Seville
Whilst in Spain we visited the big red classical city of Seville renowned for it's beautiful old town. We stayed at the Las Casas de la juderia hotel which was the coolest city hotel I have ever been to. It had a tunnel a hundred metres long which linked all the rooms together. The hotel was also in a good position because it was within walking distance from the cathedral, the bullring and the alcazar.
View of the Giralda
We went to the Cathedral first, which is the largest church in the world and definitely worth a visit. This is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever visited it is like a scaled up version of a normal church. The tomb of Christopher Colombus is in the Seville Cathedral. Joined on to the cathedral is the giralda. The giralda is an old minaret, built by the moors in the twelth century. When Seville was taken back by the Christians it was converted into a bell tower. It is over a hundred metres tall and can be seen from most of Seville. We walked the thirty-five floors to the top and it is definitely worth it because you get the most spectacular views over Seville. It is amazing when you think that it took people 10 years to build a cathedral the dedication that that must have required is quite inspirational. 
After having lunch in a traditional tapas bar we returned to our hotel for a well-earned siesta. You have to take a siesta in Seville because temperatures often get over 40 degrees near midday. At around 3:00 we walked to the bullring. We did not know much about bull fighting apart from the colourful posters decorated around Spanish towns. The Seville bullring is like a smaller version of the Colloseum it still has stone benches to sit on and the royal balcony for the royal family of Spain. It is one of the smaller bullrings with a capacity of 14,000 people opposed to 20,000 average. It is a typical spanish building. In the half hour tour you also get shown through the bullfighting museum, which is an interesting education about the history of bullfighting.
After visiting the bullring we went on a horse and cart around Seville, which is a good way of touring around Seville in the hot afternoon. You also get to see some of Seville’s more modern spectacular buildings, which you otherwise might miss. The whole of the centre of Seville looks fantastic almost all buildings are painted in red or yellow, which are traditional Spanish colours.
One of the things I like about Seville more than any other city is that there are so many tiny streets with quaint tapas bars selling cheap but amazing food. All the houses in the Barrio Santa Cruz are of the same or similar style so the whole region looks very rustic. The Barrio Santa Cruz is where all of the interesting buildings are and that is the best place to stay.
The next day we woke up early and set off for the famous Alcazar. One of the interesting things about this palace is that different parts were built at different times so some of it is quite modern. By far the most beautiful and famous part however, is the Pedro I’s part. The mosaics are amazing and the courtyard has the most amazing pillars. Another interesting part are two huge rooms with tapestry’s of the first discoverer’s of America.
The gardens of the Alcazar are well worth a walk around because it is from the gardens that you get the best views of the palace with the Giralda in the background.
One more thing that we saw was the Casa di Pilates, which is like a smaller version of the Alcazar, which was built in the 16th century. It has amazing mosaics and is, in my opinion a classic old Spanish building. It is less crowded than the Alcazar and is nice to sit around in.
Casa di Pilates
Amazing Mosaics
For more information go to the Spanish Tourism Board
or Explore Seville
from not being to any of these places would love to see at least one.
bl-Irony-bl said...
04 August 2008 08:34