutes later, there were no empty seats.