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My detour to the south of Portugal had worked... I got to see a part of the country I hadn't oringinally planned on and I was able to economically get across the border and into Spain!  My first stop was to the city of Seville (highly recommended to me as "the real Spain" by a girl named Elana whom I met on a bus during my ride from Cape Cod to Connecticut when I was on the East Coast of the US).  A new country, a new culture, and a new language... I was back on the road going somewhere I knew no one and it was time to brush up on my Spanish!

Due to my extended stay in Cascais, and couple days extra detour through the south of Portugal, my plans to see either Cordoba and/or Granada (in addition to Seville) while making my way through Spain were scrapped.  The train system didn't make it easy to go to either and I figured I'd rather spend more time in one place and get to know it a bit then try and race thru three.  I booked three nights at a hostel near the City Center of Seville and spent my days strolling around, getting lost, people watching, and finding my way back.  My fortune of good weather continued.  Staying in my room was a Spanish university student named David that was spending a few days in Seville looking for a flat to rent.  We struck up a friendship and he gave me a list of sights to see.  He also had a friend from Seville named Clara and we all went out one night for some drinks, a meal, and socializing.  We ended up having a great conversation about world politics. 



Churros con chocolate for breakfast, siestas in the afternoon, and a great tapas style of eating... I was liking Spain. 

If there was one thing about the culture of Seville that really struck me it was the eating habits of the people.  Siestas are no joke.  Some time around 3pm everything shuts down.  If you dont plan your meals right you're S.O.L. till "dinner" which, ísn't typically served until 9pm.  It is not uncommon for families to start eating dinner at 10pm or to see children running around in the parks or city center till midnite (even on a school night)!  Imagine that at home.

Next on my list was the modern Spanish city of Barcelona.  I had a friend-of-a-friend there (her name is Rakel and she knows my friend Blenda... they are both from Peru... Blenda is married to my good buddy Raymond and they live on westside of Kauai) and was looking forward to meeting her and spending a long weekend checking out all that Barce has to offer with someone who knew their way around.  Well, kind of knew her way around!

With no phone I had prearranged to meet Rakel at a metro stop in the city.  I was a few minutes late (operating on Hawaiian/Portugese/Spanish time) but we managed to find each other and she greeted me with a warm smile :)  For the next few days we met up, walked around the city, saw sites, had fun, enjoyed the company of her friends, attended her church on Sunday, and went to the beach.  There was lots to see and, like every city, distances to walk to see them.  Rakel was an expert at pointing out something of importance and saying "See that... its really important for some reason but I don't know why... but, it's 'REALLY NICE!'"  That will be a running joke between us for a long time :)  We had a great time.



After enjoying a long weekend and eyeing a swell on the horizon slated to hit the nothern coast of Spain/France, I packed up my pack and, again, hit the road for my next stop - Biarritz, France.

PS
Occasionally when traveling abroad you come across comical cultural/language plays on words.  My favorite in Spain was regarding the upcoming tour of the rock group U2.  In Spain they call them "You dos"!  I think its hilarious.