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Geo: 37.3833, -5.9965
We woke to a beautiful morning in Sevilla and got ready for a busy day. On the itinerary was a walking tour of Sevilla, the Royal Alcazar and gardens, the cathedral and bell tower, dinner, and an evening of flamenco.
The "free" walking tour (no set fee, but tips optional and encouraged at its conclusion) picked us up in hotel lobby and led a growing snake of humanity over to a plaza near the cathedral. There, the gathered throng was divided into manageable sized groups by native language, and we were off on our almost 3-hour tour (a 3-hour tour).
Our affable tour guide, Adrian from Feel the City Tours, led us on a spirited and fascinating tour past the cathedral and its landmark bell tower (first built as a Muslim minaret), the Royal Alcazar, the Barrio Santa Cruz, Triana across the river (the birthplace of flamenco), the historic bullring (no, we did not attend a bullfight, nor were we interested), the university (housed in a former tobacco factory, and in fact a location where oldest daughter Kylie attended classes during her year-long study abroad in Sevilla during her junior year at U of O), and the Plaza de Espana (built
for a 1929 international fair), among other sites.
What a stunningly beautiful city!
When we finished the tour, we caught a bite to eat and headed over to the Alcazar and cathedral area. Seeing no waiting line at the Alcazar, we decided that would be our next site to see.
The Royal Alcazar was originally a 10th Century moorish palace that was rebuilt in the 14th Century for the Christian king, Pedro I. It retained all its spectacularly decorated halls and courtyards with its distinctive Islamic flair, a mix of Islamic and Christian elements in a style called Mudejar. Truly fascinating!
As we left the Alcazar, directly across the plaza was the public entrance to the Cathedral (la Catedral). Since there was just a short waiting line -- our timing today seemed quite serendipitous! -- we queued up for our time inside the 3rd-largest church in Europe, one the builders announced in 1401 would be so huge that "anyone who sees it will take us for madmen."
The cathedral was built over the site of an old mosque, and what remains of the mosque is the bell tower, La Giralda. The former minaret was topped off by Christian ornamentation, a belfry of 25 bells, and
a weather vane in the shape of a woman, signifying the triumph of faith. We climbed the 35 ramps up to the top of the Giralda bell tower at the conclusion of our visit to a wonderful vista over the cathedral, the Alcazar, the city, and surrounding areas.
Inside the cathedral, we viewed an impressive structure of five naves, an 18-meter high main altarpiece with more than one thousand sculptures, and the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
That evening, after a vibrant, stirring, heart-pounding live flamenco performance at Casa de la Guitarra, we dined at El Pasaje, had a cup of helados, and headed back to the hotel to pack for our trip tomorrow to Granada, and then to slumber.
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