Seville Part 2

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Monday morning in Seville….I woke up feeling a little lonely. For the first time all trip I was on my own and I had actually grown quite accustomed to waking to a buddy (my brother). Alas, he was off in Lisbon and on his way back to the States today. From this point on, I was on a solo traveler adventurer. Something I’m quite accustomed to.

I decided to spend an extra day in Seville since I had fallen in love. Sometimes cities have a way of speaking to you and Seville did that to me. Much like Christchurch in NZ had and Sydney and Hobart did in Australia, Seville had crept deep into my soul. Up until this point, we had been moving at a pretty quick pace. And traveling with my brother found me experiencing the day as well as night activities in Spain. I decided to have a leisure day in my favorite city.

I set out to walk a little further than I had before and see what else I could discover. I ended up over at the Bull Ring. This was one site I wanted to see and boy was I glad I did. Seville itself has buildings that are all roughly the same height. So when you’re looking for a landmark you literally just stumble upon it since you can’t really spot anything from afar. That’s how the bull ring appeared. Painted a bright white, trimmed in magnificent glowing yellow and its contrasting bold red doors…one knew they were coming upon a place that held great significance within this city. Near the entrance stood a statue of a matador. After snapping off a couple of pictures, I made my way inside to see if I could catch a glimpse of the interior. As it turned out, they do tours…so I paid my Euros and sat down to wait for the next tour to begin.

The cultural significance of bull fighting in Spain was very intriguing to me. I was not sure I wanted to see an actual match, but being in the ring was a great treat. Waiting in the underbelly of the stadium was cool. The tunnels below were all arched walls with brick lined arched doorways of sorts. Construction on the Ring originally began in 1761 and took 120 years to complete. With the hot air of the day outside, I was surprised to find it so cool and refreshing in this enclosed space. The tour began and we made our way to the main entrance into the Ring. I have to say, this was awesome. Not until I started to climb the steps up into the stadium did I grasp the sheer size of the oval arena. It was massive! The stadium was built out of brick like steps that also acted as your seat. I wish I had counted the number of steps up to the top. But let’s put it this way, even from the top, I could not capture the entire stadium in one photo. The steps were lined with small ceramic tiles that had numbers on them…your seat number. There were a couple of fancy boxes/or seating areas where the King and dignitaries sit. Even back in the 1700s, there were skyboxes! The ring had two fences…one that created the outline of the fighting ring and then an interior one where those working the bull fight stood, along with medical staff and whatnot. AS our guide talked I found out that this is the oldest bull ring in Spain and considered to be the best. As a fighter, if you are chosen to fight here, you have arrived. Ok, I have to admit, from a cultural standpoint, now I really wish a fight was scheduled while I was in town. I didn’t realize this ring held such stature.

From the ring we moved underground into what is now their museum. Several paintings, photographs and illustrations hung on the walls. What I found most interesting were the old flyers and posters from the 1800s and 1900s showcasing upcoming fights. Some of the fighting swords were interesting as well as the capes used in the matches. The crazy thing is how heavy they are…if memory serves, I think its somewhere around 50 pounds. But the real treasure was in the last room. The last room held more recent relicts. My favorite being a matador’s uniform. As I examined it initially for its intricate pattern and beauty, I noticed something else…blood. The uniform has not been cleaned after the fight. The blood on a uniform is a symbol of a hard fought battler with the bull and something to be proud of. When the matador gave the uniform over to the museum, it was not to be washed but preserved in this way. Just as it was at the end of the fight. Yes, slightly gross, but then in some way, or at least while I was standing there listening to the art which is this sport, very interesting. This is definitely not a sport I could partake in (I don’t even like to kill spiders) but the history and passion behind it is remarkable. Much like the flamenco I had experienced a few nights earlier, I was quite taken by this.

The next stop on the tour was into the prep areas. There were several men on horses during each match and we were in the stables area looking at where they prepped the horses, bull and where the matador prepared. Each horse would be adorned with cape like things and decorated exquisitely. There was an old water trough for them and large metal rings on the wall where they would be tied up as they were prepared. Off of this area and into a small room was the matador’s prayer chamber. Although dark inside, the alter was beautiful and had a place to kneel. The fighters come into here prior to a match and pray. Our tour ended here and although brief, it was very interesting. Another little insight into the ever fascinating Spanish culture!

After a little lunch, which included an espresso and a beer, I decide to wander a little. I ended up finding a few good souvenirs and stumbling into what appeared to be one of the big shopping districts. With cobble stone streets and tall narrow buildings, I enjoyed the store fronts, decorated balconies and cloth coverings overhead. This last item was my favorite. As a way to shield the hot sun, draped from the roof of building to building and covering the street below were these cloth screens. Hung in no particular pattern and allowing only slits of light fall down onto the streets below, it was not only the perfect covering for the heat but also created a beauty to the area. Going in and out of a couple of shops, I was quite tempted to buy myself a pair of shoes. So many fun pairs to choose from…but I knew I still have a few presents to buy and very little room in my backpack for carrying things home. I resisted the urge. I did buy a fun and airy tank top from a clearance rack. It’s always nice to get a little something for oneself.

It was now late in the afternoon, really early evening and I decided to make my way back towards the hotel. While walking through the streets I tried to soak in as much as I could. I came into a square and upon a building that took me by surprise. With its curved walls and balconies and then domed top, pastel colors and doll-like features it felt completely out of place in Spain. It was as if I had been magically moved to Bavaria! I couldn’t help but snap a quick photo.



I made my way back to the hotel and ate at one of the nearby restaurants. More tapas, more wine, more happiness! Once back to the hotel, I made my way up to the roof terrace. The temperature was dropping and I wanted to watch the sunset. The terrace was decorated with potted plants and white tables and chairs. I settled into a chair with my water and book, camera ready to capture the beauty. In the short distance was the dome of the Cathedral. On the hour the bells rang and it was as if I was standing right next to it. With the sun setting behind it, I enjoy sounds of the night coming alive in the city. This city of passion. This city of romance. This city of history and culture. What a joy it was to watch the day end and know that I would leave in the morning with a piece of this passion going with me.

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Photos

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Front side of the stadium

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Second oldest bull fighting stadium in Spain

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The stadium was so large on the inside. This huge oval.

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A view of the curve

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This is how you number seats in the late 1700s!

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The Royal family sat up in this box area and the Matador came through this gate.

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The gate the Matador had to walk through to enter the ring.

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The tunnels under the stadium

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Blood on the uniform. This is a Matador uniform from recent years that was in the museum.

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The area where the horses were held and prepped to come out into the arena.

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Another interesting building on my stroll through Seville

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A view of our hotel street from our window/microscopic balcony

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The Cathedral tower at sunset. Gorgeous!

Comments

[Greg]

technical comment, ha!
you should 'name' your pictures with something like the city name, etc... it helps people find you in SEO and will bring you more fans for your blog pages!

[Elise]

Fun
So fun! I remember stumbling into the bullring too when Adam and I were there. Thanks so much for bringing my memories back to me! :)