Leaving the rental car behind, we are happy to be travelling by train again. From Malaga to Sevilla.
Sevilla was my pick as a destination in Spain because I'd read that it offered history plus architecture, all wrapped up in an authentic Spanish culture. After the British, ex-pat community we met along the coast, we are solidly in Spanish territory now, where English is the exception.
Our building. A lovely VRBO rental. Two levels, 2 baths, rain shower!
We saw some of the Olympics, in Russian with Spanish subtitles!
Our street. Pedestrian walkway.
Less than 10min in any direction to be in the heart of things.
Our first dinner in town...only understood a few words from the chef...mostly hand gestures and some French and the universal 'thumbs up' that "you're gonna love it; trust me".
and he was right... we did love it!
Presa iberica pork. Acorn diet.
Small town with a night life ... another good thing about Sevilla.
Feb 16. Sunday
Not much is open in these Catholic countries on Sunday. But we had sunshine and clear blue sky, so we figured that no matter what, we could get our bearings, take pictures and put a face on some of the monuments we'd been reading about.
Down our street to El Duque Plaza.
Then over to the river. Every city river has a promenade!
and a beautiful bridge ...
and an Irish bar!
We took the tour of the bullring in Seville ... 2nd oldest to the one we saw in Ronda.
10 minutes of walking brought us to the historic center.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Cathedral of Seville.
Largest Gothic structure in the world.
3rd largest cathedral after St Peter's at the Vatican and St Paul's in London.
Pretty spectacular from the outside...
Giraldi Tower.
A former minaret that was converted to a bell tower for the Cathedral of Seville.
And in the next plaza over is the Alcazar, home for Spain's royal family.
Of course, cool old buildings were everywhere.
Sevilla is full of gorgeous renovations.
Even the café where we had lunch.
munched on fresh guacamole and chips
and check out all the incredible architecture
Ancient wall from Roman period.
Monday - Feb 17
The roll of good weather continues. Today we got tickets for the HopOn/HopOff tour bus in order to get the complete tour of the city, since many areas we would not walk to. Our tickets also included free guided walking tours.
It never ceases to amaze that so much that we are gawking at above ground is sitting on Roman ruins.
In this case, the area under/next to the city street holds the ruins of a Roman shipyard.
Because sea-going vessels could not travel any further up the river, Seville was the heart of commerce and ship-building.
Walk thru this lovely archway to an open square.
Where you'll find the residences of the priests who work the Cathedral.
Delicious 3 course lunch at a cooking school.
Tuesday. Feb 18
Today, we are going to tour the Cathedral of Seville. We've heard it can take hours to complete the tour, especially if you walk the 34 floors to the top of the Giraldi Tower. And since the sun is out, we definitely are doing that!
Wow.
Huge.
Ornate.
Powerful.
Overwhelming.
Over the top.
Ok ... enough already.
Chapel after chapel. Ornate doesn't even begin to describe the feeling.
Christopher Columbus is interred here ... or at least a small part of him if you believe all stories of where he is really buried.
Incredible views from the top of the Giraldi Tower.
Garden below .. orange and lemon trees.
That is the bull ring in the distance.
Amazing Gothic Architecture.
There are 35 spirals of ramps to the top of the tower.
There were several strollers, but no one in a wheelchair braved the climb while we were there. Wicked on the way up but wild on the way down.
The Moorish garden in the courtyard was typical and reflected Islam`s ideal of Heaven.
and it was indeed heavenly under those orange trees
Moorish designed gardens have this lovely, simple irrigation system to funnel water.
Wednesday, Feb 19.
We thought we'd have one free day to just be idle in Sevilla, but that wasn't the case. We've found our preference point at one big museum or cathedral a day ... leaving plenty of time for wine and tapas and informal sight-seeing of different neighborhoods.... so, we've got one more big site to see.
Today, we toured the Alcazar, the residence for Spain's royal family since the days of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Just the right size, I'd say. Lots of rooms for all the different formal events, but none of them too big. And, ohhhhhh, the tile work! Best part of Spanish architecture. Well, and the gardens too. Green space has been open and abundant since the Moors first settled here. They are also credited with bringing in lemon and orange trees ... in particular, orange trees line every street in Seville, and they are prominent in every garden. The fruit is only good for preserves (today, it's shipped off to England to become orange marmalade), in the day, it was the perfect way to mask the smell of the city, since bathing wasn't really much in vogue.
The Moors did a masterful job at tile work. The design and detail are so intricate.
The intricate stone work ... no painted statues here.
a ceiling. always an amazing ceiling.
Incredible tile work everywhere.
Water plays a key role throughout the Muslin day so water was ingeniously routed throughout the house gardens, fountains and religious spaces.
Thursday, Feb 20.
Wowzer ... that time went fast. Five days in Seville, and we no longer need a map and can remember our best short cuts.
10min walk to the bus station; 45min ride to the airport. Enough time for a glass of wine (in a real wine glass), a draft beer and a free tapas with our drink -- all at the airport bar!
Next stop: Barcelona.
1 comment:
Wow. Great pictures.....
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