Exploring Sevilla- Free Tour and Dance

Hola!

We have arrived in Sevilla!  We left Toronto on Wednesday February 5 at 5:00 p.m.  We flew Air Canada to Zurich, where we had only a 40 minute stopover before our flight to Barcelona.  Most of the 40 minutes was taken up walking to our gate, including a three minute Sky Train ride with "Heidi" talking to us as we passed by pictures of the Alps.  There was also a yodeller accompanying the music.  We then flew (Swiss Air) to Barcelona where we had a two hour layover-- enough time for a delicious sandwich and some good coffee.  Next was our flight on Vueling to Sevilla, arriving on time at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday February 6.

We took a short cab ride to our Airbnb where we were met by our host and his friend.   We are pleased with our apartment-- it is very large, with everything we need.  We are on the second floor (third floor in Canada) with a view of a small courtyard.  Very quiet and in a neat neighbourhood about a 20 minute walk from the centre of the city.

Outside of the apartment building-- we are in an inner courtyard section

We face into the courtyard.

Very hard to believe that we are paying about $80 Canadian a night for such a large, clean, quiet apartment.  Staying seven nights in the off-season was helpful in getting such a good price.

Living room/ dining area

Separate kitchen area- clothes washer, microwave and stove

Separate bedroom- lots of room

Bathroom off bedroom- shower not shown in pic

After settling in, we went out to explore the 'hood and get some provisions.  The high was about 18C with lots of sun.  People were out having late afternoon coffees or drinks.

We are near a very large street called Alameda de Hércules, which has a number of restaurants and bars.

One of the restaurants

Statues at one end of the avenue

Great building with vegetation covering an entire window

 We passed by a beautiful church on San Luis street.

San Luis de los Franceses Church

Lots of orange trees-- we later heard there are 40,000 orange trees in Sevilla

We started to get tired, as we only had about an hour sleep on the entire trip.  We headed back to the apartment for an early dinner--- tortilla, salad and a glass of wine.

Friday February 7 was a mix of sun and cloud with a high of 18C.   We headed out a bit early to meet our Sandemans' Free Tour set for 11:00 a.m.  We had a 20 minute walk to the rendezvous spot.

Lots of beautiful doors in Sevilla

Wine bar with graffiti- not open yet

 We passed by a number of buildings with wonderful courtyards.

Courtyard with beautiful tiles

Our meeting place was the Plaza del Salvador, in front of the Church of El Divino Salvador.  Our Guide was Manuel, an Italian, who has lived in Sevilla a number of years.  He has travelled all over the world, but has settled in Sevilla.  Manuel started with a few stories of Seville, including the use of orange peels in the making of gunpowder, as well as marmalade.

San Salvador Church

We stoped at the Saint Isidore church.  Saint Isidore (c. 560-636 A.D.) was a scholar and for over three decades, Archbishop of Sevilla.  He wrote an etymological encyclopaedia which assembled extracts of many books from classical antiquity that would have otherwise been lost. Our guide told us that people would come to him for information on almost any topic.  He was like the "Google" of yesteryear and is jokingly called the "patron saint of the internet".

Saint Isidore Church

Manuel then took us to see the remains of a Roman Temple dating back about 2000 years.  The columns were very well preserved.

Roman Temple columns

Sneaking a peak at another beautiful courtyard

One view of the Cathedral of Sevilla ( the third largest in the world after the Vatican and a  Cathedral in Brazil)

Manuel pointed out the Muslim, Roman and Christian gothic elements of one of the towers.  Apparently the word Allah can still be found on the walls.  Since Allah translates as "God" and since Christianity also believed in one God, the word Allah was allowed to remain.

One of the towers which contained Muslim elements of a minaret; Roman columns; and a gothic portion.

We then walked over to the Alcazar, the Royal Palace, where the King sometimes stays.

One side of the Alcazar, the Royal Palace

Trams in Sevilla

We then passed a series of buildings that were part of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition.  The buildings took many years to erect, but the exposition was a flop due to the 1929 stockmarket crash and subsequent Depression.   The one building that still has its original use is the Alfonso XIII Hotel, which is a luxury hotel.

Alfonso XIII Hotel- has a royal suite

A large rubber tree about 100 years old.

The Portuguese Pavillion from the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition

Spanish Pavillion

We then went into the Parque de Maria Luisa where we made our last stop.

People having photo's taken with flamenco gear

Our last stop was the Plaza España, built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.

There was a plaque identifying the Plaza España as a Treasure of European Film Culture.  Our guide told us that scenes from Lawrence of Arabia as well as many other films were produced at this location.

The building forms a semi-circle and each arched area represents a province of Spain.
Today there are government offices in the building.

Amazing tiles

Alano on a commemorative bench.

The architect of the Plaza España and chief architect of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition- Anibal González  Alvarez- Ossorio (1876-1929)

Panorama of the Plaza España-- quite an amazing building

After the tour we went to Torch Coffee Roasters for a coffee.  This café was listed in a few blogs/guides as one of the best in town.  They roast on site and the coffee was very good.

Alano outside Torch Coffee Roasters

Inside the café- quiet during the mid afternoon



Two doors away was a restaurant called Toby.

Under the Toby sign!

 We walked along the Guadalquivir River which runs through Seville.

Toro del Oro

Triana is across the River 

We then spent some time in the tourist office, where a very helpful agent told us about a dance performance happening tonight and helped us get tickets.

Tourist girl in full flamenco

We stopped for a very late lunch at Postiquillo a beer/wine and tapas restaurant.  It had a great interior with bull heads and lots of surrealistic photographs.

Alano at Postiquillo

Inside the restaurant

We ordered three tapas and a glass of beer each--- not realising we would get so much food.

Cod on rice--interesting sauce- delicious

Gorgeous seafood salad-- shrimps, mussels, octopus, white fish.  Only 3.50 euros for the tapa portion.

We also had a tapas plate with chicken and some French fries.  The three plates with two glasses of beer came to 14 euros!   Don't know that we'll have room for dinner.

Constitution Square- lots of folks out- lovely architecture

Bank of Spain with manicured trees in front

 We passed by City Hall on our way back to the apartment.

City Hall

We had a rest and then headed out to the Teatro Central on the other side of the River, about a 20 minute walk.

Teatro Central on the other side of the river and view of another modern bridge

Looking into the theatre- very modern and great  auditorium as well

We saw an incredible piece called "Soufflette" choreographed by Francois Chaignaud (Paris based)) and performed by the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance.  The piece was 60 minutes long and had three parts.  The last part had the dancers in elaborate floral arrangements.  It was very innovative.  The choreographer asks "What if a medieval breath blew through our lips?"  The dance breathes life into medieval traditions unfolding like an intoxicating midsummer party celebration full of life, singing and dancing. We always enjoy seeing dance in countries where we don't speak the language.  The crowd was 99% local folks.  Lots of people to cross back over the bridge with.

Dancers at the end of Soufflette

A most wonderful first full day in Sevilla.