Paulclem

It's the first holiday abroad in a number of years and I'm here in Seville with my son who is 22 in order to reinvigorate his interest in Spanish and open the possibility to him of working in this culture as an option.

I think it has worked. He loves the city and often takes off wandering around the place for hours. (My irritating company might also provoke this too, but I remain upbeat).

I like the city too. We went on a river cruise today past the Moorish Gold Tower - so named because the gold from the Americas was stored there - and looked at the lovely riverside apartments that line parts of the bank. (Gold from the Americas - how evocative is that!).

Whilst here I have discovered a skill for getting lost around the winding streets, and that my attempts at geographical approximation are nil. I have frequently gone in the opposite direction. When my lad texted me to ask where I was recently, I had to confess to not knowing at all. By some fortune I did manage to find my way back to a mutually known point - Starbucks in this case- though I didn't expect to emerge from the city so easily.

I really like European cafe culture. I can wander and sit outside a cafe on the Almeda De Hercules and watch children play football, groups of dogs socialising and not feel as if I am invading a youth club where it's all a bit edgy and aggressive. There are also some good bars here, one of which played Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and JJ Cale albums back to back. My son likes a nearby Jazz Bar. I don't particularly get Jazz - I prefer rock and pop - but I like the fact that you can go to live performances of it 6 days a week.

I have not really increased my linguistic abilities whilst I have been here. The usual thing happens; I go in with a confident phrase - Una cafe con leches por favor - and then they say something back and I revert to clipped English and mime. As a result I left Burger King without a meal and ended up with a tuna salad. I'm a veggie, but not a picky soapbox one, so I just got on with the salad-y bit.

All in all it's been a good trip. As usual I lamented my lack of linguistic preparation, but I have enjoyed the pace of days where everyone retires from the blaze of the Sun for a few hours before resuming in the civilised cool of the evening.

So thanks Seville for being so civil.