22 September 2022
The bus ride from Tavira to Seville was uneventful with no checks whatsoever when we crossed the border. Our accommodation for the next few days is an apartment - tiny but new and well fitted out and within 600m of bus station and has a lift, v important we have found when you have wheelie bags.
Opted for a 'free walking tour late in the afternoon on the day we arrived. The starting point of the tour was beneath the Parque Metropol Parasol - the biggest wooden structure in the world. Very interesting tour and sounds like Spain is about a religious as Portugal is.
Dinner was at a local restaurant, based on a google search of 'cheap restaurants near me' - was not disappointed as had chorizo, gazpacho, pork meatballs, potatoes bravas with blue cheese, spinach and chickpeas a couple of beers and wine each. V tasty and all up about $50 for the two of us
Next day we rose early, well early for us, and had a wander along the side of Río Guadalquivir a big river that runs through Seville towards the Cathedral (NB: The name of the river literally translates as 'big river').
So big that we spotted what looked like an ocean going cruise liner docked a couple of kms downstream of us. Impressive considering Seville is at least 60km inland from the ocean.
En route we passed Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla which, if the poster outside is anything to go by, is still a very active place for bull fights.
One of the must see sights is the main Cathedral and because of this pre booking and getting a pre allocated entry time is a good idea. We entered the Cathedral at our alloted time and first thing to visit was the La Giralda Bell Tower, or as we will always think of it The Donkey Tower. The whole Cathedral is built on top of, and around, a Mosque, from when the Moors were in charge, and the Donkey Tower was were the faithful were called 5 times a day to pray. The tower is v tall and as a result rather than a spiralling staircase, which tired the Iman out, a series of 33 ramps were installed so that the Iman could ride a donkey all the way to the top.
The views out over the city from the top of the Tower were great.
The interior of the Cathedral is Baroque style (where Baroque means 'seriously over the top').
A couple of interesting/odd things were the tomb of Christopher Colombos.
And crocy.
The Lagarto, or lizard, actually a stuffed crocodile, hangs from the ceiling in the corner of the Courtyard of the Oranges. The story goes that Alfonso had a beautiful, and illegitimate daughter, named Berenguela. The Emir of Egypt wished for her hand in marriage. To this end, the Emir sent a magnificent embassy to Seville with rich and exotic gifts for the king and princess. Among these gifts was a live crocodile, whose size astonished the Spanish. The crocodile languished in its captivity and shortly died and a wooden model of the beast was carved, and covered with its skin, and hung in the corner of the Courtyard of the Oranges. BTW the Emir never got the girl.
After OD ing on religion we checked out Plaza de España. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is a landmark example of Regionalism Architecture, mixing elements of the Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture but more importantly was used in the filming of Star Wars!
and this is what I call a meat counter.
Tomorrow we head out of town to check out some Roman ruins.
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