The Clockwork Orange

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We had kept the first day largely for finding our feet. The walking tour helped with orientation. Fortunately the weather was not too hot, but in summer it must take it's toll. As the sun beats down, the tourists queue. Morning is clearly more popular and demand is at the highest. We could see the masses gathering, as we walked across from Metropol Parasol. We had already booked tickets online for the Real Alcazar. The ticket also gave the option to visit the upper apartments for an extra sum of 5 €uros. We had booked in advance for the last tour of the day at 1:30 pm. The upper apartments are still technically a working royal palace. There were no photos and no bags, so keep a 1 €uro coin handy for the lockers to which you are directed after the airport style security. The Alcazar is basically a Moorish palace that has been extended and adapted by the Christian royal families. The Spanish court moved here, whilst the campaign to evict the Moors from the Alhambra in nearby Granada was in the final stages. An audio guide was included in the tour of the upper apartments. A security guard watched over our small group of 9, whilst we listened. The maximum number of tickets for each tour is 15, so 6 no shows meant 6 wasted places. A number of disappointed punters surveyed the "All Tickets Sold Out" sign outside the entry. They would be even more annoyed had they had an inclination of empty spaces. I would therefore strongly urge you to book online in advance. It means you will definitely get to see the upper sections and also allows you to skip the queues outside. A win win situation. The upstairs apartments were quite compact, so 20 minutes later we were outside with the unwashed in the main body of the Alcazar.



The gardens are quite extensive and reached through a series of coyrtyards in the lower palace. The walks are ornately decorated with colour tiles similar to those at the Alhambra. The masses congregate at the same point waiting in vain for the perfect reflection in the pool. In comparison gardens are fairly quiet. The tour schedule of many means a rapid glance and the move on. As a result one of the more interesting features - a singing fountain - was listened to by a mere 2 others when it finally piped into action somewhat after the advertised every hour. Spanish time!! The plaque indicated it was one of only four in the world and the only example in Spain.



The main influence in this part of southern Spain is that left by the Moors. However as a short break from the city, a wonder of the Roman civilisation lies largely ignored between the industrial estates and the motorway. As usual expensive tours are available, but with a bit of planning this undiscovered gem is yours for the price of 2 bus tickets. Plaza De Armas - the place of weapons - is a fairly routine sort of bus station and home to both long distance coaches and suburban Seville routes. The usual chaos ensued at the ticket kiosks, where the respective companies were represented. I had read that tickets for our bus were available from the driver and in the absence of any open information desks, we went looking for the right bay for the 170 bus to Santiponce operated by Damas. Damas are coloured in the green and white of Andalucia. We found 170 as far away as possible at the far end of the bus station in Bay 41. I asked for Italica - a single fare was 1:60 €uros. The driver knew exactly where we were headed, realising that the industrial estates of Spain were unlikely to be on our hit list of tourist destinations in the area. The bus pulled out about 2 minutes early of his 9 am scheduled departure. He was keen to stick to his schedule in the early morning traffic. The bus crossed the river and meandered around dropping off his collection of commuters, leaving a backpacker, ourselves and other. The bus has a terminus about 100 metres beyond the main gates of Italica. The entry is free for EU citizens, so time is ticking for the Brits. The entry fee for non EU citizens is a mere 1:50 €euros, although as Game of Thrones have now used the site for filming I suspect an enterprising local Government official will be planning to revise things very soon.



Italica was a Roman city of some 10,000 people and was the birthplace of possibly the most famous Roman in the UK. We know Hadrian as a builder of walls, but little else. He was born in Italica in 76 AD and his work here shows he had more in his construction manual than a wall to keep out the Scots. The Italica Stadium is impressive today, so I suspect it was Champions League quality at the time. It was the 3rd largest stadium or colleseum in the Roman empire with 25,000 seats. The only one that dwarfed it was that in Rome with a 50,000 capacity. The capacity was a bit strange given the estimated size of the entire city population, so was a kind of modern day version of Forest Green Rovers with a football league ground in a village. Football had not been invented, so they had to make do with fighting lions or whatever. The area in the centre of the arena is pretty much intact, as is the route they would have been led under the stands. The rest of the city is laid out on the hillside overlooking the river and the motorway. Roman baths, houses, pillars and temples are all laid out on the classic grid with straight roads the settlement. Mosaics still remain - exposed to the elements - showing scenes of everyday Roman life. The most impressive were undoubtedly the colourful birds and crocodiles. The area was designated protected from 1912, although all archaeological zones were not fully defined until as late as 2001. There are possibly a few folk in Santiponce with some unusual garden ornaments! The peace and quiet was shattered by a school trip visit. We caught the bus back to Seville - every 30 minutes or so, just after the hour and half hour.



The next port of call was Seville Cathedral. We hadn't been exactly sure when we would visit, so I had opted against the online booking. The Cathedral features the Giralda - a tower with panoramic views over the city - so it made sense to keep our options open to take advantage of the best weather. The wall to wall sunshine had been a bit of an elusive myth so far, but today seemed promising if a little breezy. As with most religious structures in this part of Spain, the Cathedral site was previously a mosque. This is no exception. A bit of remodeling was required. The thought process was very much, if we spend a fortune on construction God will be pleased and look down favourably. Seville bolstered by the wealth from the new faraway lands went for it big style. It was the biggest Cathedral in the world occupying an area of 23,500 square metres. Seville knocked the Haga Sophia in Istanbul off top spot. It has now been superseded, but by being so tall it remains biggest in terms of volume. The size is immense, but you don't really get the full impact until you are inside. There are 15 doors on 4 facades. The build was technically completed in 1528 and unlike some others in the area, actually looks like it was designed as one building. We would later see those in Jerez and Cadiz, that looked like the builders got the plans wrong when doing the extension. The most visited section within is the tomb of the man without whom much of the city expansion would not have happened - a certain Christopher Columbus. I waited patiently for a group of our oriental friends had exhausted selfie possibilities with their mobile phones. The wait could have been longer if Columbus had discovered Japan. Christopher Columbus Junior has his own chapel on the other side.



The Giralda is the sort of Tower the Other Half loves. There are no steps. She gets extremely nervous, when climbing flights of steep tightly packed steps with limited passing places. This one is just a continuous ramp - wide enough for 2 mules to pass - all the way to the top. There were no mules today, but the big issue here was the noise. The ability of Spanish school kids to make noise is unsurpassed. They were in their element on this climb and descent. An echoing chamber of din through all 34 levels. The average Spanish teacher must be immune - or aleady deaf! At 105 metres tall, the structure was basically the minaret of the old mosque. The subsequent Christian conversion added a bell tower. The view was compromised by the sheer volume of people up there and the wind made it a bit blowy when trying to take photos from the vantage points. Despite the Cathedral being so busy, we had avoided the queues with a joint entry ticket to the El Salvador church. If you go there first and ask for the joint ticket, it still costs 9 €uros and you get to see an additional church for your money. Salvador wasn't the plain interior I was expecting, so it was worth the detour. You won't exactly be on your own adopting this entry tactic, but it pays dividends on arrival at the main gate later. If you keep to the left hand side of the big queue, you get waved through to the entrance in VIP fashion. The majority stare on in disbelief at your audacity or knowhow.



Midway between the Cathedral and Plaza Espana is a building of the University of Seville. This is the former tobacco factory. First established to process the New World crop in 1700s, it became synonymous with a place later in its life where the local men could take a look at the 2,000 or so factory workers who made up the workforce. Woman replaced men as cigar rollers because allegedly they were more skilled at it. The reality was they were cheaper. It became the setting for the Opera Carmen. When it was built, the factory. .... or I should say..... Royal Tobacco Factory was the 2nd largest building in Spain behind one of the total palaces. The grand entrance gives little clue to what we're probably harsh working conditions within the walls.



The time in Seville was over. We were up in the morning on our way to Jerez. We caught the tram from near the Cathedral - possibly the shortest line in any major city - to the terminus at San Bernardo railway station. We had been caught out before with the ticket buying process at a railway station - always factor in at least an extra 15 minutes. As it turned out, the Medio Distanta train from Cordoba was slightly delayed anyway.

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Photos

Italica
.... Roman mosaics

Italica
......stadium

Comments

[Rainyb]

Thanks for sharing. I went to Seville with a tour for a short visit. I mostly remember the orange treees along the streets.