Seville, Spain
Seville, Spain for two days Friday & Saturday, May 6 & 7, 2022
Picture
yourself preparing your rich black soil for spring planting. Your field is near a river that is similar in
width to the Cedar. Now picture yourself
looking up from your fieldwork to watch a cruise ship sail that river at about
11 knots, sloshing the river banks and towering over the horizon. It was quite a journey for us who were on
board as we motored through fields and passed through towns who gave friendly
waves like it happened every day. I was
using the outside track on the 10th deck, powerwalking and
alternately gawking, looking down on traffic or fellow walkers along the river
walkways. This Guadalquivir River took
us straight into Seville, underneath a modern hanging bridge, to where a
tugboat helped us make a 360 (with a few feet to spare on a side) so that we
could literally back into a parking space along the harbor.
For all these years, I’ve been
mispronouncing this city. Locals call it sah-VEE-yah. And it’s impossible to overstate its
beauty. Having an overnight and two days
here was the best treat for all of us.
We’re all a bit travel weary after 19 solid days of ports, some quite
rainy and cool, so the upper 80s with sunshine and an annual festival and
hundreds of horse and carriages was just the best!
Located
in the southern province of Andalucia (yes, the horse breed comes from here),
Seville has a heritage of bullfighting, flamenco dancing, wines and sherry, and
royal palaces, fortresses, and cathedrals dating back to the 8th
Century. Christian and Moorish cultures
collide, blend, then collide again best witnessed in the architecture as you
will see. The city has a population of
about 750,000, boasts easily accessible modern transportation, and presents itself
as a youthful city that welcomes the tourist trade but perhaps doesn’t
structure itself around it.
Our bus
tour on day one drove us around the major points of interest. Nearest the harbor is the Plaza de Espana
which is a half-mooned series of separate pavilions built in each country’s
architectural style for the 1929 World’s Fair. We got off the bus to enjoy the
architecture and were treated to folk music, flamenco, and hand-painted Spanish
fans. The ceramic tiles in the Puerta de
Aragon depict the ancient markets for purchasing horses.
Next was the beginning of our
walking tour starting at a tower with a ship in the middle and fountain below,
representing legend and also Columbus’ sailing from Seville on the replica of
the Santa Maria. In a few areas in
Seville, one can see remnants of the city wall that dates to the Middle Ages;
most of the wall was destroyed in the Spanish war of 1868. As we neared Seville’s Old City which was
originally the Jewish section, we saw two pipes coming from an old wall that
are left over from the water to the Palace of the Kings. The Old City houses two of the city’s
most-visited sites: its mammoth
cathedral (can enter only with online tickets at certain times of the day) and
the world-renowned Alcazar (similar to Granada’s Alhambra). This is a royal palace, this one is still in
use, built in the early Middle Ages as the hub of all power, wealth, and
culture. Its history is vast and you can
look it up if you wish, but the architecture and gardens and ceramic tiles and
filigree are of the highest degree.
Photos are complimentary, but you really need to see it—or the
Alhambra--for yourself when you come.
I need to add a paragraph about the
annual fair that was happening in Seville while we were there. Once a year, for an entire week, locals flock
to this big city decked out in their native costumes (our guide called them
gypsy costumes) and ready to mingle, visit, hunker down in their own “booths”
and enjoy the large family reunion. The
booths and gathering space were held in a large space—similar to the Clay
County Fair but without the pavilions or displays—about a five minute walk from
the ship. Because we were docked during
the last two days of the fair, we watched in wonder as thousands upon thousands
of people paraded to the fair or were ceremoniously driven there in a carriage
drawn by a single horse, a pair, or even a team of four. Some were mules, a few were high-steppers,
some were a draft variety, some wore bells, others wore bright pompoms that
bounced around their eyes and ears. The
most memorable for me was a tall pair of dapple-gray mules. Didn’t know you could even DO that! The carriages were also parked in the Old
Town Square, available to hire as taxis.
Our ship even offered a sunset tour by carriage. No, we didn’t. This time.
Our second day in Seville was
unplanned, so we enjoyed getting off the ship at our leisure, taking a 30-minute
walk to downtown, and wandering in shops and among the Old Town alongside
hordes of families who were out to enjoy Saturday’s 84 degree temperatures. All of the restaurants were spilled out onto
the street and were filled with people enjoying a meal or a coffee while
watching the crowds. Intermingled were
also the locals going to the fair in their gypsy clothing: women had long,
formfitting gowns, usually a form of red or red with large dots, at the knee, the
gowns had rows upon rows of gathered flounces which forced short steps for
walking, but called attention to their feet as they tap-danced the
Flamenco. Around their shoulders were
embroidered shawls—in reds or whites with roses as motifs. In each hand is a fan. Not necessarily used for air conditioning,
but as an accent and swirling motion used in the Flamenco.
I’m coming home with a wide-hemmed
skirt and a shawl. Cuz I love to collect
costumes. Especially if they are of the wearable variety.
Seville is worth a return
trip. Wanna join us?
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