More than Marmalade
Written: Jul 15 '02 (Updated Jul 15 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cathedral, weather, architecture
Cons: It's not known as the Frying Pan of Andalucia for nothing
The Bottom Line: More romantic than Paris! More stately than Oxford! Hotter than ummm... a really hot thing.
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| mostlyserious's Full Review: Sevilla |
I've just been on holiday in the Algarve. I had a brilliant time by the way, and I would recommend Monte Gordo, the town where we stayed to any European looking for a relaxing, good value break. Not sure I'd recommend it to you American types though- I'm not sure it's worth schlepping across the Atlantic for, beautiful though it is. I'm sure you could find an equally lovely resort closer to home, if that's your cup of tea.
But anyway, I'm going off on a tangent. What I wanted to tell you about is my day trip to Seville. Because that definitely is worth schlepping across the Atlantic for.
A day is not really long enough for Seville. I was fortunate enough to study in Granada a few years ago and took a couple of weeks to go travelling around Andalucia. Unfortunately at the time I was the least cultured, most unappreciative little squirt in the world and discovered little more than the inside of many of Seville's hostelries, and even then only through the bottom of a wine glass. Ahhh... whoever said that youth was wasted on the young had a very valid point. Made lots of friends though, but it took a long time to realise that it was my blonde hair that was popular- and even then only because it marked me out as being British. And us Brit girls have a certain reputation on the Continent, if you know what I mean....!
But I digress. Again. Seville is beautiful. That's what I wanted to say. Taking a walk by the River Guadalquivir (the lifeblood of the city) is more romantic than anything you could do in Paris (in my humble opinion, anyway). You'll walk past the Torre D'Oro which used to be covered in golden tiles, as the name suggests, and although they have worn considerably, it still looks pretty with the sun on it.
The Plaza de Espana has representations of every autonomous region of Spain (Is it 15 or 17? I can never remember...) as well as the four historic regions. And a stream with ducks alongside. It's definitely worth a look. Also, for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, each American country (North and South) was represented with a building in typical architectural style of the country, on the outskirts of the city. All have been beautifully kept and are well worth a gander.
The Jewish Quarter is interesting. Seville has a Jewish community of around 200 people which, as I remember, has been there since before the Moors left. It's a very pretty place, too.
But the absolute gem of the visit, I thought, was the cathedral. Our guide was very knowledgeable and he explained that the cathedral had been built over a number of centuries, bit by bit. Part of the cathedral was pure gold as far as the eye could see. Apparently there was over a tonne of gold there which had been "borrowed" (European term, see Elgin Marbles or Gibraltar for details) from South America.
Colombus may or may not be buried there. It's still in dispute. He died in Valladolid (I think), and then his body, AND that of his son Diego went to Costa Rica. And Havana, Cuba. Then people got confused about whose body had gone where. The upshot is that a body that was SUPPOSED to be Colombus came back to Seville. So it might be him. Or poor old Diego. Or just some bloke. Who knows? It's a very impressive tomb, anyway.
The cathedral used to be a mosque. It was made into a cathedral in around 1400, when the last moors were leaving Seville. It's the 3rd largest cathedral in the World (after St Peter's in Rome and St Paul's in London, fact fans) The one part of the mosque that still remains is the Giralda Tower. This huge structure is beautiful. As you know, Muslims pray 5 times a day, and so 5 times a day a Moorish man would ascend the tower to call the Moors of Seville to prayer. But this became a little hard on his legs (as you can imagine. It's a BIG tower!) So ramps were put in, and the man went up on his horse. This is only truly stupefying if you've seen the Giralda Tower, so I strongly recommend that you do.
Apart from that I have no more to tell you. The heat is stifling in summer and you must look out for pickpockets, but the people are very very friendly, the buildings are beautiful and I would suggest a trip to Seville to anyone.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mostlyserious
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Location: London, UK
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Sometimes I sit and think. And sometimes I just sit...
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