Day: March 12, 2022

Today, Saturday, is only the second time on this trip that we have spent two nights in one place. There is so much to see and do in Sevilla that it is easy to spend more than one day here. Saturday morning we had coffee, croissants and fresh orange juice at a cafe next to our hotel. I love the automatic orange juice making machines here. We watched our waiter load the machine with oranges and make our juice.

After breakfast we went for a horse and buggy tour of the area around the cathedral and Plaza de España.

Next we went to the Archives of the Indies. It is where they have all the old documents related to Spains exploration and colonization. They have exhibits that change every few months. The displays were all in Spanish but still interesting. This time the exhibit was about the New Spain fleet and the the search for the galleon Nuestra Señora de Juncal which sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 1631.

From the archives we found a place to have coffee.

Each coffee packet has a saying on it. So we took pictures with our packets.

We were revitalized so we did the Rick Steve’s walking tour of Seville. We are here at a very good time. Al the orange trees are blooming and the air is full of the smell of orange blossoms. It’s wonderful.

We had a tasty lunch in a small square, outside, under the orange trees.

We shared tapas.

After playing cards for a while by the hotel pool, we decided to take a walk through the newer shopping district of Sevilla. When we got over to Avenida de la Constitución, just past the cathedral we discovered a big parade of mainly Peruvian and Bolivian dancers. they wore wonderful, colorful costumes. The dancing was fast, exuberant and lots of fun to watch.

For dinner we went to a tapas restaurant with bull heads on the walls. Each head had a plaque about the famous bull.

Friday morning we walked to the Madrid train station and caught an 8 am high speed train to Sevilla.

We had coffee and pastries in the station before boarding the train

The train ride was smooth, scenic, relaxing and fast!

Our hotel rooms weren’t ready so we went across the street and visited Sevilla Cathedral.

One of the things I was struck by was how bright the paintings that had been cleaned were. It was especially noticeable when a cleaned painting was next to an uncleaned painting.

We went up to the top of the Giralda Tower. In an earlier version the tower was the minaret of the mosque that was on this sight.

While we were inside the cathedral it stated raining hard. Everyone had brought their raincoats except me. Luckily it was a short walk to the hotel.

We had cheese and ham for lunch and played cards.

Later we put on our raincoats and went for a walk. We walked along the river and went in the Torre del Oro. It was the customs house for the riches from the Americas which flowed through Seville. Now it’s a naval museum.

About 8:00 pm, after a break and short siesta at the hotel, we went out to find some tapas for dinner. The rain had stopped and there were a lot of people out. We had a perfect dinner of tapas and beer.

As we walked back to the hotel the streets were full and the cathedral was lit up.