Iberian Voyage 12 - Seville

First a disclaimer: some embedded links might not work at the moment, an internet/provider issue. I hope to have some time when home to add some videos.

And: you know I like it when you leave a comment at the bottom. What did you find interesting?

Sunday April 14

It was a bit more difficult getting up and ready this morning. The time (jumping forward 2 hours) adjusted itself in the night. But it made the time to sleep very short. But yes, sometimes those gadgets can be helpful so you are not late to the meeting place.

This is a map we had been given to see where the ship is taking us. From Tangier the Clio is going at Cadiz into the Rio Guadalete (in Seville I saw the name Rio Guadalquivir).

Some photos from the bus.

Then the bus let us off and we met our local guide Miss America (really her name).

A Seville landmark: the Golden Tower.

First we are visiting the Real Alcázar, the royal palace.

I think I have to let the photos speak for themselves.

Lace!!!

The facade is a mixture of Christian and moorish design. 

The ruler who wanted this built was Christian but he embraced the moorish design influence. It is gorgeous!

The tapestry on the walls were gigantic masterpieces. They were supposed to tell the stories of achievements. 

A ten minute break (very welcomed).

One in our group went onto the wall and took this photo and shared.

Leaving Alcázar to walk the town.

Somewhere we stopped Café/bar for some refreshment. Joana introduced us to Tinto de Verano. Yes, very refreshing. 

This was one of the easier streets to walk on. All little pebbles pointing up. 

The plaza in front of the cathedral was full of carriages. We were going to be taken by the horse drawn carriages back to the ship. 

Four per carriage. 

At one point I was told that the horse behind us tried to eat my hat when we had stopped for traffic. So, I tried to take a selfie without me in it. 

We went into the park. It was so great. 

A band was playing in the plaza and we could already hear it when our carriage was approaching it. 

I was pleasantly surprised when we stopped and the horse got some water to drink. 

The carriages brought us to the edge of the port and we just had to walk the rest. 

Soon after we got onto to carriage I turned on my Strava App to mark our way. When done I took a screenshot. It’s fun to see it that way. Fun fact: it was a bit more than 2 miles / about l30 minutes. It was a lot of fun. 

We had lunch on the ship and at 3 pm we had the option to take a bus to the Plaza De España for a walk. 

From the bus a photo of a horse raider on a side saddle. Gosh, so much to see and take in. 

This reminds me that I had not written about HOW lucky we are. Every year two weeks after Holy Week the “Féria de Abril” is taking place. A week of celebrating. The weather was perfect. All the time the Clio was docked near a Puente de las Delicias bridge we saw Féria-goers streaming across that bridge. Pedestrians. Horseback riders or carriages with people dressed up in their traditional finaries. Glad we got to see all this. 

The walk was optional and we were very happy at the end that we had done it. The Féria truly seems to be special. 

When we got out of the bus I think we were at the Plaza de America. Joana bought seeds for the doves and by golly the birds were almost like in the Hitchcock movie. 

 

The Plaza De España was buzzing. No question that the traditional dresses of the ladies were stunning. 

So was the building. There was some dancing, several types of music, people having fun. And so did we. 

Back to the ship. At 5:15 pm  Chef Gopi gave a cooking demonstration. We missed most of it but had the benefit of the tasting. 

Port Talk and dinner as usual. 

After dinner we met again in the launch/bar. Four Sevilleans showed us traditional Flamenco  music and dancing. We were very much impressed.

P

It’s late but what a day this was! Night night!