We traveled on our own in Lisbon; the first time without a tour.

The hub of Lisbon is "Praca do Comercio". Tour books refer to this as "Black Horse Square." However, locals have no idea what "Black Horse Square" is. If you are lost and ask a resident for Black Horse Square, you are still lost.

Rua Augusto where Pat did her first "serious" shopping. She bought a fancy leather purse at a store near here.

The old section of the city is known as the "Alfama". It was somewhere between romance and poverty.

Seville was a surprise for us. Many of their best attractions were built for a Spanish Exposition in 1929.

The Spanish Gates now house administrative offices.

There are "Gates" for each region of Spain.

The Alcazar dates back to the Moorish occupation.	Christians "updated" sections of the Alcazar after driving out the Moors.	The Grand Mosque of Seville was begun in 1184.
Several sections of the Alcazar were modified by one of the royal families to copy the Alhambra. Ironically, Kristen and Giacomo will travel to Spain this month and visit the Alhambra itself.

As in many European cities, there were many churches.

They were a popular stop on most tours.

We visited another site in Spain, Santiago de Compostela. This was a great pilgrimage center in the middle ages and centers around a huge cathedral holding the body of St. James the Apostle. It is included here as a separate link.

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