Day 8

We were very sad to have missed the Alhambra but we got to get our Islamic architecture on at the Alcazar in Seville.  What a stunning place.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in the residence but here are pictures of the rest of what we saw.

This video is of a water organ in one of the gardens.  It works like a music box but the tones are created by air created from the fountain flowing through a small set of pipes.  It was very charming.

 We had a sandwich and a glass of Manzanilla which I don't recommend.  I took a little time out to commune with this peahen.

We were there for about 4 hours and were completely overwhelmed.  We went back to the hotel and had a nap and freshened up before heading out for some more wanderings.  Here is just a random building.

And here are Seville's best churros and hot chocolate and a vermouth of course.

This is called the Metropol Parasol. Locals call it the mushroom.  It's the world's largest wooden structure.  It's hard to explain and it's cool in its way.  We went up on it and walked around.  You do get great views but I didn't love it.

We did love vermouth number two however.

 They write your bill on the table as you go.

We had a tapa of spinach and chickpeas.  Believe it or not, it was one of the best things we've had.

We booked a flamenco show in the evening and passed this on the way. I'm not saying it's THE barber of Seville but I know for a fact that it's A barber of Seville.

I was challenged to perform the feat that Rebecca did on one of the narrow streets and I stepped up!  I might have pulled something important but I did it.

I wish we could have filmed some of the flamenco show but it wasn't allowed.  I wondered if it might be cheesy but we chose one in a small underground space and it was thrilling.  I can't explain it.  There was a guitarist, two singers and three dancers and they all pushed each other and often the intensity was close to overwhelming.

Afterwards we walked to the Plaza de Espana which was built in 1929 for the world exposition.  Of course the pictures don't do justice to it.  It's massive and the tile work everywhere is spectacular. 

We ended the evening with a gelato on the rooftop.  Seville really exceeded our expectations.  What a jewel.

Day 6

Our cab driver was waiting for us when we went downstairs and we were whisked to the car rental place where we secured a Seat Leon.  Not a bad driving car actually.  Here are a few random shots from our drive.

Olive trees lined the highway practically the entire drive.  

Sun flower field.  We saw two or three of these.

Bull sign - with testicles naturally.

This appeared to be a warning for masked motorcycle banditos to keep a safe distance.

We unpacked and settled in and prepared to go off and discover Seville.  But first Rebecca had to make sure she was sleeveless worthy.

Our first stop was to get some vermouth.  By the way, we've learned that you can make your own vermouth so now we know what we're doing with the rest of our summer.

Bread basket.

Salad, fried anchovies and cheese, pumpkin croquets, and a glass of gazpacho.  By the way, why does Greece seem to be the only European country to really embrace a beautiful salad?

Fish tail anyone?

After a quick lunch we headed to the Cathedral.  Seville's Cathedral is the largest in the world by volume with 80 chapels - some of which are larger than churches we've seen.

I feel like this is a depiction of the first voice lesson.  Clearly the teacher has wings and only teaches standing on a minimum of two baby heads!

This is Christopher Columbus's tomb.  It's very impressive though it needs a good dusting.

Apparently one of the chapels holds the Stanley Cup in the off season.

Baby standing on baby heads.  Obviously a future voice teacher.

Ich habe deine Mund gekuesst!

Perhaps the earliest stained glass depiction of a whopper.

This is an old minaret which was turned into the cathedral's bell tower.  We climbed up it.  Instead of stairs there are ramps so that the person who did the call to prayer could ride his horse to the top.

Small orange grove in a courtyard.

This is s a picture in the orange grove.  This part of the church retained a lot of the Islamic stone work.

This is just a random building.  Seville is amazingly clean and preserved.  It's like a jewel box.

Here is a sign outside of the tobacco factory where Carmen worked.  It's now part of the university.  The factory building itself is quite impressive.  I took a picture of it but can't find it

A stature celebrating Isabel and Columbus.

The other side is to commemorate Ferdinand and Columbus.

Legend has it that this balcony inspired Rossini to write Rosina's balcony scene in the Barber of Seville.

The streets are clearly crazy narrow.  It wasn't nearly as hot as we feared - only in the mid 80s but in the sun it felt a million. The narrow streets mitigate that problem very well.

Random building.

The squarest of trees.

This is the entrance to the bull ring.  We could see it from the bell tower.  It was really stunning.  We had hoped to take a tour but we ran out of time.

We walked to the Guadalquivir for the sunset and it couldn't have been more pleasant.  We walked and people watched and had one more glass of wine before bed.  Considering what the day before had been like it couldn't have been a better day.  Just stunning