Sevilla!!

Trip Start Jun 29, 2008
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Trip End Nov 27, 2008


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Where I stayed
(Seville hotels)

Flag of Spain and Canary Islands  , Andalusia,
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

In Sevilla, the charm of Southern Spain continues to grow on me. Naturally, we visited the Alcazar palace and the Cathedral with the famous landmark of the Giralda tower. The buildings of the Alcazar are not as pleasing as those of the Alhambra. They are a mish-mash of styles, with both Moorish and Gothic components. The gardens though, once again, were a delight. The Cathedral had an impressive interior and contains the supposed remains of Christopher Columbus, amongst others. The view from the top of the tower is definitely worth the climb to get there.

For me, however, an even better visit in Seville was to the bullring - the second oldest bullring in Spain. I think this was because it was an unexpected highlight. We were taken on a guided tour of the bullring and through the museum, and the history associated with bull fighting is fascinating. These days matadors have to be 16 before they can fight adult bulls, but previously there were matadors fighting from the age of 8!! Over time, the costumes became more fitted and the highest ranked matadors have the most gold thread - there costumes weighing around 6-8kg. There is a hospital attached to the bullring where they operate theatres and have facilities to keep the injured there for days if necessary. The last time a matador was killed in a fight was 1992, so it is still a risky profession. However, it is also well paying if you are good at your job. I know many people feel the sport is barbaric, but I admit that I would like to return and attend one of the fights.

We are thoroughly enjoying the tapas and sangria scene here, and I love the hours that the Spanish keep. It suits my natural body clock. We rise late, have a busy morning of sight-seeing up til about 2pm, then have lunch followed by a Siesta. We then head out for a late afternoon walk, followed by some more lounging around and reading, and then head out about 9 or 10pm for some dinner. We found a great bar last night, courtesy of a tip from Tina, and they had a local well-known musician playing. They have flamenco there twice a week, but unfortunately we will have left Seville for Cordoba before the next show.
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