May 12 –
18, 2014
SEVILLE
Our bus
ride from Madrid to Seville is about 6 hours, in a very roomy and
comfortable bus, passing over the mostly flat open dry Spanish landscape, often
filled to the horizons with orchards of olive trees. At one point we pass the
blinding light tower of the Gemasol solar field.
Seville is built along the Guadalquivir River,
with several elegant and modern bridges defining the cityscape as the bus comes
into the station. What strikes us, though, is the gorgeous canopies of
jacaranda trees that line the river walk and most of the main avenues of the
city. High, lacy and in full bloom, they decorate the streets with an amazing,
rich, lilac-indigo color. They shade the boulevards that are filled with beautiful
18th and 19th Century buildings, decorated with iron
balustrades and painted tiles.
The city
is made up mostly of this style building, 4 or 5 stories high, sprawling up to
the low hills, whitewashed and hot. We’re surprised, then, to find our
apartment building, along the riverfront, sticking up a good 9 stories high. We
have the penthouse apartment, or as it’s called here, the attic.
This is
actually one of the best apartments we’ve had so far. The terrace is about
twice the size of the living room, overlooking the river and out to the low
mountains in the west – perfect for enjoying the sunsets. We are the only
apartment at the top floor, and the apartment itself is modern and compact. Interestingly, nearly all
the wall surfaces – ceilings, bathroom, doors – are covered with a photo
collage. They seem to be mostly pictures from magazines, Vogue, National
Geographic, and similar, mostly faces or figures (Brad Pitt makes several
appearances) an interesting mix, a little chaotic, but it works. Our terrace
does get the sun, unrelenting sun in the afternoon, so we have to wait for
sunset to enjoy our dinner outdoors.
Seville is an interesting mix of
young and old, tourists and locals. The river is navigable from the ocean, so
the cruise ships can actually come up to the city itself. They drop everyone off at the Cathedral Square,
where they have just enough time to visit the Cathedral, the palace, the
bullfighting arena, and perhaps take a short riverboat cruise too. They totally
clog up the place, but don’t venture much farther.
But
besides the tourists, the city has a very sporty personality. We look out to
the riverfront to see a continuous view of runners, bikers, skaters, strollers,
rowers and kayakers. The bike paths are marked all through the city, which is
fairly flat and well-suited for biking, even in the heat.
The
Cathedral here is beautiful and dramatic, with gigantic carved walls filling
the altars. There is a grand statute of pallbearers at the tomb of Christopher
Columbus, a surprise to us to find him here. The first several stories of the
bell tower are the remnants of the original mosque on this site. Instead of
steps, there is a brick rampway to the top, so that the muezzin could ride up
on his horse. There’s a beautiful view of the city at the tower, and WE CAN SEE
OUR HOUSE!
We decide
to take a river cruise to see if we can escape the oven-heat of the city for an
hour. As we wait to take off, the boat fills to the brim with tourists, all
hurrying up to the upper deck. We decide to stay below, at a window seat nearly
touching the water. We are the only ones in the room. The five-language tour
narration is stunningly lame. If you happen to need the Portuguese version, the
described site is long gone by the time you hear it. At one point, the narrator
points out “The bridge before us is in the Guinness Book of World Records…”
We’re waiting, waiting, waiting, but no further information is provided. We
cruise along upriver for about 30 minutes, and WE CAN SEE OUR HOUSE!
We do
learn that the island park across the river from our apartment is the site of the
1992 Expo, with a number of the pavilions still there. We make a day trip to
walk over, and find a nice park and river walk, but the pavilions are all
closed and empty. At the end of the riverside trail is a pretty ugly squatters’
camp, in the shadow of the construction site of an incredibly hideous giant fifty-story
office tower, sticking up over the historic city skyline like something much
worse than a sore thumb. We’re told it’s supposed to represent a raised torch,
but believe me, it does not.
So,
finding no access to the Aerospace Pavilion, Navigation Pavilion, Shindler’s
Tower, or any other such thing as mentioned in our river cruise, we head back
to the city, to the bullfight arena. We are not interested in seeing an actual
bullfight, but a tour of the area and museum is available, so we try it. We
have a small group of 6, and listen while the guide gives her talk in Spanish,
then English. The ring is quite attractive, with ochre sand and brick red
seats. The small museum is interesting, with beautiful small portraits of the
prized bulls, some classic “suits of lights”, and a collection of Goya prints.
One of
the buildings that is still in use on the island in the river is a former 13th
C. monastery, converted in the 19th C. to a tile factory, and now
open as a very interesting contemporary art center attached to a university,
surrounded by lovely gardens and an olive grove. Some examples of decorative
tiles are still in place throughout the compound. We spend several hours there,
then walk back across the river into the neighborhoods. We stop at a little
bistro for a plate of caracoles, tiny
snails cooked in a broth, that you pull from their shells with a toothpick.
It’s caracole season, and every
corner café has a sign out: Hay Caracoles!
In Seville, we see our first
parking-spot panhandlers. From our terrace vantage point, we watch a couple
guys in the avenue below, casually milling around. When a parking spot along
the curb opens up, one guy stands in front of it gesturing to the passing
traffic with his open palm, “Here’s a spot…Parking spot open here…” Soon
enough, a car will pull in, and of course you have to give the guy a euro or so
for showing you the spot. We haven’t seen this elsewhere, but is seems like it
would be a good bit to try in Manhattan.
One of
the less-visited attractions in Seville
is the Camera Obscura, set up in a
tower not too far from our apartment. We find it easily, and enjoy an agua con gas in the nice café at the
tower plaza. This is a popular spot
for local families, and there are at least two big parties going on. The
outside tables are set for about 50 people, with a whole row of tables for the
children. We guess that it’s a birthday party when one boy comes in dressed in
a fancy sailor suit. But another boy also has a sailor suit, so maybe it’s just
the fashion. All the children, ages about 5 to 10, are dressed so nicely, with the
girls in fancy little sundresses and hair bows.
Our turn
in the tower comes up, and we join 4 others for our little tour. The gentleman
running the thing is very passionate about his work, and has a good time
showing off the device. We see a round canvas of 5 or so feet in diameter,
suspended on cables in a darkened room. Above us, there is a mirror reflecting
images onto the canvas. The guide swivels the disk around, where we have a very
clear projection of the city. He points out the Cathedral, which he tells us is
the 3rd largest in Europe, after St. Peter’s in Rome
and St. Paul’s in London. (I sort of think the Doma in Milan is bigger, but I
didn’t argue). He shows us the Palace, the bridges, the terraces full of
laundry, and WE CAN SEE OUR HOUSE!
Afterwards,
we walk through the city once more, passing a great structure that everyone
calls the Mushroom, a modern architectural construction that’s a plaza, a
restaurant, a lookout, a big whatsit. There’s an in-line skater freestyle
contest going on, with kids of all ages and music. The skaters weave and spin
through a course of plastic cups. Makes you want to start skating too. We watch
for a while, then continue on past the Cathedral to the Real Alcazar, the Royal Palace
and gardens. This palace is an example of Moorish style, very different from
the European palaces we’ve seen so far. The arches and walls are embellished
with geometrically carved plaster decorations and painted tiles. There’s a
small collection of historical tiles in one area that is very interesting. The
rooms and grounds are sprawling and mazelike. We wander through enjoying the
experience, until we are ready to leave and can’t find our way out. Lost in the
Alcazar…
Back at
our apartment, we can hear throbbing electronic music and crowds of people
shouting from way across the river at the Stadium, where a festival of colors
has been going on all afternoon. It’s a music fest, but like the Indian Holi
fest (which, if you look it up on Wikipedia, sounds like a major fun time),
there is a schedule of color-throwing for the day. We are slightly tempted to
go over, but it’s probably sold out, and its been going on for ten hours
already and the place must be a wreck, and its going to continue all night long
(it actually does), and we’re not that
tempted.
7 Videos Included
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