Seville - Sept. 16th - Monday Tour with Carmen

Monday - Sept. 16th - Seville - Part 1 of our day tour with Carmen

We all met in the lobby our hotel at 8:45am for the start of our all day walking city tour with our local guide Carmen.  

We walked through the Barrio Santa Cruz - the once thriving Jewish Quarter with its tangled street plan.  

Plaza de la Virgen el los Reyes - the square in front of the cathedral, at the base of the Giralda Bell Tower.

We walked and kept walking all the while Carmen kept telling about the history and what we were seeing.  It has all become a tangled mess in my mind now but my pictures are nice…

 OK, I know these are the main doors to the Cathedral but only used by the Pope and king.

 The roof of the Cathedral  - Below is a picture of a copy of the weather vane on top of the cathedral.

 Yes, we even walked down a Theresa Street...

 Now, the story behind Sheila & Tony kissing is that this street is so narrow that the people standing on their balconies would be so close they could kiss.

It was now time for our tour to the Alcazar…originally a 10th century palace built for the governors of the local Moorish state.  This building still functions as a royal palace (the oldest one in use in Europe) when the royal family is in town.

The core of the palace features an extensive 14th century rebuild, done by Muslim workmen for the Christian king, Pedro I (1334-1369).  Pedro was nicknamed either "the Cruel" or "the Just", depending on which end of his sword you were on.  Pedro's palace embraces both cultural traditions.  Pictures below:

Ok, we had only a short potty break earlier and now needed to sit down and have lunch.  Carmen had made reservations for us at a nice local place down closer to the river…so off we walked!

Well, we sure needed a break after our morning and I bet you need a break about right now… so the rest of our day tour in Seville with Carmen will continue.

Peggy