Seville, Spain – Around Town

We continued to be enchanted with elegance and beauty of the Alfonso XIII hotel. The heavy wood tones, mirrors and gilding of this somewhat intimate elevator made the ride up and down the few flights a royal experience.



In the first post, I presented a picture of the courtyard from the inside corridor of the hotel. Below is a photo of the exterior aspect of the distinguished courtyard.



One of our favorite “touristy-type” things to do when visiting cities that are new to us, is to walk up and down the streets to enjoy the architecture and local ambiance. Seville had plenty to offer.



We appreciate the beautiful colors of the buildings as well as the accompanying wrought iron and floral touches.



Often as we walked the avenues and pathways, we would stumble upon historic sites or markers. At the Plaza de Dona Elvira, we came across a museum dedicated to the painter Amalio Garcia Del Moral. He was born in Granada and began his artistic studies there. He was quite accomplished and was awarded a number of scholarships. He died in Seville in 1995, but shortly before his death he established a foundation to promote his artistic legacy and inspire continued exploration of the arts.

You can read more about Amalio Garcia del Moral



In any country, observers will find cultural artifacts of both past and present characteristics of the area.



The marker below denotes the place where José de Zorilla found the inspiration to write the Opera Don Juan Tenorio during his stay in Seville.



It was surprising to see a placard with the likeness of Washington Irving as we strolled along even though I was aware he wrote Tales of the Alhambra – (1832). Evidently, Irving visited Seville in 1828 as an accomplished author and became a diplomat. He stayed in the old Jewish quarter for a time near the area where this memorial is located. Irving was also interested in the history of Christopher Columbus and thus Seville was a good match for him. Who knew?



You can read more about Washington Iriving, his writings about Christopher Columbus and other activities in Spain HERE

The picture below is of an old water system dating back to the 11th or 12th century which contains pipes from the “Christian period.” These pipes supplied water to the city and the Alcazar.



Once again we found ourselves in the Murillo Gardens which is a lovely place to spend time enjoying the plants, water features and to people watch.



It is also near the street where horse drawn carriages can be hailed to take an open-air ride around town. Indeed we boarded such a carriage to travel to a special location in Seville.



The Parque Maria Luisa which is the site of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition.



The main attraction is the Plaza de España, a semi-circular brick building with ornate and colorful touches. The towers that anchor each end of the building, much like the Giralda, can be seen from many parts of town.



The main section of the pavilion is also quite impressive. The canal in front of the building has given it the moniker “Venice of Seville.”





Along the base of the building, there are 48 alcoves with colorful tile murals, benches and maps representing Spain’s provinces.





The fountain in the middle of the large, granite tiled plaza adds another focal point to the square. Note – At times the area can get crowded.



Read more about the Plaza de España HERE

While it appears that we have seen so much in Seville, there was quite a bit more to enjoy before it was time to say adiós!


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Continue reading about our trip to Portugal and Spain.

 

Read more Hiking and Exploration posts HERE

 


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com



Seville, Spain – First Impressions

In Seville, the Alfonso XIII hotel would be our home for the next several days. This historic and handsome building was refurbished in 2012 in the Andalusian style. It is stately and beautiful.

This photo shows a portion of the gallery which frames the courtyard square.


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Read more about the the Alfonso XIII hotel HERE

One of the first things we like to do whenever we arrive in a new city is to “drop our bags” and take a walk around the town. This gives us a lay of the land, so to speak, and an idea of what we might like to investigate during our visit.

As we walked in and around the area near the hotel, we came across architectural accents and gardens that drew our attention.

This fountain and street lamp combination at the Square of the Virgin of the Kings (Plaza Virgen de los Reyes) seemed to be a popular resting or meetup place and hub for points of interest.


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There were so many fascinating buildings in the central area of Seville, that it was hard to capture all of them.

Bordering the Plaza Virgen de los Reyes is the Archbishop’s Palace which has served as the residence of episcopal bishops and other dignitaries. You can probably spend weeks visiting all of the historic buildings in this area of Seville. For now, however, you can read more about the history of the Palace HERE

Horse drawn carriage rides are available at the square outside the archdiocese seen here in front of a statue of the Madonna and child.


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Although the sun was lending only a bit of light and shade covered most of the wall, the facade of the Convent of the Encarnación with a ceramic depiction of the Virgin Mary against gold tones was impressive. It is located near the Square of the Virgin of the Kings.


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Coming from the modern western world, the older styles and colors of many buildings easily caught my eye.


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The Seville Town Hall is situated around the Plaza del Triunfo which hosted a statue commemorating the confirmation that Mary was born “free of original sin” and serves as a centerpiece for a local celebratory feast. It is sometimes mistakenly called the Monument of the Immaculate Conception.


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As we walked around the vicinity of Alfonso XIII hotel, we took some sneak peaks at places we were scheduled to visit on other days. This was our fist view of the entrance to the Alcazar.


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Christopher Columbus (Christobel Colon) has a strong connection to Seville which was the port from which he and his sailors set forth to the New World more than half a century ago. There are references to, and reminders of Columbus all around town such as the Columbus monument in the Murillo Gardens (below).


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It seems that I am getting a bit ahead of myself regarding Christobel Colon; more about him “later!” The gardens have beautiful wide paths and many plants, fountains, etc. to view during a leisurely stroll.


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One of the items we noted on our list of things to visit was the Hospital de los Venerables. Once a hospice for priests, it now serves as a museum for a select group of paintings and other historic and artistic elements. Time did not permit us to go inside, but many note that this is a “must see” if you visit Seville.


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The beautiful buildings, many with ornate balconies, served as architectural exclamation points punctuating the surrounding avenues.


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Towering above most of the streets around the center of town were aspects of the Seville Cathedral (Catedral de Sevilla). There is no wonder about this as it is the world’s largest Gothic Cathedral according to several sources. Below is a quick look at the Giralda or bell tower.


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We returned to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for a quick bite on our own. While walking along some of the nearby side streets, we came across San Marco, a rather romantic Italian restaurant where we enjoyed a nice dinner and a toast to the town.


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On the return to our accommodations, we enjoyed a night time view of the famed Giralda of the Catedral de Sevilla.


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After our busy initial day in Seville, we were eager to get some rest to be fresh for our next foray.


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***************
Continue reading about our trip to Portugal and Spain.

 

Read more Hiking and Exploration posts HERE

 


**********


All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com