We decided not to take the toll highway so navigating the country roads was a wee bit taxing.

We stopped at one point to take pictures in each direction of this beautiful valley. The landscape reminded us of the hills of Tuscany.

But the views of the countryside from the car were worth the extra trouble.

Just before we turned onto the highway to Seville, we saw this scene which quite frankly astounded us!

The highway up to Spain was direct and fast but navigating the streets of old Seville was frustrating.

To top it off, when we finally found our hotel, we discovered that we had left our passports in the car. D walked back to the car to fetch them.

As I waited for D’s return I took this picture through our hotel front door to the cathedral.

This was the view from our room!

The room was teensy. One wall was immediately to the left and the window immediately to the right, but we were delighted with its location.

We had a quick lunch of patatas bravas and paella for 2. I thought that it as too expensive at 36 Euros and I was not overly impressed with it or the potatoes. But all of our meals couldn’t be home runs!

D and I had thought that the Cathedral was the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world behind St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London (both of which we have visited) but as I look at a brochure from the cathedral now, it states that with the dimensions of 126 m length, 83 m wide, 27 m high and the 96 m of the Giralda tower, the Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.

The most fascinating aspect of the building itself was the fact that in 1184 it was built as a mosque. It was consecrated as a cathedral in 1248 and the construction of the Gothic architecture took place from 1434 – 1517.

We were definitely impressed with the grandeur of the building but what I especially loved were the tiny details, like the three cherub angels above.

The vision of St. Anthony by Murillo.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus by Arturo Melida.

The crucifix.

Clerical vestments.

The Giralda Tower was designed by Ben Basso also in the 12th century.

The night views of the tower were also exquisite.

The orange tree courtyard dates back to the 12th century. We could not believe this quiet sanctuary was smack in the centre of this bustling city.

We took a Devour tappas and wine tour that evening. Stay tuned.

Kath’s quote: “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral”. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Love never fails.

After our morning excursion to Lagos, we decided to have our lunch back at Praia de Alvor.The pics above of our beautiful beach walk.

Called a snack bar/restaurant; we loved the beach location,

the open patio and the food!

D had a shellfish salad that was chock full of shrimp. It was served with a cocktail/mayo sauce that I recalled from a Portuguese restaurant that used to be on Portage Ave. back home.

I was over the moon with my selection of seafood pasta. It was simply prepared with garlic, lemon and olive oil and had plenty of clams and shrimp. With a dusting of Parmesan, s&p, a bit more olive oil it was SENSATIONAL!

Unfortunately when it was time to pay up for our lunch and beer, I realized I had left my money in the knapsack in the car. D briskly walked back to the car and then drove to the restaurant.

There was a beautiful sunset that evening. I took these pics right from the elevator lobby on our floor. We decided to lay low that night as we were off to Seville the next morning.

Kath’s quote: “The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.”-Author Unknown

Love never fails.

After returning from the cliffs of Lagos we quite accidently discovered that Lagos had a walled city; so we spent the rest of the morning wandering around there.

This cheerful little building was found just inside the gate. We imagined that it was a muster station for guards at one point in history.

I saw the village church as soon as we entered the gates. It became more and more beautiful as it came into view.

We were impressed by the tile on the outside of the homes.

Lagos Harbour.

I spotted another one of my favourite Algarvian trees.

We came upon this beautiful sculpture. I could not determine the name of the piece or the sculptor but I was very fond of it.

We stopped in for refreshment at a beautiful pastry shop right off the square.

D couldn’t get enough of the Pastis Natal and

I loved the coconut cookie that I discovered.

We appreciated the location and beauty of this old timer.

It appeared to us to be inhabited by the flowers on the railing.

We appreciated the pedestrian only streets that wound their way around the old town and we loved that they rolled out red carpets for their guests.

The merchants of Lagos sold a variety of items. We even happened upon this surf shop. We enjoyed watching the surfers in their wet-suits on Alvor Beach just down from our hotel.

Kath’s quote: “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf.”-John Kabat-Zinn

Love never fails.

The sun on this day was late showing itself and I got some pics of the mist on the Alvor cliffs.

We had hoped it would clear and when it did, we set of for Lagos. We found Lagos easily and drove down the single lane to the park at the cliffs.

I included a couple of pics of my husband D. Having a person in the picture gives you some perspective of the magnitude of this glorious place. Look at the person in the picture just above.

My daughter hiked the Grand Canyon in January and pictures without the sea in the background reminded me of there.

The cliffs and grottos were formed over time by the ocean continuously battering the rock hills on shore.

We were surprised to see wildflowers everywhere. Back home these would not make an appearance for months and months. I understand that wild figs cover the hills in late spring. A sight I would love to see.

This was one of my favouite pics. Imagine the challenge of putting down roots in rocky soil, forever battered by the wind and yet standing so majestically?

Other trees in the vicinity weren’t so lucky.

The lighthouse was closed to the public but there was a single vendor selling her woolens by the gate. She was a talented craftsperson and I admired her savvy, braving the wind all on her own.

In the top right of this picture, you can see the town of Alvor where we were staying.

We assumed by the monument above, that loved ones had lost their lives on the cliffs. We paid our respects.

Before heading back to Alvor, we spent some time in the ancient walled city of Lagos. See next post.

Kath’s quote: “The waves hit the cliff with more intensity than the shore, because the ocean knows the cliff has that masculine intensity which won’t complain about her feminine energy.” ― Nityananda Das

Love never fails.