Sevilla

Sevilla (Wednesday)

No rain…this was the good thing! Although it was not hot nor sunny, it didn’t rain like it did in Toledo for our walking tour and it was pouring buckets when we got off the bus for our Flamenco Show in Sevilla.

We started the morning with the best breakfast buffet yet. Remember, this was at the HUGE hotel in Sevilla, so I guess it was to be expected. J Rose and Kjersten overslept, so that was a bit stressfull loading to bus to find that we were missing two, but “no worries” as Amaya said. The tours can wait. We picked up our local guide and she gave us a panoramic bus tour along the Guadalquiver River in Sevilla of all the Country buildings that were built bor the 1938 World Fair. Each beautiful palace tried to “one-up the other with the most unique and elborate pavilion. These buildsing are now mostly owned by the City of Sevilla, but at one point were the country’s consulet and in some cases, still are.

Our first stop of the morning was at the Plaza España—one of my favorite buildings in all of Spain. This was the “building” that Sevilla built for the 1938 World Fair—again, trying to out do, and give a great impression to all the visitors was very important. This building is still used for government business on a daily basis, however the part we saw was beautiful fountains, bridges, and decorative benches for each Region of Spain. There are carriage rides for “rent” here and throughout all of downtown Sevilla.

Next we went to the Alcazar. This Christian Palace was built in the MOrjado style (combination of Moorish and Christian styles), but in my opinion (and to an uneducated eye) looked more Moorish than Christian. In fact, the only Spanish words throughout the building are at the very entrance, where as the world ALA and quotes from the Koran are present throughout the entire building in all the tile and decorative structures in each room. Unlike La Alhambra, this palace has always been under Christian rule and has always been occupied by a Christian King. In fact, to this day, when the royal family comes to Sevilla, the Alcazar is where they stay. Of course we didn’t tour the second floor of the palace, as that is where the furniture and private stuff is for the royal family.