SEVILLE

We crossed the Guadalquiver River into Seville and I was instantly struck by the beautiful architecture.  It was reminiscent of the buildings we had seen in Guadalarja,, Mexico and of course that was no surprise since it was the Spanish who had conquered the Aztec Empire in the 1500’s. 

Getting off the bus in the Jewish Quarter we could smell the fragrance of orange blossoms and were told the fruits are bitter but the trees were planted simply for their fragrance and hence their name.

Our guide informed us that unemployed people are made to strip the matured oranges from the trees before they start dropping.  The Jewish Quarter was charming with andalusion architecture, narrow streets, small courtyards, and plenty of shops and restaurants.  The guide pointed out the hotel where Don Juan had courted his ladies. 

We toured the Cathedral of Seville, a massive structure adorned with stained glass windows.  The altar at the front is made of 2000 kilos of gold and was roped off from the public.  I think we could feed the world with all that gold.  We climbed up the adjoining tower called Giralda and enjoyed a view of the city below us.  Cruise boats filled with tourists glided slowly by on the river.



In the plaza outside of the Cathedral gypsies hawked postcards and thyme branches.  These ladies are very aggressive.  One lady tapped me hard on the chest when I was inattentive to her sales pitch and was admiring the scenery before me. 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for lunch, eating tapas el fresco and enjoying a beer in the warm sun. 

Much too soon we had to return to our bus to continue on to Algeciras where we would be spending the night.  Seville is on a plain and as we headed south the terrain became more hilly to become mountainous near the coast.  I will never forget the feeling I had when cresting a steep hill I saw another continent on the horizon.  I was looking at Africa!