A Self Guided Walking Tour of Seville

 The Real Alcazar.

 The ornate walls and ceiling of the Ambassdors Room.

 The Virgin of the Navigators, who protected all the Spanish explorers, including Columbus whose portrait is top left.

 The small part of the gardens of the Alcazar.

The Plaza de Toros...

 the museum...

 and the ring.

 The old city wall of Seville.

 Metropol Parasol from the street...

 from the top...

and from the air (from a photo).

Monday, September 11^th.

Today was another long day of walking. I left my room at 9:30 and returned by 8:00. I was on my feet for most of that except for dinner in the evening. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures around 35 in the afternoon.

This morning I walked back to the cathedral area to the Real Alcazar, the palace of Seville. Built over the first settlement foundations of Seville, the Alcazar has its origin during the XI Century AD. Since that day until today, every civilization that has dwelt on the Iberian Peninsula has used the Royal Alcazar of Seville as the capital of its kingdom. As a result it is a mix of the Arabic period, late Middle Ages right through the to the Renaissance, Baroque and the 19^th Century. The upper levels of the Alcazar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence. It reminded my in many ways of the Alhambra and dates from about the same time period.

I spent the morning wandering around the palace with its multitude of rooms and nooks and crannies and explored some of the gardens which were quiet, peaceful and fragrant. It is a monumental complex that has seven hectares of gardens and seventeen thousand square metres of buildings. The most impressive room was the Ambassador's Room. It was used as the throne room by one of the early kings. The room itself is square, representing the earth and the dome is round representing the universe. It is full of incredibly ornate plaster and woodwork. As I was walking around I had the odd thought of how, without cellphones, any member of the family living here would ever be able to find anyone else. It would the most amazing place for hide and seek.

After I left there I thought I'd enter the cathedral but there was a huge line, so I'll try that again early tomorrow. Yesterday from the bus I had seen two things I wanted to check out. So I I walked from the Alcazar to the Guadaliquivir River to find them, but before I got there I came across the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Seville, which is a 12,000 seat capacity bullring and a museum to bullfighting. I abhor practice but I learned something. It started out as a way of training Spanish knights in the art of attack on horseback so that they would be ready for battle. It evolved into the art/sport/ceremony that it is today. This ring still has bullfights once a week. The museum and tour was actually quite interesting and it felt strange to be standing in the middle of the ring.

Then I continued on and followed the river for about an hour before reaching the Macarena district. Here is the first thing I wanted to find: the city wall of the Macarena neighbourhood that was part of the old defensive walls of Seville that date back to the Roman era. I love city walls and this one is very impressive with a moat on the outside.

The second was the Metropol Parasol structure. It is a wooden structure consisting of six parasols in the form of giant mushrooms. It was completed in April 2011. Its dimensions are 150 by 70 metres and an approximate height of 26 metres and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. Its appearance, location, delays and cost overruns in construction resulted in much public controversy. I have to say it is the strangest looking structure I have ever seen and it certainly stands out in this city of palaces and cathedrals. There is an elevator that takes you to the top for spectacular views of the skyline of Seville.

From there I walked back to the cathedral district through the maze of narrow and winding streets. I found an outdoor restaurant where I had a beer and a Iberian pork dinner. The restaurants in this area have shades to protect you from the sun and they spray a fine mist over you to cool off the air, very refreshing. Then back to the room to rest my weary feet.