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Published: July 10th 2011
Our drive to Seville was a pleasant one. We passed vast fields of sunflowers and gray-green stands of olive trees. We had only one day to spend in this city before moving on east to Granada. Seville is rather big, with a population of about 700,000.
Our first attraction on the menu was the immense Seville Cathedral which houses the remains of explorer, Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colón). On the way to the cathedral, we passed a crowd collected on the sidewalk. A news reporter and a gaggle of camera crew were focused on a row of raven-haired beauties decked out in some pretty innovative wedding dresses. What a bit of local flavor! So we also took a picture.
The Seville Cathedral has several chapels and a small exhibition room showing off some of the fancy gold and gem-laden treasures from the art collection. We also went up, up, up into the Giralda tower which originally was a minaret for a mosque. Christians in the 16th century added to the top of the tower and made it into a belfry. Ramps were used instead of stairs, built with horseback riders in mind. From the top of the tower, we could
see large sweeps of the city. I have included a picture that shows the local bullfighting ring. Nearly every Spanish town of any size has one.
After gawking at the cathedral, we had to mosey on so that we could take in the Alcazar. A World Heritage site, the Alcazar is not to be missed. Started in the year 913 as a fort for the regional governors, it had been added to and remodeled quite a few times since. Muslim rulers built two palaces alongside. Later, Spanish kings took up residence in the complex. An amazing blend of Muslim and Christian architecture impresses at every turn. A bit of restoration work was going on, bringing the stately lion-shaped fountains back to life. The mosaic tile work and the intricately carved doorways had to be admired for their delicate complexity.
Serene as the Alcazar was, we could not linger too long. After a quick walk through the Plaza de España, we found our car and headed to Granada.
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