We have no complaints about the weather in Spain. Other than the gale on the ride through the mountain pass on the way to Ronda last week, and a few sprinkles now and then, it's been dry on ride days. This is only the third rainy sightseeing day I can remember since we started the trip almost two months ago, which is just fine. They need the rain here. It's falling hard enough at times this morning that I was moved to buy an umbrella at a souvenir kiosk, cheap cover for 5 Euros.
We signed up for a tour this morning with Sevilla Walking Tours, joining half a dozen other Americans. Our guide Marina shared lots of interesting details of the city's history, architectural and cultural traditions as she led us from the Plaza Nueva around the city.
Christmas decorations already hanging in the street on the way to the tour
Fernando III of Castille, known as the Saint, in the Plaza Nueva. Couldn't get a picture from the front due to a blockade for some work in the plaza but I thought it still worth including. San Fernando is considered one of the most successful kings of Castile. He unified Castile and Leon and expanded the kingdom south into the Guadalquivir River valley.
Sevilla City Hall, built in the early 16th century for the Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V, is decorated in Plateresque style, a Spanish version of early Renaissance architecture
Two heroes of Sevilla flank the arch at City Hall. On the left is Hercules, the city's mythological founder. On the right is Julius Caesar, who ordered construction of the city walls.
Janice BranhamTo Scott AndersonThere are so many of them here. The wack-a-doodle Modernista works in Barcelona are memorable, but for sheer beauty Sevilla does it for me. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
In the courtyard at Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador, Marina pointed out signs of 1,000 years of Sevilla's history. Short columns that are partly buried are from the Roman era that began in the first century B.C.E. Visigoths came in the 6th century and built capitals on top of the Roman columns. After the Islamic conquest of Sevilla in 711, Muslims built the arches and a mosque. They made their ablutions in the courtyard before going into the mosque to pray. Catholics demolished the mosque in the 17th century to build the church.
Roman columns, Visigoth captials and Islamic arches in the courtyard at the Church of the Divine Savior
We spent some time in the shopping district around Sierpes Street. The flamenco dress stores here are great fun. They're not just for flamenco dancers, all the ladies wear them during the Feria in April. New styles come out in January during Flamenco Fashion Week.
A quality Flamenco dress can set you back $500 or more
Our guide Marina, in the black rain hat, showed us some adorable pictures of herself and her two young daughters twirling in matching Flamenco dresses during the Feria this year.
In the early 20th century the Condesa of Lebrija bought a 16th century manor house and turned it into a palace. A passionate collector, she decorated with Roman mosaics, Sevillian tiles from a ruined convent and other archeaological treasures. Now open to the public, it's been called the best paved palace in Europe.
Setas of Seville - the Mushrooms, was promoted as the world's largest wooden structure when it was completed in 2009. The final cost of 100 million Euros was double the original estimate. It's not universally loved by the citizens who paid for it but is a big tourist draw.
Marina sent us off with suggestions for lunch, places to see a Flamenco performance and where to go for sunset. For lunch we went with Bar Giralda near the Cathedral. The restaurant is in a former Arab bath house from the 12th century. They grilled Barry a good steak to his liking and I had a fabulous salad with goat cheese, shrimp and avocados. A win on all counts.
After lunch we wasted some time trying to buy same-day tickets online for the Real Alcazar and the Cathedral, without success. We'll just have to stand in line tomorrow.
At least we took care of an errand - picking up the box we shipped here two weeks ago from Velez-Malaga of gear that we didn't want to carry on the bike through Andalusia. There will be only day rides from here on out so the weight isn't an issue now. Still, the stuff was heavy enough to motivate me to figure out a bus route to tote it back to the apartment. Then, siesta time.
Now in the late afternoon the sun is shining again, and we're eager to see more of this beautiful city. First, we'll check out a couple of interesting bridges over the Guadalquivir River nearby.
Puente de la Barqueta, built for Expo 92 in Sevilla
"The Verb America is to conjugate past participles with present conditions, It is to reorganize all the past tenses of the stories of the Mediterranean Indians with the indigenous of America and the Pacific, It is to put your fingers right on what unites them, instead of disdaining oneself with megatonic megalomanias"
By now we're familiar with the Barqueta bus stop near our apartment. We ride down to the city center for a little shopping, then take Marina's suggestion to go up to the Terraza Bar at the top of the Hotel Inglaterra for sunset. It's not crowded and the view of the city is spectacular.
Well now, it's been a full day in this beautiful city and we haven't even gotten into the two big monuments - the Cathedral of Sevilla and the Real Alcazar. It's good that we have another day here tomorrow before we get on the train to Cordoba the day after. There should be more time to get back on the bike for a day ride in Cordoba.
