Sevilla

Seville

Day 1

Only two nights here since we are here mainly for the Royal Alcazar. Arrived around midday and it was raining lightly all day. We were up early to catch our transit so no time for breakfast. After we dropped our luggage at the apartment we went wandering to find lunch. Our host spoke very good English and had a map highlighted and ready with dining suggestions and things to see. We headed for one of her recommendations which was good. When in the city center there seem to mainly be two types of streets:

   - larger ones that are mostly shopping

   - smaller ones lined with restaurants and filled with outdoor seating

We saw the cathedral along the way and found our meeting place for our tour tomorrow for the Royal Alcazar. Did some grocery shopping on the way back to the apartment and then settled in a bit before it was time to go out for our flamenco show. Jeff chose this one from a list of Rick Steve's recommendations. It was very good and those dancers were working hard. I'm glad we saw the first show of the evening. Dinner on the way home was wonderful - 3 tapas and 2 drinks for 15.50 euros. Tapas here are really quite substantial.

Day 2

Our apartment was dead silent all night so we slept great. Our tour at the Royal Alcazar was at 1pm so we had a relaxing morning. Just by luck all the timing for both our tours worked out perfectly. Our advance tickets allowed us to breeze past the long line and then at the entrance to the Royal Apartments we arrived just as the next tour was starting. And that ended just a few minutes before we were due to meet for our guided tour of the rest of the complex.

We planned our travels quite awhile ago so we couldn't remember what was special about the Alcazar of Seville and why we wanted to come here. Now we know what's so special. This is the actual residence of the Spanish royal family when they are in Seville. Lucky us that they were here last week rather than this week because when they are in residence all touring is cancelled. The Alcazar is comprised of three different palaces, large gardens and an ancient moorish gate. The gate and the three palaces form four sides of the entry courtyard. Each palace is architecturally distinct which looks a bit odd since they are all together. 

The first one was built by Peter I. He had a close relationship with the Muslim rulers in Granada and they lent him many artisans so his palace looks a lot like the Alhambra decoration wise. During his reign people of different religions lived in harmony in Spain. 

The second palace was built by Ferdinand and Isabella. This is the one where we got to tour the royal apartments (but no pictures allowed). Ferdinand and Isabella forced conversion to catholicism or exile. They also sponsored Columbus' trip to the new world and started the Spanish inquisition. 

The final palace was built by Charles V. The second floor of this palace are the current royal apartments. Not much to see on the ground floor so most of our pictures are of Peter's palace.

After the tour we had lunch on site and wandered the gardens for a bit then went back into the palaces to see some rooms that had been skipped and take pictures at a more leisurely pace. The tour was awesome. Our guide, Alfonso, shared not just history but also insights into the current royal family of Spain. It was also helpful to have seen the Alhambra previously and already know something about the decorations in Peter's palace.

In the early evening we walked over to the mushrooms of Seville (Metropol Parasol). 3 euro admission each allowed us to walk up top, have a "free" drink and get a "free" postcard. We don't know much about this art other than it is supposedly the largest wooden structure in the world. If you're curious try wikipedia. Strolled back to our place having dinner along the way. 

Flamenco dance

Facade of the cathedral facing the plaza (but it's so big you can't get it all in the picture)

Back of the cathedral is pretty ornate

Moorish gate at the Alcazar

Facade in an interior courtyard of Peter I's palace

Decorations inside Peter's palace. These date to a similar time as at the Alhambra but these are in better condition. Probably because this a Royal Spanish Palace and the Alhambra was empty and abandoned for quite some time after the Muslims were forced out of Spain.

Ceiling in Peter's palace

Us in a tower overlooking part of the Alcazar garden

Metropol Parasol (aka the Mushrooms)

Pathways on top of the mushrooms

Actually one of the better views of the cathedral

more mushroom cap view