Viva Sevilla

Sometimes I forget how truly beautiful Sevilla is and how lucky I am to live here. I am reminded whenever I venture into the city center and am not on a mission (like shopping or errands or hurrying to meet someone for tapas). Last weekend Jose and I had  Friday off and had a sort of staycation. We took Cooper and walked first through the Plaza de España. This is my favorite site in all of Sevilla. It was built for the 1928 World's Fair and was recently rennovated. It is a basically a half circle of beautiful buildings that opens out onto a square. Everything is adorned with typical Spanish tiles and the architecture is amazing. The square represents each of the provinces and you can rent boats to row your way around or ride in a horse drawn carriage. It is one of those things that you have to see to understand. Me trying to describe it and this picture do NOT do it justice.



Next we walked past the University of Sevilla which is housed in an old tabacco factory. The building itself is open and airy with the classrooms and offices set off of inner courtyards. Around the outside perimeter of the white building is a kind of moat which before prevented factory workers from stealing tabacco. Now it is home to a bunch of wild University cats, fed by students.

We continued on towards the Alcazar which is a beautiful palace complex with lush gardens surrounding it. The Alcazar has tiles and craftsmanship in its many buildings that make you wonder how people with such limited technology were able create such beautiful things.

 
 
As we continued on we passed the Cathedral of Sevilla. It is large and imposing. It is a feat of architecture and now that it is clean is quite a sight to see. Inside I find it leaves much to be desired but from outside it is quite impressive. The old Arabic tower (or Giralda) is another aspect which makes a visit well worth it. I have walked up the 40 odd flights before several times and am always in awe of the views of the city since before nothing could be constructed that was taller than the church.
 
Sevilla is a beautiful city and makes for a great vacation (hint, hint). The sights are beautiful, the weather mild (if not hot) year-round and the food is good. I would recommend coming if you have a chance. There is so much more to see and take in than are mentioned in this post. This was just what we saw in one afternoon strolling around. To really see the city you need a few days. Let's be honest, taking a vacation to see Sevilla is a much easier sell than asking people to come see Detroit that's for sure. Maybe this post will inspire someone new to come occupy our guestroom. 
 

Comments

  1. rockOctober 25, 2012 at 2:35 AM

    You forgot to mention that Cristobal Colombo is buried in your cathedral.

    ReplyDelete

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