Seville

We went through great lengths to get GPS in the car we rented--and overall it was wonderful. Did you know you can tell the GPS to give you a toll-free route? Well worth it when driving down the Costa Brava. The only problem was that it hadn't been updated in about ten years. At least. And most of the hotels we stayed in were newer than that. So virtually every night we'd pull into our destination city around midnight, be driving down a dirt road, a sleazy part of town, or a gated community complete with dogs barking and hear the dreaded "You have reached your destination." But Seville was the worst. It took us a ridiculous amount of time to find our hotel--because it was IN the Olympic stadium! Not next to it. In it.

We parked right by the hotel entrance, also known as Portal H.

Directly up the stairs from our car.

These canopies shading the street are a nice visual indicator of how HOT it was. A smart idea.

This is supposedly Columbus's grave. Spain and the Dominican Republic fight over which one actually has his body. I've been to both monuments, so I guess I've seen him no matter where he really is. Phew.

We climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed . . .

But the view was worth it.