Delightful Seville - Day 1

Our two days in Seville have been action-packed.  We had already booked tickets for the Real Alcazar and the Cathedral before we left.  As we chatted about the visit to those two famous sites prior to arriving in Seville, we decided a private guided tour of them made more sense.  While it was pricey for just two people, it was so worth it.  We could have just used the audioguides but it wouldn't be the same.  Beatrix, our guide, met us about 10:45 and was with us until nearly 3 pm.  The details she provided us about the history and events surrounding the buildings was too much to remember, or even comprehend.  Suffice it to say, both the palace and the cathedral are amazing and a highlight of any visit to Seville.

We started with the Real Alcazar.  The following in the information from Wikipedia about the building:
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The Alcázar is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, built for the Christian king Peter of Castile.  It was built by Castilian Christians on the site of an Abbadid Muslim residential fortress destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville.  Although some elements of other civilizations remain, the palace, a preeminent example of Mudéjar architecture in the Iberian Peninsula, is renowned as one of the most beautiful.  The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as their official residence in Seville, and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional.  It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe and was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Seville Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies.

The building with its Moorish influence is architecturally amazing with artistically detailed tiles and carvings.  I was pleased to have returned here as the tour I did of this last year didn't cover as much as Beatrix did.

The Princess' Bathroom

The gardens of the palace are also amazing.  Again, last year we didn't see as much of them as we did this time.  Peacocks wander around and seem quite tame.  

  

Our next stop was the Cathedral which I did not visit when I was here as part of my cruise with Voyages to Antiquity last year.  Again, here is the information from Wikipedia:

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral, was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies.  "See" refers to the episcopal see, i.e., the bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.  It is the third-largest church in the world as well as the largest Gothic church.  After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title held by the Byzantine church for nearly a thousand years.  The total area occupied by the building is 23,500 square meters.  The Gothic section alone has a length of 126 meters, a width of 83 meters and its maximum height in the center of the transept is 37 meters.  The total height of the Giralda tower from the ground to the weather vane is 96 meters. Since the world's two largest churches (the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and St. Peter's Basilica) are not the seats of bishops, Seville Cathedral is still the largest cathedral in the world.

The Giralda is the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain.  It was originally built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, Moorish Spain, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty.  The Renaissance-style top subsequently was added by the Catholics after the expulsion of the Muslims from the area.  The tower is 104.1 m (342 ft) in height and remains one of the most important symbols of the city, as it has been since the Middle Ages.

  

The Tomb of Christopher Columbus

The Famous Bell Tower

With that tour done, we headed back to the hotel.  We were very tired - it was hot, we had tried to take in a lot of information, and it was another 20 minute walk back to the hotel.  For dinner, we asked for a recommendation for a very nice, upscale restaurant.  We took their advice and headed to Arte y Sabor on Alameda square.  As it turned out, it wasn't our idea of "upscale" but we still had fun!  Besides, it was Thanksgiving Monday and we had a lot to be grateful for!