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Published: December 15th 2007
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Seville Cathedral
Said to be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, built on the foundations of an ancient mosque Seville, a somewhat serendipitous stop on our tour, has turned out to be a compelling destination, a large, truly sophistcated European city with much of its two millenium history exposed to the curious tourist. The parts of the city with the most obvious historic interest are fully as touristically-oriented as Malaga, but this place has much more of its own life independent of foreign visitors.
We ditched our first pension after one night (literally "any port in a storm") and moved into a much more charming place, Pensione Las Cruces, on a plaza just down the way and still within the labrynth of the old city. First order of business was laundry, and this place sported a nice roof deck perfect for drying clothes and which also turned out to be a nice spot for several of our self-catered alfresco meals.
We were still just a few minutes walk from the large square containing Seville's cathedral and the Alcazar palace. Seville's is said to be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, due partly to having been built on the foundations of a 10th century Islamic mosque. One of the most compelling features of this cathedral is another co-option
Plaza de Las Cruces
We found a great pension in the old city of Seville on this quiet square of the previous Islamic structure, the former minaret called the Giralda, now the cathedral's bell tower and arguably the most popular tourist destination in Seville due to the fabulous city views from its observation level. We spent most of an afternoon wandering the chapels and gardens of the cathedral and watching the squalls blow over Seville from the top of the Giralda.
Another afternoon was spent wandering the many halls, courtyards and gardens of the Alcazar, a rambling palace occupied by a succession of Muslim and Christian kings over a period of 5 or 6 centuries and still the official residence of King Juan Carlos when he visits Seville. For my money (?7) this is just as if not more spectacular than the much more famous Alhambra palace in Granada, filled as it is with amazing examples of Islamic art and architecture as well as later Christian paintings and tapestries. The gilded domes, carved ceilings, arched doorways and porticos and frenzied tilework and plaster paneling are truly mesmerizing. Just when you're at the edge of overload you emerge into the lush gardens, carefully restored with tiled Islamic pavilions, working fountains, neatly trimmed hedges and an amazing variety - for
Alcazar Palace entry gate
Even the Spanish Christian kings found this Muslim palace too cool to pass up; it's still King Juan Carlos' official residence when he visits Seville. November - of plants in bloom.
On our last day in Seville we got on our bikes and rode along Seville's extensive urban bike routes to the Guadalquivir riverfront parkway. Seville is actively encouraging bicycle commuting with grade-separated bike routes - easy to identity with their uniform green paving - that run all through the center of this flat city, and a "city bike" rental program with fleets of well maintained cruiser bikes, including lights and baskets, that can be picked up or dropped off at bike parking stations nearly everywhere.
Our ride north along the river took us over or under a number of bridges, culminating with the dramatic cantilevered bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava for Seville's 1992 Expo celebrating the quinticentennial of Columbus' "discovery" of America. We crossed the bridge over to the old Expo site, now a patchwork of half-redeveloped hi-tech office complexes and cheezy amusement parks, a disappointing failure of urban planning. Our real goal, however, was Seville's fabulous contemporary arts museum, a sprawling facility housed in a Rennaisance-era nun's convent-turned-brick factory, a great aesthetic re-synthesis of a spiritual/industrial complex. We watched segments from a huge contemporary animation survey exhibition until we were bleary-eyed,
and then headed back over the river through the evening traffic, bike lights a-blinking, to prepare for the next day's train departure for the town of Ronda, from where we will cycle south to Gibraltar and on to Morocco.
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Check our expanded gallery of travel photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_hoge/collections/72157613626339376 And visit our home page at:
http://web.mac.com/steve_hoge
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