Sevilla, March 18, 2016

At this point I had been to so many beautiful places it was hard to believe the trip could just seem to get better and better.


But to see beautiful Seville is basically to fall in love with it, especially on a lovely Friday afternoon.


After dropping our bags off at hotel, Hotel Ayer, a drive away from the historic section, we went with our local expert to old section.



We were dropped off by the bull ring, Plaza de Toros, a rather impressive building, and one that is still in use as a bull ring.  The season would have begun following the Holy Week, and goes on until late September.  In other Spanish cities we would learn bull rings are a thing of the past.



This statute is of Curro Romero, a famous bullfighter, who grew up in this area.




Appropriately in Seville we saw orange blossoms.  But note those oranges are bitter, but the British love them for marmalade!




We were on our way to the cathedral.







but we were enchanted by




the beautiful streets.









But we did arrive at the cathedral.  Below you can see the bell tower which was initially a minaret for the mosque, built in the twelfth century, that stood where the cathedral is now.























Below you get a clearer view of the bell tower and cathedral






The tile work below I believe dates from when this was a mosque.







This is the third largest church in the world, and the largest gothic cathedral.



















Now let's go inside!











































The work that has gone into these buildings always amazes me!






























Christopher Columbus is apparently buried here.






















































































it was indeed beautiful and impressive










Above you can see buildings decorated for the processions that would come through during Holy Week.










Here you see a clearer view!



























You can see how the cathedral dominates.









Right beside it is the Alcazar, which we didn't go in.


























Perhaps I should have tried to keep the "esencias de Sevilla".








This looks like a nice place to dine!























You find hidden plazas and fountains.  This is in what was once the Jewish quarter until the infamous Spanish Inquisition.








And lovely tile work.

















and narrow streets








I am always fascinated by what you can buy!  Chocolates in a flamenco tin!







Those chocolate bars looked quite delicious.


























I peeked in a private courtyard below!







We headed back to our hotel







And for dinner we just walked over to a nearby shopping area.











We found a nice restaurant and had delicious tapas











ending another great day!




And tomorrow would be one of our


favourite days as we visited magical Cordoba.  Stay tuned!