Monday, November 9, 2015

Nov 4th, Sevilla Cathedral, Real Alcazar, and Spanish Square

Paulo and Ana decided that today was the day to go to Spain. We are going to Sevilla and we will visit the cathedral, Alcazar, the Spanish Square and IKEA.
I am a little disappointed with the European Union. I don't end up with passport stamps.
When we arrived in Sevilla we drove around looking for the underground parking. It gave me a chance to see the city which is a mix of old and new. Strange round skyscrapers and old bull fighting rings. We parked in the underground in the centre of town and started our tour.
There is a very old large post office with concrete decorations that are mailboxes on the side of the building. Opposite the post office is the beginning of the cathedral. We walked around it and I discovered that just like Salamanca, graduates of the University had written their names (400 years ago) on the side of the building in bull's blood. You can still see the writing today. I went inside and took a few pictures. The outside was more impressive then the inside. It was beautiful but I expected the nave to be bigger.
We walked around the old city which included some of the outside walls of the Alcazar. We found a lovely restaurant. Ana and Paulo shared a variety of tapas but I missed having Paella when I was in Spain before so I had a seafood paella. It was delicious. Now it was time to go to Real Alcazar. We rented audio guides. Mine was in English. We travelled together for a few rooms and then we split up. Room after room opened to new splendours. The ceilings were gorgeous. The gardens were lovely. I got pictures of the peacocks, the fountains, the tile work, the ceilings, the carved walls. I loved it all. I decided it was time to make my way to the exit to find Ana and Paulo. Then I got lost. I kept heading in the right direction and ending up back where I started. People told me to go straight and turn left. I did it again and there I was again, back where I started. Finally a man told me to go straight through two doorways before I turned left. I made it to the exit and found Ana and Paulo. There are almost a hundred pictures of Alcazar on Facebook, I just couldn't stop taking pictures.
We had to walk about a kilometre to the Spanish Square but it was worth the walk. It is a beautiful half circle of building with an impressive square that was big enough that there were several bridges and a canal with boats in it. There are horse drawn coaches giving people rides around the centre of the square. Another wonderful attraction.
We headed back toward the old city and the car.
We had to stop for churros and chocolate before heading to IKEA. All IKEAs are so huge and you must follow around in a circle to find the exit, I was not surprised when Ana said that we had walked 11 kilometres over the whole day.

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