Thursday Sevilla

 

Our first stop was the Plaza de España built for the 1929 Exposition to celebrate art and culture of countries formerly colonized. It reminds me of Fair Park with the very stylized buildings and large public spaces. Mosaics tell the story of each city in Spain. Gypsies sell fans and castanets. Beautiful public gardens surround the area.

Next we toured Pilot’s House, the house of a noble family. This was the first archeological collection and was really like a museum. It was built in the Mudejer style with moorish influences in the 16th century with the most beautiful gardens. Orange trees and bougainvillea were in full bloom.

Next was time for another cathedral tour. The Cathedral de Sevilla is the third largest cathedral in Europe. There is a large modern memorial to Christopher Columbus that they claim to be his crypt. Walked the bell tower to see the view and then all went to a restaurant for Paella lunch. This lunch was something Sophie was really looking forward to, but was just okay. Since everyone is served the same thing, we had the chicken variety rather than the more iconic seafood or rabbit. The dish was good, but was Rea just chicken with Spanish rice.

The various groups we set free for a few hours in the city and we all walked to the Setas de Sevilla. Setas means mushrooms and this is the largest wood sculpture in the world. Super super cool. After that the Treetops group further split up. Sophie and I stayed at the Seta’s to do the full tour there. For 15 euros you can take an elevator to the top and explore the roof of the structure with amazing views of the city and countryside beyond. Taking the stairs down, we also visited the Roman ruins that are preserved below. There were rooms and mosaic clearly visible. It was humbling to see that and know that people have been carrying on life there for thousands of years.

Sophie and I made our way through the bustling city, stopped in a grocery to buy some snacks (rice cakes in sun dried tomato flavor and ham flavor to take to Peter). We met the rest of the group by the Plaza del Torró by the river and enjoyed watching the walkers and rowers in the park.

Next stop- flamenco. We were driven to a theater for an amazing show. Seven dancers, a guitar and two singers put on a passionate display of this traditional dance form. Beautiful.

Dinner was at the hotel cafeteria about 10 pm; we’re living on Spanish time now.