Seville
Trip Start
Nov 23, 2005
1
114
133
Trip End
Feb 27, 2007
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Seville,
Spain
Thursday, September 28, 2006
We went through a lot of farm land full of wine vineyards and olive groves. It wasn't very long before we crossed the bridge that goes over the Guadalquivir river separating Portugal and Spain. We finally got to ride on one of the huge luxury buses we have been seeing. They look like a modern space vehicle coming down the highway. This one had reclining leather seats, t.v.'s and even a large built in coffee maker on board. When we first arrived into Seville, we were wondering what kind of place we had come to. It was not very appealing. We passed by areas covered in graffiti, and everything looked very dingy.
When we arrived in Seville, it wasn't too hard to figure out where to go. We bought a map at a small kiosk in the bus station.
Castle
We asked at the ticket window for help and they pointed us to a nearby tourist office. At the tourist office we got some listings for accommodation. It wasn't necessary, once we got into town we just wandered through the streets, there we dozens of places. Hotels were out of the question. Although it was getting into the slower season for Portugal and many other areas in Europe. It was the high season now in Seville. Summer is actually their slowest time. It is so hot at 40.C and above that no one would want to go there. Now that the temperature was lower the tourists start to show up. It was still very warm at 30.CHotels were at least $100 euros, $150 Canadian for us, so we started to check out the myriad of hostels. After looking at a few we soon realized these are not like regular hostels, they were very nice, more like lower budget hotels. It was still 35 to 50 euros for two people. The rooms were as small as shoe boxes, so we opted to go to the high end of 50 euros for a more upscale one. It was a bit larger and had a balcony. Some of the other places rooms didn't even have windows, making it even more claustrophobic feeling. We enjoyed opening up the french doors to our balcony and watching the activity on the streets below us.
It was apparent right away that we were in a different country. Ola, muchos gracias and other Spanish was all around us. The women had long dark hair and some wore beautiful full ruffled dresses and skirts. There were posters advertising bull fights. Every time we get to a new country we think about what will be there, this time gazpacho soup, churros, and flamenco dancing came to mind.
castle 2
The city turned out to be much more charming than the first impression we got coming in on the bus. It's a great place to just wander around the streets and absorb the culture.Spanish is such an easy language to pick up, by the end of our first day we could converse a little. Good old Sesame Street proves to be useful all these years later. It is amazing how much Spanish you remember from that show. Jack traveled for an extensive time in Mexico when he was a kid and has remembered a lot of words too.
There is an area in downtown Seville around Sierpes St. where at about 9pm the locals start to come out to strut their stuff. They really dress up for the occasion, the ladies have their hair done beautifully and the clothing on both the men and women is all the latest fashion.
We ended up being in Seville over the weekend. We were walking around a large square where the cathedral is located. It was a Saturday and there were at least half a dozen weddings. The brides and grooms were pulling up in limos and then being taken away in horse drawn carriages. We would see all the wedding guests as well as the parents and bridal parties of the couples. These people really know how to dress up. The male guests all wear tuxedos or very fancy suits, many of them in long tails. The ladies are breathtaking. The dresses are amazing, lots of brilliant colours. Many of them right to the ground with lots of beautiful flowing fabric. No one shows up to the weddings or any event for that matter in simple dress attire.
Church
We saw one mother and father of the bride. They looked like characters right out of a movie. The father had long coat tails and the mother had the most elaborate dress and a tall head decoration, like a countess would wear. We also saw lots of tiny babies being brought to churches to be Christened, all the guests dressed to the nines as well. Seville is worth coming to for the cathedral alone. This is one of the most amazing structures we have ever seen. Parts of it date back to as early as 1184. It is the largest Gothic building, and the 3rd largest Christian Cathedral after St. Peter's in the Vatican and St. Paul's in London. The stain glass windows are stunning and the ceilings with their immense height and architecture are breathtaking. There Giralda, or tower goes up 70 meters. It is a long climb, but you are rewarded with panoramic views of the city. Even though there is not supposed to be any flash photography inside the cathedral, we kept seeing flash after flash going off far across the other side of building. As we made our way around to that area we were looking at an elaborate bronze monument. It had four pallbearers holding a sealed coffin high on their shoulders. We really didn't know what we were looking at, and it didn't have anything on it in English to give us a clue. Jack looked it up in a pamphlet we had been given with our entrance tickets. He came up to me with great astonishment and said, "do you know what you are looking at?" It was the coffin and funeral monument of Christopher Columbus.
Courtyard of a residence
We stood in awe and just stared at it for a while. We wandered around the rest of the cathedral for hours. It was the kind of place you just couldn't get enough of. The only reason we ended up leaving was because it was closing and they were starting to lock doors and usher people out. Neither one of us had any desire to see an actual bull fight, much too gruesome and cruel for us to watch. We decided we would go for a tour of the bull ring. It is called Plaza de Toros. The ring and surrounding buildings were built between 1758 and 1881. It is an attractive looking bull ring. The attached buildings house a museum of posters, paintings, bull fighter's costumes and other mementos from the world of bullfighting. We could appreciate the history and significance of what bullfighting means the Spain, but just can't deal with the suffering caused to the poor bulls during the fight. They have taken measures in recent times to help minimize the injuries and deaths to the horses involved during the fights. They now wear a lot of protective armor, where in the past they were severely injured and at least half a dozen were killed during each fight.
We saw lots of other beautiful churches as we wandered the streets of Seville. There are lots of historic buildings with exquisite architecture to admire as well. Seville has hosted the world expo two times. Once in 1929 and again in 1992. One of the highlights of the city is the Plaza de Espana. It is a magnificent work of buildings built for the 1929 exhibition. The buildings are in a semi circular shape and are fronted by a canal where rowing boats can usually be hired. The water had been drained while we were visiting, due to some construction work. The striking features of the plaza are it's enormous proportions and exquisite ceramics. There are a series of azulejo scenes, each one representing a province of Spain and illustrating an episode from its particular history.
The city has a nice walkway along the river, and you can take boat tours as well. There are many park areas to relax and waste the day away. The downtown streets are great for strolling and shopping. They are charming with cobble stoned surfaces and a few of them have huge mesh nettings strung high above between the building tops. It keeps the hot midday sun off you.
No trip to Spain would be complete without seeing some Flamenco dancing. We bought tickets for a full evening of entertainment. It was in a traditional performance theater. We saw many styles of Flamenco dancing done by both men and women. The dancing is very intense and passionate. The men wear the high waisted pants and the ladies wear beautiful ruffled dresses. Many of the performances used the famous castanets. The small hand held wooden finger instruments that are snapped together to make clicking noises while the performers dance. There was also Spanish guitar and singing that we really enjoyed. It is such beautiful music to listen to.
See you back in the Algarve of Portugal.
