We left RDU on Thursday, connecting in Atlanta and Amsterdam, and arrived in Seville on Friday afternoon. Based on my last couple of experiences, flying internationally through Atlanta is much more pleasant than most of the other US gateways (I'm looking at you, Dulles, JFK, Newark, and Philadelphia...). On the other hand avoid transferring in Amsterdam for the next couple of years while they are renovating the terminals. It was impossible to find anything we were looking for in the Amsterdam airport. We were looking for an airport lounge and the sign said to go up the escalator. At the top of the escalator, there was a sign telling us that to get to the lounge we had to go down the escalator. Every time we asked someone for directions, they pointed us to the same escalator. It took us 45 minutes to find the lounge.
Friday, November 6
In Seville, we stayed at the Hotel Doña Maria, which is where we stayed on our first trip to Spain in 1989. It's located right across the street from the Seville Cathedral, in the middle of the tourist section. It has terrific views of the Cathedral and the plaza in front of the Cathedral.
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| Our room at the Hotel Doña Maria |
After unpacking, we took a walk around the neighborhood. We started down the Avenida de la Constitucion, which is the main thoroughfare. It has been pedestrianized since the last time we were in Seville.
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| Avenida de la Constitucion, the main boulevard in Seville |
We then walked along the
Guadalquivir River, which splits Seville in half. On the bank of the river is the
Torre del Oro, which dates from the 13th century.
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| Guadalquiver River and Torre del Oro |
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| The tower as it looked in 1989 |
We then returned to our hotel and proceeded to the rooftop bar for some late-afternoon and evening viewing of the Cathedral and plaza.
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| Square in front of Seville Cathedral (viewed from the Cathedral) |
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| View from the roof |
Due to the Euro being in the toilet (figuratively), prices in Spain are really cheap. The sangria below was about $3.00 and you could get a full meal for about $10.00.
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| My lovely wife, loaded on cheap sangria |
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| Another view from the roof |
Before dinner,which they don't eat until about 10:00 PM in Spain, we took another wander around the neighborhood near the Cathedral. The tall structure is
La Giralda, a minaret that was built as part of a mosque in the 12th century. The
Cathedral (the lit-up part to the left of the tower in the photo below) was built on the site of the old mosque in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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| Back of the Cathedral |
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| Another view of La Giralda |
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| Where we had dinner--highly recommended |
Saturday, November 7
The next morning we started with a walk around the immediate neighborhood, theCentro Historico, and Bario Santa Cruz.
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| Daylight view of the Cathedral and La Giralda |
The
Barrio Santa Cruz is the oldest neighborhood in Seville, and is where Seville's Jews lived before the unfortunate events of the 15th century. Below are a few shots from the neighborhood.
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| Statue of Don Juan (not the one with pink shoes) |
Next we walked to Parque de Maria Luisa and Plaza D'España, which were built for the 1929 World's Fair in Seville.
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| Parque de Maria Luisa |
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| Parque de Maria Luisa in 1989 |
The Plaza D'España is a huge semicircular pavilion, with beautiful tiling and a moat.
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| One end of the pavilion, with moat |
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| The whole thing |
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| Center of the pavilion |
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| Bridge over the moat--note the tiling |
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| Just to prove that I was there |
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| Tile artwork for each province in Spain |
After touring the Plaza d'España, we walked back towards the Centro Historico.
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| Teatro Lope de Vega, which was also built for the 1929 World's Fair |
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| University of Seville, housed in a former cigar factory |
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| Back along the Avenida de la Constitucion |
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| Hotel Alfonso XIII, the fanciest place in town |
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| More along the Avenida de la Constitucion |
Finally, we arrived back at the Cathedral, for a visit inside.
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| Side and rear of the Cathedral, as seen from Avenida de la Constitucion |
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| Side entrance to the Cathedral |
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| Inside the Cathedral |
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| Inside the Cathedral |
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| Tomb of Christopher Columbus |
After touring the Cathedral, I climbed to the top of La Giralda (the bell tower). Here are a few shots from the top.
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| Cathedral dome in the foreground |
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| Our hotel is the pink building with the table umbrellas on the roof |
Next we visited some of the stands next to the Cathedral that sold Christmas artwork.
After several pre-dinner sangrias, we headed back to Barrio Santa Cruz for tapas and dinner.
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| Tapas at the "House of Tomatoes" |
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| A church in the barrio |
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| Another church in the barrio |
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| Las Escobas, where we ate, and where (I think) I got my credit card number stolen. |
Finally, back to the hotel and a few more shots around the Cathedral.
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| View from our hotel room |
Next:
Days 3-4: Granada
