Seville--close down week two

For many people Seville is quintessential Spain: sunny and carefree, the home of flamenco and bull fights. We had missed Seville on our first mission (due to an unfortunate day in the emergency room in Granada due to a torn muscle from slipping on a wet cobblestone step) so we were anxious to finally get acquainted with it.  We stayed in an hostal located in a proud old palace.  It was way past its prime but within easy walking distance of all the major sites, and reasonably priced.

Greg entering our room from the 2nd floor commons area

The Seville Cathedral, begun in 1401, is one of the largest in the world, and one of the central meeting places for tourists.  It houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus, whom Spain reveres.

Seville Cathedral

Greg at Columbus' Tomb

Attached to the Cathedral is an ornate 328 foot tall bell tower, converted from a minaret, and built with ramps instead of stairs so horses could carry the bells to their lofty housing.  

Cathedral bell tower

view from Torre Giraldo bell tower

Adjacent to it is the Alcazar, from Seville's Moorish period (700 to 1248 A.D.), and its lovely and extensive gardens.

a Courtyard in the Alcazar

One of Several Gardens

We also visited the Basilica de la Macarena, home of one of the most famous figures carried in procession during Holy Week, and its museum;

La Macarena, Mary, holding the infant Christ

Greg admiring Holy Week float from front

la Macarena's float from the back, displaying her wearing a long cloak

a display window in the museum showing a close-up of la Macarena Mary's beautiful face
and small replicas of her float

and peaked into about a dozen other old Catholic churches containing fabulous art and artifacts; an art museum housed in the former Hospital de los Venerables (retired clergy of royal birth);

Hospital de Los Venerables

Museum of Fine Art

the Museum of Fine Art; the fancy Plaza Espana (which was built for a world exposition that never occurred but has been converted to other uses);

Plaza de Espana

the Bull Ring, the oldest in Spain still in use; the fanciful "Zeta" or (shaped like a "Z") built on the site of the old city market;

the Zeta

 and many other sights.  We went to a flamenco concert in a grand theater,

Theatro Lope de Vega before the performance

and an intimate flamenco performance in a private "flamenco museum".

Flamenco Performance from our "front and center" seats in the Musem ofFlamenco

 We ate Italian food and Mexican food as well as Spanish food.  We wandered endlessly, and had a great time.