Sevilla has many interesting promenades, plazas, paseo and parks... but our next sightseeing "must" was Plaza de Espana.  We walked along the shores of the Guadalquivir river...this 657 km long river is one of the longest in Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalquivir.







We enjoyed walking under the lush trees, also enjoying the view of Triana,a less touristic area (barrio) which used to be the heart of the gypsies communities) and where we spent quite a bit of time, in day and nighttime!

Before we get to the Plaza de Espana, we stumble upon the Torre del Oro. First erected during the moorish dynasty, this towers enabled the control of the traffic on the Guadalquivir river. It was once covererd with golden tiles..hence its name.  When Sevilla was the main seaport, for Spain's expeditions to the Americas, it is at the feet of this massive tower that the gold and other treasures were unloaded...   It is now a Naval museum.

And then there is the Tobacco Fabric...or Antigua Fabrca de Tabacos. This was built in 1750 and one of the largest building in Spain.  After its peak in the following century, it became a tobacco factory employing more than 4000 women ...An interesting anecdote can be found in the guide namely a citation referring to the fact that female workers were minutely searched before leaving their workplace "..for they sometimes carried the filthy weed in a manner her most Catholic majesty never dreamed of" ...today's mules for drug smuggling is not a new invention!!!!



Finally we arrive to Plaza de Espana and we are speechless for a couple of seconds...

Such splendid buildings were erected in 1929 for the Spanish-America pavillion of the World's fair. The buildings were to host exhibits of industry and various crafts in Spain.

The tiled 'Province Alcoves' along the walls of the Plaza de España are just amazing.

Believe it or not, despite our 6 to 8 hours a daily walking, we found the energy to take part of the Sevillan night life...and we really mean night life! Flamenco shows began after 23h00 some at 12h30 even... Seville has an amazing amount of flamenco bars but some of them were closed...november is not a touristy month and they might have closed for the rest of the year? Nevertheless, we went on two occasions to La Carboneria (it used to be a coal merchant building) for Flamenco music and dancing and on Saturday night, we were part of a local crowd in a "flamenco disco" ...the flamenco style is very very popular in Sevilla and so, as soon as a guitar plays, you see all the hands going up, flamenco style, and the clapping of hands...spontaneously. We had a great time at both places.

 Sevilla's cathedral was conceived in 1402 with the idea that this building would be so magnificient that posterity would believe that the builders were mad...indeed, it is of humongous proportions: it is the largest Gothic church in the world...

 There are treasures of amazing values in the Cathedral Sacristy: for example, the keys presented to Fernando King of Spain by Moorish communities on the surrender of the city. In one of the keys, there is an Arabic script sculpted in the metal: May Allah render eternal the dominion of Islam in this city...

 And what about this silver monstrance (ostensorio in spanish) made of silver? which is carried out of the Cathedral on certain days...Looking at all this wealth, we could not forget that gold and silver came from America and that thousands of Indians died in the process of this Spanish conquest of THEIR land and riches...there was no mention of that anywhere, of course.

 A very popular site in the catheral is the monument to Christopher Columbus: The coffin is held aloft by 4 huge allegorical figures representing the kingdoms of Leon, Castile, Aragon and Navarra.

Originally, the remains of Colomb were interred in the cathedral of Havanna.  When Cuba declared its independence in 1902, Spain insisted for the remains of the mariner to be transferred to Sevilla.  In 2002, researchers from the university of Granada carried out DNA tests in order to verify the authenticity of the remains..the tests proved inconclusive.  Nevertheless, this sepulchre is of great beauty...

After the visit of this imposing monument, we went on to the Giralda, the most significant building in Sevilla.

The Giralda towr was first a mosque's minaret and the artistic pinnacle of Almohad architecture. It served as model for other minaret towers in the islamic world as in Rabat and Marrakech.

Used as a minaret as well as an observatory, the tower's 35 gently inclined ramps enabled the muezzin to ride, on his horse, to the top of the tower.... We did not have a horse..so guess what! we walked.  We were lucky with the exterior temperature being around 20C...with 40C plus, it would not be an easy climb...

 When the Christian reconquered the city, the Moors expressed the wish to destroy their wonderful minaret: the then King warned them that if they removed on stone of the tower, they would all be put to sword...and so, the moorish tower became the bell tower of a Christian cathedral...

Both the Cathedral and the Giralda are UNESCO monuments...http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/383/

We could have spent more time in Granada...but this trip being our initiaton to Andalousia, we wanted to sample a bit more of the sightseeings in the region.  We embarqued once more an ALSA bus, after having purchased our ticket in an automatic distributor...easy! We found bus traveling reliable (and more comfortable than in Canada) and fun...we certainly were happy not to have rented a car: no headaches with parking or traffic!

Sevilla, here we come!

Sevilla was for us the incarnation of Andalousia, with all the cliches of flamenco dancers, toreadors, women in matillas, and oranges all over, of course!

Well, Sevilla has it all...

We spent 5 nights at a centrally located hotel Don Pedro in the barrio of Santa Cruz.   Where to start?

Our first image of Sevilla was enchanting...

View from the Sierra Nevada

While there are many other interesting and beautiful sides to Granada besides the Alhambra, one still feels under its spell while roaming around the city. Maybe because the Moorish presence is strongly felt in the city as for example in Albaicin...which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.

The day we discovered Albaicin, we were walking back from La Cartuja, a Carthusian monastery ((Ordre de la Grande Chartreuse en France with the Saint Patron Saint Bruno) located on the hills surrounding Granada. While this poorly maintained historical site, (even with its majestic altar and baroque chapel pretty run down),   did not impress us very much, we enjoyed walking "down" to Albaicin and wandering its pretty casba like streets.

But of course, one of the most exciting things about being in Albaicin is the amazing view of the Alhambra...when we stumbled on the Plaza San Nicholas church, we heard the flamenco music and just admired the view ....it could have been a painting!

Granada was our first item of the things to see in Andalousia, because of the Alhambra, of course. What else did Granada have to offer? We were going to be so pleasantly surprised with this town...and first, with our hotel, Carlos V, located downtown, besides a supermarket (Super Sol) and with a nice balcony from where we could admire the city scape and if we bent down a little, the Alhambra itself.

It is difficult to express all the sensations and moods that overcome one when entering this magic place called the Alhambra.  The words of Washington Irving, an American author and essayist who served as an Ambassador to Spain, finalized a book entitled The Tales of the Alhambra in 1851.

Palace of the Alhambra by Washington Irving

TO THE traveller imbued with a feeling for the historical and poetical, so inseparably intertwined in the annals of romantic Spain, the Alhambra is as much an object of devotion as is the Caaba to all true Moslems. How many legends and traditions, true and fabulous; how many songs and ballads, Arabian and Spanish, of love and war and chivalry, are associated with this oriental pile! It was the royal abode of the Moorish kings, where, surrounded with the splendors and refinements of Asiatic luxury, they held dominion over what they vaunted as a terrestrial paradise, and made their last stand for empire in Spain. The royal palace forms but a part of a fortress, the walls of which, studded with towers, stretch irregularly round the whole crest of a hill, a spur of the Sierra Nevada or Snowy Mountains, and overlook the city; externally it is a rude congregation of towers and battlements, with no regularity of plan nor grace of architecture, and giving little promise of the grace and beauty which prevail within.  

 

These massive structures hide wonderful palaces beyond their walls. The Tower of the Captive (Torre de la Cautiva) is located on the path along the ramparts.

During the 16th century it was called "Tower of the Woman Thief (Torre de la Ladrona) and"Tower of the Sultana" (Torre de la Sultana). The name of the tower was changed to Tower of the Captive because it was thought that Lady Isabel de Solís lived there. She converted to the Islam with the name of Zoraya and was Muley Hacén favourite wife.

 And below, the Tower of the Princesses (Torre de las Infantas) which as described by Irving, was as beautifully decorated as the other parts of the Nazaries Palace… " this was the Tower of the Princesses (la Torre de las Infantas); so called, from having been, according to tradition, the residence of the daughters of the Moorish kings. I have since visited the tower. It is not generally shown to strangers, though well worthy attention, for the interior is equal, for beauty of architecture, and delicacy of ornament, to any part of the palace. The elegance of the central hall, with its marble fountain, its lofty arches, and richly fretted dome; the arabesques and stucco-work of the small but well-proportioned chambers, though injured by time and neglect, all accord with the story of its being anciently the abode of royal beauty." (The tower of las infantas, Tales of the Alhmabra, w.Irving

 The spell of the Alhambra remains with us for a long time...before leaving listen to Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt who recorded a wonderful album at the Alhambra...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QpRCK1IbiE

Espana!

We have never been to Spain (mainland) before so Andalousia here we come...

After a great flight with Air France from Toronto to Paris, and from where we then fly with Air Europa in a very cramped style (sardines???) for 2.5 hours to Malaga. Malaga is a very efficient airport: the 3 official languages: Spanish, German, and English! Malaga is the gate of the infamous Costa del Sol and is described in our guide as an empoverished city with lots of jobless people and a not so exciting place to be: how pleasantly surprised we are! From our first days to the last one, we will develop a really good feeling for Malaga!  First things first, Malaga being the birth place of Pablo Picasso, we were invited by locals to have our photo taken with him...the honour was for us! Another native of Malaga is Antonio Bandera...unfortunately for Marleyne, Antonio was not available that day for a photography session...desgraciamente!

We walked to the Alcazaba , our first mMoorish structure, from where we had a wonderful view of the city.  In the following picture, we can admire the elegant building of City Hall (Ayuntamiento), the Paseo del Parque lined with beautiful trees, and the waterfront.

Malaga was our first encounter with Spanish tapas and other specialties. Seafood can be had everywhere...we especially enjoyed the Market or Mercado Central where we stood at a seafood bar and ordered our fresh shrimps and other delicacies. The olives are, of course, out of this world, and we celebrated our last evening in a Taberna, Taberna Los Gatos, booming with locals eating great looking tapas and drinking San Miguel cervezas.  We enjoyed the sardines on brie cheese as well as the anchovies on brie with morselfs od dryed tomatoes...Marleyne developped a taste for tinto y verano, a red wine spritzer, and a delicious alternative to beer.

 

All wrapped up for the winter season!

Yesterday, it was quite a struggle to get the tarp on - it was windy, and noisy and at times things seemed to be unmanageable.  But we succeeded to get the tarp tied up for the night.

This morning, we finalized the wrapping/winterizing and, with a tear in our eyes, closed the boat and kissed LBV good bye for the winter.

And soon it is going to be too cold to drive with "Pinky".  There is no way around: winter is coming!

So, it is time to look for warmer destinations! Spain - may be?  Or Cuba, or Central America, or .....????