Family Around the World

When we arrived in Sevilla we decided to take a taxi to our hotel since we only had an address and did not know where it was on the map.  Once we were in the taxi, the driver told us that he could not take us there, but he would take us to the Cathedral instead since it was close.  When pressed for why he could not bring us there he pantomimed that it was a street for people only.

When we got out of the taxi we were greeted by the Sevillian heat, even at 10 in the morning it was hot especially when carrying all of our luggage.  Fortunately the taxi driver let us out right in front of a Starbucks, so there was no real chance that Michelle was going to come with as I searched for the hotel.  So she guarded the bags with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other, while I went out to go find the hotel.  I was not 10 steps from Starbucks when I saw the sign for our hotel a half a block away.  Needless to say we were in a pretty good location on the pedestrian walkway right across from the Cathedral.

After getting settled in we headed out for some food.  It was an early lunch by Spanish standards, but that did not deture Michelle from going after something breakfasty.  She saw tortillas on the menu and from our time in Madrid and Barcelona thought that this meant an omelet so she ordered a shrimp one.  What came out was more like a potato chip with tiny whole shrimps fried right into it.  Needless to say Michelle´s appetite disappeared as she spotted the shrimp looking back at her.

After our little food disaster for lunch we went out to wander through the old part of town.  And we did a good job of wandering around and soon we were a long ways from our hotel and it was getting dark and time to head back.  Unfortunately I had forgotten to grap the map so we did not know where we were much less how to get back.  So we wandered around until we found a bus terminal then started picking our way back slowly.  I am sure we did not take the most expeditous route, but it was interesting to see all the small streets of Sevilla.  We eventually found the plaza where the tram runs and then we knew we were just a short ways from our hotel and found our way back.

The next morning we went to go explore the town, but stay away from the main sites as my Mom was coming the next day and we wanted to save those to do with her.  So we left, with two maps this time so there was no chance of duplicating our previous nights blind walk through town.

The first place we headed was to the gold tower which was once the most important tower of the Moorish wall around town, today it is one of a handful of towers that have survived. It looks small and out of place along the water front with out the wall, but the muesum inside is interesting and there is a nice view back towards the historic center of town from the top.  Considering how small the tower is it is hard to imagine that Michelle and I could loose each other there, but we managed it.  I must have gone left when she went right.  Anyways we spent 10 minutes looking for each other as I left the tower thinking she went to go sit in the shade because it was really hot in the sun at the top, while she was waiting for me to come back to where she was at the top.

A little further down is the Bull Fighting Ring, which was made famous by the stories of Hemingway.  It is a grand monument to a forgotten age, though it is still in use today.  The outside is entirely white painted stucco and it has yellow molded collonades as decoration.  It was nice to look at but we passed on the tour as neither of us is that interested in the slaughter of bulls for public entertainment.

Since the bull ring is right on the water we continued our walk through the park on the water front and finally turned and headed back through town towards our hotel.  We walked past many of the old building that were built by the Moorish archetectes in the European style resulting in a lovely blend of the styles.  I think my favorite example of this was the town hall which though it was never completed the areas where all the decoration was done are absolutely amazing.  They have carved reliefs covering the fascade mixed with the geometric patterns and plasterwork from the Islamic style.

The next morning bright and early we meet my Mom at Starbucks near our hotel or at least that was the plan.  She arrived before Starbucks could open so we just had to wait on the steps of the Cathedral for her to arrive.  Of course she showed up right as it was opening so we sat down to catch up on what was happening while Michelle and her enjoyed a cup of coffee.

That night we walked over to the Plaza Sevilla where at the turn of the 20th century the city of Sevilla hosted an exhibition for the entire Spanish speaking world.  Her a large park was built with the center being this huge semi circular exhibition hall.  It is two stories high and has a large courtyard out front, but what makes it very interesting is all the tile work done to decorate the first level.  For every state in Spain there is a representation there done as a painted mural on the tiles.  It is very interesting to walk around and see all the different aspects of Spanish culture.  While we were there the courtyard had the winning floats from a parade on display for people to walk up and see up close.  It was a nice way to finish off a long day of walking around.

There are two big tourist attractions in Sevilla, the first is the Alcazar which is a palace built in the blended Spanish/Moorish style.  The detail that went into some of the rooms inside is absolutely amazing, and I hope it comes out in the pictures because it will be easier to explaing that way.  The initial courtyard is pretty basic except for the frontwall of the main palace where there is some very Arabic looking designs on the outside of the palace.  Walking through the main archway you enter another world with pointed arches adorned with delicate lattice windows and intricate geometric plaster work.  The deeper you go into the palace the better the decoration getts.  There are numerous courtyards that provide light into palace and stand as places where the artist who built the buildings really showed off their skills.  As you enter the main throne room you can see the high point of this style where every wall from floor too ceiling is intricately decorated.  The ceilings are made to have the ribs that support it cross to form stars like the night sky.  It is an absolutely amazing sight.

After the Alcazar we grabbed a bite to eat then headed for the other attraction, the Cathedral.  Again we took the audio tour in order to hear the history behind a church that was built so large that "All who come after us take us for mad men." is inscribed above the door.  This is the third largest Cathedral in the world, from the outside it takes up two city blocks, but from the inside it looks like you are standing in a redwood forest.  The columns used to support the roof are absoutely massive.  The entire outside is ringed with large chapels that are decorated with huge amouts of gold as this was once where all the gold from the new world was off loaded for the Spanish Empire.  Again like all Spanish cathedrals there is a massive choir and alter piece that stretches from the floor to the ceiling.

The Cathedral was built in the Gothic style on the site of a mosque that was leveled to provide space to build it.  But it is so tall are large that from the outside you have a hard time seeing the flying butresses that are synonomis with the Gothic style.  However, if you go up the large bell tower that was once the minuret of the mosque you get up to a level where you start to see all the detail that went into building a Cathedral this size.  It is amazing to see the flying butresses go out three deep in order to support the huge walls.  Also what was intresting is that the roof was never finished to provide a surface to stop snow from collecting like northern churches.  Rather the top of the domes were left exposed so you can see exactly how the church was constructed.

We exited the cathedral just as it was closing and went to go meet my cousin Graham for dinner.  He is spending his summer holidays in Spain and had just arrived in Sevilla that afternoon.  Within five minutes we had found each other and headed for the main street on the other side of the Cathedral where all the resturants were.  We managed to find one that said they would serve us even though it was only 6 (most Spanish do not eat until 8 or 9 at night).  It took us a while to get the menus and then get our orders placed, but the food was very good.  After dinner everyone had to head there seprate ways, Graham had friends in Sevilla he was meeting, my Mom had a plane to Barcelona to catch, and we had to pack for an early train the next morning.

Bill