Amandas Adventures in Spain

So I have been in Spain for three weeks now but it seems longer as have travelled quite a bit. After the Vaughnschool week the coach dropped us back in Madrid, Erin and I shared the room I had booked and the next day we got the fast train to Seville.  I always wondered what the AVE stood for, found out it's Alta Velocidad Espana (High Speed Spain!).  Anyway it was great, the Atocha Station which is the main one in Madrid is beautifull with a high vaulted glass ceiling, palm trees and a fountain. Once on the train it gathers speed till it's whizzing along through the countryside of Cordoba, which is by turns fields and olive trees. It took three and a half hours l think and was very pleasant.  We had booked online for rooms at a hotel in the old part of town, which turned out to be fine. Seville is a lovely city with plenty to see, fantastic architecture, lots of bars, restaurants and cool shops, lovely squares (Plazas) with fountains and horse carriages amongst the traffic.  It has a great atmosphere and the buildings are just awesome in their grandeur. Arrived on a Saturday and stayed untill Tuesday, and having watched a Flamenco show (the dancing quite different from the Madrid one) on the Monday night Erin and I said goodbye, it was nice having each others company but we did our own thing as well as spending some time together.  I decided to keep going south so I got the train to Jerez, having booked a room for three nights there.  Note to self; do not book online in a rush... got a taxi from the station to the hostel, it was like something out of the wild west, quite a way out of the centre on a busy road with a restaurant (that's being kind) attatched.  I knew as soon as l got there that l didn't want to stay.  Luckily the guy at reception let me use his laptop to get online and cancel (mine wouldn't connect).  I incurred a fee but didn't care, what price sanity? I did stay the one night as was tired and the room itself was fine. I had to eat in the 'restaurant' as there was nowhere else around.  Apart from some depressed looking Spanish guys who clearly thought I was peculiar I was alone, apart from the flies which ate more of my 'food' than I did. It was so awfull I didn't even finish my beer (friends in UK will be surpised at that one!).  Having booked another place online off I went next day....oh dear, another cock-up, The 'hostel' was a Youth Hostel, reminiscent of San Quentin (not that I  have been there), the rooms all had high windows you couldn't see out of (I imagine to stop the 'inmates' leaping out in despair). No bar, and again on its own on a busy road, a bus ride from the centre. Dumped my suuticase and caught a bus to  the centre (about a 15 minute ride through an industrail estate) and had a wander round.  Have to say its not as pretty as Seville, seemed a bit care-worn to me...anyway I sat and had a wine and soda and a salad and then moved on for another, not sure what to do.  Being a chatty sort of person has its' advantages and I went over to talk to a reasonable-looking Spanish guy, told him my woes and he very kindly went with me to a decent hotel, not expensive but just fine and when it turned out they were full he went with me to another, where he negotiated a fair price for me for three nights.  So I took a taxi and got my stuff from San Quentin and finally was able to relax (Thank you Daniel!). That night I met a Spanish woman, Carmen, who took me to a genuine Bodega in the back streets, full of chatter and life, where I had the Manzanilla, the Spainish dry sherry, which was really nice.  Had four days in Jerez, it turned out fine in the end. Am at the end of space available for this post so will do another in a few minutes!