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SEVILLE
JUNE 12 AND 13, 2004
We
arrived in Seville and navigated into the town and found
the Hotel Puerta D Triana with no problem. Some
people we met at the Columbus site recommended this
hotel to
us. Although we were too early to check
in, the hotel staff was willing to hold our luggage and so we parked
the car
and took off to explore Seville.
    We
strolled through the narrow streets, made cavernous by
tall buildings, until we found the Real Alcazar, the famous palace of
Seville. This palace was built in the
Al-Mohad style in the 13th century, and added on to over the
years. Again, we rented the audio guide
and found it to be very informative and an enhancement to our visit.
The grounds include several courtyards,
extensive gardens
and interesting and ornate rooms. The
Ambassador’s Hall is one of the most splendid and majestic rooms I have
ever
seen, with gorgeous and ornate carvings and tile work and a fabulous
carved
cedar wood cupola. Any statesman would
be impressed and awed to be welcomed into this room.
     We
also visited the Admiral’s Apartments, the Justice
Chamber, the Kings’ Bedroom, a room full of ancient tapestries. The extensive gardens were also beautiful,
using water as a key artistic feature, as well as many different plants. There was an interesting underground
grotto
that was once outside, but was changed after an earthquake in the 15th
century.
We
had lunch in the Barrio de Santa Cruz, the old town and
then returned to our hotel for a shower and a nap.
    That
evening we dropped by the internet café to check out
our email and bank account and got a suggestion for dinner, so we
strolled over
to the Restauante Marco Polo where we   enjoyed
an excellent meal. After we finished our
meal and left the
restaurant the evening was very pleasant and we wandered around the
town. Near the big cathedral we watched
the brides
and grooms being photographed and videotaped and listened to those
Peruvian
musicians who seem to be everywhere. The
music was sweet—flutes and violins—and the night was
fine and we
felt very comfortable strolling around the plaza in the warm summer
breeze. Around midnight we moseyed on
back to the hotel and hit the sack.
   The
following day we went to the huge cathedral to see the
amazing altarpiece and elaborate chapels and crypts.
This cathedral fills a whole city block, achieving the builder's goals
of building a cathedral so huge the world would think the Sevillians
are mad. This cathedral was built over a razed mosque, and
retains the beautiful patio full of orange trees which is an integral
part of all mosques we have seen.
We also walked along the main
road to the bull ring. There we took the tour and were able to
see where the king and queen sit, and also the fancy seats for the
owners of the ring, city notables and anyone of import. The guide
   described
the bull ring protocol and the jobs of each of the people who
participate in the event. Then we went into the Arena Museum
where we learned of famous bulls and famous matadors, saw many of their
fancy, bejeweled and ruffled costumes and colorful capes. We
learned that bullfighting is an important part of the Spanish culture
and after watching some of the events on televison later we realize
that this is truly an art form.
Next we walked through the town to the Plaza de Espana. This is a
huge half-circle plaza in the middle of a large park, and on Sunday
afternoon it was bustling with activity. Children were running and
playing, people were buying lemonade from the stands, horse-drawn
carriages were clopping along the streets, people were strolling along
the shady lanes, grandmas were resting on park benches as their
grandchildren fed the pigeons.
  There
was a horse show being conducted in the center of the plaza and we
watched as the many beautiful stallions were paraded around the ring
for judging. The vaqueros were dressed in fancy, tight
pants and bolero jackets. The pageantry and style of the event
leant drama to the day.
Later we walked along the river, stopping
for a cool drink before picking up our car and heading back to La
Antilla.
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