On the road at last

---

Introduction

Due to frustration with the American Embassy, i booked flights on Tuesday and flew to Seville on Thursday to spend a couple of days with my cousin Sophie before heading over to Morocco for 10 days. It was really nice to be able to just sticks and leave without any firm plans.

I didn't take many pictures in Seville, partly because it preys on my pride to lower myself to the level of the fat American happy snapping tourists. I suppose that the other excuse I have is that I was enjoying wandering around so much that I didn't want to have to worry about what make a good photo, stopping, snapping and disturbing the easy flow of life in Southern Spain. Enough...

Getting there

I flew from Stansted and arrived in Seville a bit late at about 10pm, my phone took ages to pick up signal and I couldn't get through to Sophie on my mobile, but I managed to meet a slightly worried cousin at the last bus stop in Seville without too much of a problem. She was having a drink with some colleagues from the school where she teaches English. We then went a tapas bar to have a quick bite with India, who is spending a year out from her modern languages course at Edinburgh in Seville. We then went back to Sophie's flat and made for bed.

My time in Seville

On Friday we went wandered around town at a Mediterranean pace and saw a few sights. The Alcazar, was a palace built in a Moorish fashion, but it was in fact built for King Pedro the Cruel (A Christian) in the 1360s. It had beautiful gardens, which residents like Sophie can go and relax in whenver they want. There were some fantastic tapesteries showing maps of the world. They were made 'upside down', so Carthage was at the 'top' of the Mediterranean. The baths underneath were pretty impressive.

We ambled down the Guadalquivir river and had a coffee before walking over river again and through some pavillions built for the 1929 Exhibition. The plaza de Espana was our destination and it a very impressive place, also built for the Latin American Exhibition in 1929.

After quite a serious supper on Friday night, we got up late on Saturday and did a bit more wandering, ending up in an amazing chocolate shop Sophie had found when she was a student in Seville. We then went to look at some Flamenco dresses. Everyone I met seemed to be getting very excited about the Semana Santa and Feria festivals - they sound like events not to be missed! Another year. Juan Mar, Julio and India came over for some supper and a film in the evening.

On Sunday we went to see the enormous Cathedral. The huge Giralda tower is all that remains of the Mosque that was burnt to make way for the Cathedral. It houses some bells and has a weather vane on top; there are some great views (2) (3). Seville was a Moorish city until 1242, and with its fall most of the Moors left Andalucia. Only Granada (until 1492) with its Alhambra really remained.

Get these photos, and more here with the read-only password witherholme

Dylan's Blogs

Macca's Blogs

---

Photos

Sophie
In a carriage

Tapas
A typical tapas bar

Alcazar
The entrance to...

Baths
Under the alcazar. With male and female changing rooms off to the sides

Plaza de Espana
Sophie said that the architect was one of her friend's grandfathers

Bells
In the Giralda

Views
Carriages and Houses

Views (2)
The Bullring

Views (3)
Orange Grove in the Cathedral

Comments

[dylan]

good stuff
cool stuff (cheers for the link to my blog! i'll return the favour