Baeza and Ubeda

More cobbled lanes,  plazas food and.... wine. I think we accidentally signed up for the world alchies convention. 

Opps!

Yes well I almost spoke too soon re: getting into strife.  Two of our new buddies Sue and Maureen were leaving the train 2 days early.  Gaynor and I had plotted to get up early and surprise them to say one last goodbye. They were due to disembark at 6.15 and the train was due to depart the station at 6.35 . Up we get at 6.05, attired in fluffy robe and slippers and about to open the cabin door and step onto the platform when the bloody thing starts moving!!! Jump back in and slam door shut... Yikes 60 seconds earlier and we would have been waving the Al Alandulus off in all our glory. Btw... Said Sue and Maureen no where to be seen...left cabin without mobiles or money and... today is a bank holiday in Spain... No commuter trains running and the station was closed. Close shave....not satisfied with getting myself into trouble I am now on a mission to corrupt the innocent.

Just a bit more...

Photos of Sevilla Cathedral, Cardiz and more of the train.

From Granada to Cordoba

How is the view from our cabin window? ...rattling through the country side before breakfast.

Alhambra!

Alhambra yesterday was magnificent...albeit becoming stiflingly crowded as the day wore on. 
I must say I have never been a fan of tours as such but we have been well escorted and looked after by the train crew,  being ushered through and past all the queues like royalty.
Also...make a note that the Badger and I haven't been getting into any trouble since on board... Well not much shall we say.  Mmm may be an indicator that we do indeed require carers???

Oh no... Not again..

Pre dinner drinks in the lounge.  This is exhausting!

Beautiful Ronda!

PS

Little bit more...Paul by the train last night just before dinner...or was it after???  Lol it 's all a bit of a blur.

From Jerez to Ronda

Another day of luxury,  decadent over indulgence and unbelievable beauty.  The scenery attached is a photo taken from the cabin window... The olive groves of Ronda.  I was taking some time out myself... It has been hectic.  Yesterday we did a winery and saw the Andulus horses performance. Mmm not sure about that.. I am reluctant to pass judgement as they were obviously adored by their handlers and were extremely healthy etc etc but to see these magnificent creatures prancing about for entertainment ...I don't know... It made me feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Anyway after yet another 4 course lunch and  plied against our wills with more wine... Obviously...hehehe hicc...at the port... It was back on the train and a siesta...bliss rocked off to sleep.  Then ding ding ding the dinner bell rings and we are called to dinner and this little bat was up into the wee small hours yet again.

A bit more

Buenos Dias from Jerez , Tren Alandulus

First day and night on this marvelous train... So opulent, so sophisticated...so niiiiiice!!!!
This little bat and her new best friends crawled off to bed in the wee wee small hours.   Who would have believed it.  Btw Paul has a harem... Moi (obviously) , the gorgeous Gaynor,  Sue and Maureen, all an absolute hoot. We saw cathedrals yesterday but the highlight was dusk shopping with Gaynor in Cadiz. Omg so beautiful and the shopping was epic! 
OMG the food along with everything else is 5 star... Feeling very Very spoiled.
Today we have an after breakfast sherry tasting (as you would)  May as well get us trained up early for the rest of the day of wine food wine food.....

Santa Justa Station

Sitting in the Sara Club Lounge sipping a coffee as all the other passengers of the Al Alandulus are herded up by gorgeous young ladies.... It's a tough job this but someone has to do it.

Evening in Sevilla!

Off to catch the Al Alandulus Train this morning from Santa Justa Station.  I do believe the Badger intends to try to get me on another bus!  Yikes!!!
Dinner last night was tapas from various bars... Yum yum yum oink oink....and of course all washed down with some excellent Tempranillo.

Buenos Diaz!

Not so sunny Spain today,  cool and showers but a perfect day to chill out and catch our breath again before the Train journey tomorrow!!!! Being Sunday we are being treated to almost continual church bells... Marvelous.
There was an art market setting up outside the Museum of Art this morning, so many talented people!
Also... bare with me on some posts. I am often posting from the phone which is a devil to type on as 1/2 the screen disappears and makes it hard to proof read...and the jolly auto correct / prompt drives me crackers...  and we all know that's a short trip lol.  Do your best to decipher.

We are off to Sunny Spain....Viva Espana lalala-lalalala...

Actually...we are already here....
And....well sometimes even I can't believe how daft I am....no that isn't true...I do...but may I say....It wasn't I who was organising our boarding passes and then  freaked out some poor lady who thought Ryan Air had over booked because we were sitting in her and husbands seats on our flight to Seville....ours were the seats behind (shakes head tisk tisk lol ) had he lost his specs by then? row 25 could look like 26...? lol....both of us shouldn't be let out of the house without a carer...let alone loose on the other side of the planet.....hehehe. It has indeed been just 'one of those days' start to finish.
  As for Ryan Air...despite their bad rap...our luggage was there to meet us, it was only a half hour late in departure.....yes, if you are tall you are going to be exceedingly uncomfortable...but...they are a cheap arse carrier  doing a short haul flight and one of the only ones who go direct London to Seville....so anyone who moans and groans....and there were a few....'suck it up princess'  they are pretty good I say.
Our apartment in Seville is to die for..ten out of ten.  It is RIGHT in the heart of Seville, lovely old building, nestled in....lots of other lovely old buildings, you can walk everywhere.....huge comfy bed, huge bathroom, laundry facilities,  our host was soooo nice- gave us so much info and made us feel welcome.
As for the bus?....yeah, not a fan....but thinking on...compared to the horrors of a Melbourne Taxi....perhaps the bus wasn't sooo bad. 
Just a last message to end today.... to my partner in crime at PAS, Keitha.... we often spend an hour or two on a Friday playing with our Ipads/tablets .... feeling blessed at being part of this techno age....well today we used a smart phone to board an aircraft...how incredible was that?...no paper...just presented the image from an app' on a phone....amazing.  lol and all those young whipper-snapper pack packers had paper print outs....how passé.

Blind

No not drunk, forgot to mention our first casualty,  I lost my glasses but luckily our great neighbours Bob and Patricia had advised us to take spares.

Seville

Who would decide to pack ALL of their makeup/toiletries in a carry on bag, daft bat.  After pulling all the stuff out and packing it into 6 clear plastic bags we find out that you are only allowed one.   The daft bat has to ditch most of her make up which ends up costing me uber pounds at the clarins duty free counter.  I must give her credit though, I always said that JQ's idea of backpacking was a limo drive between 5* hotels, well I got her on two buses from the apartment to the accommodation (which I think she is giving me a 10 for).  Seville is beautiful, we had tapas and lots of wine tonight with dinner starting at 9pm, we are in the swing of euro time already and I am looking forward to a siesta tomorrow.