MadridWaites: Sevilla

Sevilla

Known as Seville in English, as in The Barber of ....

Last weekend Greg and I returned to Sevilla. We had made a quick stop in Sevilla back in January. It was rainy and cold, and the Cathedral was closed. So we barely drove through. We decided to return when the weather was good. This last weekend was the perfect time to go. Sunny and 75.

We first stopped in Santiponce, a town a few kilometers outside of Sevilla. I have already posted about this very interesting place, so I won't comment further. However, it is a great example of the ancient history of this area. A whole host of different civilizations have passed through Sevilla, including Tartessians, Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, and Castilians. All of them have left their mark on the city. The earliest archaeological evidence of Seville dates from the 9th century BC. After the discovery of America, many considered Sevilla to be the capital of the world. It is really a beautiful city, and we really needed at least a week here. So we may have to make a third visit.

The famed Cathedral of Sevilla is the number one attraction.
It us supposed to be the second largest Cathedral in Christendom.

As you enter the cathedral you pass through a small museum first. I'm sure this severed head inspires some, but for me .... I would rather visualize John the Baptist with his head in tact.

One of the cathedral's biggest claims to fame, is that it houses
the majestic tomb of Christopher Columbus.

It is really a spectacular tomb. The figures are much larger than life-size.

The Choir

The other main attraction of this cathedral is this amazing gold altar piece.

The altar has 21 scenes like this one depicting the life of Christ.

This altar is silver.

The organ.

There were many beautiful tombs.

This gives you a slight idea of how enormous this cathedral is.

An enormous church needs an enormous door.

The cathedral had many rooms filled with treasures and great works of art.

The windows in this cathedral are really fantastic.

The cathedral bell tower is open to the public if they wish to make the 35 flight climb.

Guess who made the climb?

I actually wouldn't have done it if I had listened closer.
I thought Greg said 17 flights. He waited for me below.

Once I passed 17, I thought, it couldn't be much further.

The views from the tower were spectacular. I did have to fight off about 100 truly obnoxious teenagers who were on a field trip, and not the slightest bit interested.

Many of the streets are lined with orange trees.

This is part of the Alcazar that we visited later.

The large harp you see in the background is a very unusual bridge.

A great view of the Real Maestranza Bullring.

The church courtyard with orange trees.

What's a bell tower without bells?

The old water well.

Carriages are everywhere.

The Alcazar, or Arab castle. It is the second most visited site in Sevilla.

The Alcazar was a complete surprise in many ways. As it turns out, the cathedral and the Real Alcazar of Seville are both World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

The palace complex occupies 14,000 square meters, and the gardens occupy 17 hectares .

The Alcazar is the oldest Royal Palace still in use in Europe.

The first part of the castle seemed very much the Spanish palace.

This is the Virgin blessing the native Americans.

They had a collection of antique fans from various royalty.
I have fallen in love with Spanish fans.

Then Arab Moorish castle begins.

One of the things we were not prepared for, were the enormous, and beautiful gardens.

There was a very interesting statue inside this grotto.
I couldn't get a picture without getting very wet. You can see gold fish in the pond.

This was the queen's bathtub.

This was a maze. We glanced inside, and decided we would never find our way out of there.

We were here for hours, and did not see half of this place.
It was my favorite place we visited.

This is the Gold Tower. Supposedly, the dome used to be real gold.

You can climb to the top to get a good view of the city. However, since I had already climbed my share, I was willing to just take their word for it. I knew it wouldn't be a better view than the bell tower.