Seville Day - Twenty One

Day Twenty One

Date:     19 April  2013

Place:    Seville

Weather:   Very warm

Accommodation:   Hotel Eurostars Regina

We had an extra night in Seville so we made a later start from the hotel after a 9am continental breakfast.

On the way to the city centre we passed these Roman columns and huge plaza.  Two columns stand at the other end as well. 

 

We immediately noticed it wasn’t as hot as yesterday so walking the streets was much more pleasant.  Our task was to find the Tourism Office however it proved to be a little bit elusive.  After to-ing and froing the cathedral we found it and didn’t receive as much information as we would have liked so we went and joined the queue at the cathedral.  Fortunately, the vast queues we saw entering the cathedral belonged to groups so we were spared a lot of waiting!

This is where David exited the scene as he is suffering NABC disease (not another bl……..cathedral) and he wandered the streets exploring and watching the still-life figures in the plazas.

The Cathedral of Seville (commenced in 1402 and on the site of a mosque) is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world…..and boy is it large!  The columns supporting the vaulted roof are enormous and many.  We had audio guides to help us wend our way past the many chapels along the sides of the church, the treasury and other features.

 

 The enormous columns in the cathedral....I made Desley stand here (with audio guide!) to give an indication of their vastness.

Looking up to the organ.  The ceilings are very high!

 

The tomb of Christopher Columbus is in the cathedral and his remains made their way here in 1902.  It appears they travelled as far as he did when he was alive!  It is held by four pallbearers representing the four main regions (Leon, Castille, Aragon and Navarra) in Spain when Columbus was exploring.  One bearer holds an oar and another a staff.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus

Our training on the camino must have done us some good as we ascended the 36 ramps of the La Garilda (the tower) and we found it was very easy.  Of course, it may have been a different story if they were steps!

The Courtyard of the Orange Trees is to the right and the Gothic buttresses in the middle of the photo.

 

From the tower there were wonderful views over Seville which was very bright in the midday sun.  The tower was originally the minaret (built in 1184) however it was converted to a bell tower for the Christian cathedral.  A bell above the main bells tolls the time of the day which chimed and struck one pm while we were there.  The tower also allows wonderful views of the cathedral, courtyard and buttresses of the church.

The exit lead us through the Courtyard of Orange trees one of the few areas of the original mosque which provided lovely shade.  A few quick photos and we were on our way to meet up with David and find a place for lunch.

Just outside the cathedral....on the way to the fair.

Still life - on the way to lunch and we ran into an old friend .... Don Quixote!



Not sure how this is done!

 

The Iberian hams hanging in the restaurant.  They are noted for their flavour and the pigs are fed acorns to achieve this.

 

On our way for more exploring Desley noticed her bag was unzipped and she could not find her wallet!  After pulling everything out no wallet was to be found so it was decided that they would retrace their steps to the restaurant and David and I would continue on to the Jewish Quarter.  Suffice to say, there are some pretty clever thieves in Seville and the first time the wallet was noticed missing was the unzipped bag!  A call to Australia to cancel the card and the loss of eighty euros meant our fellow travellers were let off lightly.  In reflection, I believe it went missing when we walked through some gypsy women selling rosemary – for some reason they all started laughing so I’m not sure if that was to distract us – who knows?

David and I wandered the Jewish Quarter, bought some gifts for our granddaughters, sat at a bar and had an orange juice and then strayed back to the hotel for some rest and to get ready for the evening.

Unbelievable array of dresses!  Desley spied some in a department store and they were 4 to 5 hundred euros!

 

We caught up with our fellow travellers at 7.30pm to have the lost wallet story recounted before we headed off to the Jewish Quarter for dinner.  We chose a wonderful restaurant by chance and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner.

David's colourful paella!

 

The cathedral and tower look spectacular at night time.

 

 

It was then time to head to the Fiera (Fair) for a look at the night time entertainment.  After deliberating at the Cathedral square David negotiated a deal with a horse and carriage driver and we trotted our way to the grounds.  It was great fun!

Great fun trotting on cobbled stones to the fair!

 

The fair was abuzz with lights, music, food and entertainment.  We wandered the streets looking into the tents and stopping when there was flamenco dancing, guitar playing or singing.  There was an infintismal array of beautiful flamenco dresses in all colours and patterns.  Polka dots were particularly popular.

After our eventful day we caught a taxi back to the main street near our hotel and walked in the door near mid-night.  It was time for bed!!