What Shoulder Season?

13-Oct-23

I thought taking the fall semester off would allow us to travel during the "shoulder season" when the height of summer was over, students are back in school, & most families aren't traveling. So. Naïve.

Archbishop's Palace

The crowds have been massive & almost every site we've wanted to visit required us to book advanced tickets. In many cases, tickets were sold out or there were hours-long lines that, thankfully for the most part, we were able to avoid. However, even once inside, we moved like a slow herd of cattle through a hoard of people all trying to get a glimpse of the same thing - lol.

Sevilla seemed to be the height of tourist chaos right now. No doubt, it didn't help that we arrived on Dia de la Hispanidad - Spain's National Day that celebrates the day Columbus sailed for the Americas & changed the course (power structure) of Spanish history. It was also the night Spain's national soccer team was playing against Scotland for the European Cup in Sevilla (sadly, we couldn't get tickets 😞). Side bar: Columbus - for obvious reasons - is hugely revered in Spain. There's little controversy here over the plight of indigenous cultures or the legacy of conquistadors & missionaries in the Americas - go figure. 🤷🏻‍♀️

In addition to being the hottest city in all of Spain (🥵 which made the crowds worse), Sevilla has long been the seat of power for the region of Andalucía & therefore has some of the most significant & well-preserved historical Moorish & Christian buildings.

Torre del Oro (13th century Moorish watchtower, turned medieval prison)

Teatro Lope de Vega

The Seville Cathedral (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See) was built in 1519 atop the remains of a mosque built in 1198. Most of the mosque was destroyed in order to built the massive Gothic cathedral, intended to show off the city's newfound wealth and power. 

Cathedral

However, rumor has it that they ran our of money, making it so large and lavish, that when the time came to build the bell tower, they ran out of funds. They decided to repurpose rather than destroy the original minaret and turn it into a bell tower, which was named La Giralda,   

La Giralda

Priestly tombs

Christopher Columbus' tomb

Organ

Choir stalls

Francisco de Goya's "Saints Justa & Rufina" - 1817

Relic of the Crown of Thorns (supposedly)

Basilica

Main Altar

Nave

Views from the Bell Tower (La Giralda)

The most amazing site we visited and the one we were most excited to see was the Alcázar of Seville, considered the oldest still-active royal palace in Europe. In 914, the Moors built a fortified palace on top of a former Visigothic basilica - so the site goes waaay back! In the 1360's, the Christian king (Pedro I) built a massive palace complex on top of that, with an elaborate Andalusian Mudejar style - in a nod to the region's history & beauty. (For any GOT fans, this is Dorne!!!)

Puerta del León (entrance)

Entrance gardens

Entrance archway

Inner courtyard (one of many)

Former Moorish prayer room and courtyard still preserved

The level of detail and ornament in the arabesque design was INCREDIBLE!!

The gardens are where the shots of Dorne were filmed! (complete with peacocks running around 😄)

In the more modern era of the city, the Plaza de España was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. All former kingdoms and current cities (as of 1928) were represented in its archways, bridges and fountains. It's a beautifully massive representation of all cultures and styles of art in Spain's history (again, as understood/acknowledged in 1928).