Our second day in Sevilla, we first went to the Alcazar, which was close to the area we were in the day before by the park. The Alcazar of Sevilla is originally a Moorish fort, when the Moors came to Spain in 711. It is the oldest royal place still in use in Europe, and parts of the upper palace is still used by the Spanish royal family today.
In the Alcazar, there was a lot of Muslim architecture and beautiful gardens. We saw some of the most interesting gardens designs, but nothing matched the Alhambra, of course. In a way it kind of reminded me of a mini version of the Alhambra. What was even more interesting and unbelievable was the detail and artwork that was put into the whole palace.
After seeing the palace, we went to Sevilla’s Cathedral and the Giralda tower. Sevillas Cathedral is the fourth oldest cathedral in the world and the Giralda tower has a 360 degree view of the city. What I also like about these monuments in Spain is how much funding the government gives them. That it’s important for them to preserve and save the history of their country and that they put in the funding to do any necessary construction if necessary. The church was beautiful because they changed it up for the Holy Week. my daughter said that when she came to Sevilla with her study abroad program 2-3 weeks earlier, the church had different sections and looked different than it did that day we went.
Once we left the church, we made our way to find somewhere to eat. Since it’s Semana Santa in Sevilla, tourists are everywhere and the Spanish have a long weekend for religious reasons. So we had a bit of a hard time to find somewhere to eat. When we eventually found a tapas bar, where we ended up having Spanish food again, the service in Spain is non existent. We are so used to being so taken care of in the United States when we go to a restaurant that the service in Spain is very strange for us why they take so long to get your order. I ordered a chicken apple salad, my husband had a Sevillian dish called salmorejo y jamón and my daughter had a chicken kebob. After lunch we made our way to Triana, which is the neighborhood on the other side of the Guadalquivir River, which is the second longest river in Spain.
El barrio Triana, was very different than the other side of Sevilla. People from Triana consider themselves a different part from the rest of Sevilla and has a very strong flamenco culture. Also, it has a street dedicated to Christopher Colon and the supposed place that his ashes were thrown into. After walking along the river and the Triana neighborhood, we decided to head back to the hotel since we were so tired to hang for the main procession at midnight, La Macarena. We got ready for our day trip to Cordoba the next day!
Ellie and Bahram Go to Spain 