Travelling from Lagos, Portugal to Montpellier, France we were fortunate enough to spend a day in Seville. We knew from the get go it would not be enough time to do the city justice, but we gave it our best shot and began with a hop on hop off bus tour.
We sat on the top of the double decker bus which is perfect from a spectator's point of view, but not so great when it comes to snapping photos. More often than naught I captured the back of someone's head!
The tour began near the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) so named because it's thought this Moorish structure was once covered with gold leaf.
Situated on the Guadalquivir River it's one of the city's most recognizable landmarks and the place to take a city boat cruise.
The bus tour takes 75 minutes for the entire route. It zig zags across the river and back, through the new and old sections of the city. The commentary explains what's what and to be honest I've already forgotten a healthy portion of it. :( Some of these next buildings, however, were constructed for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, some for 1992's Expo and others many centuries before that.
To its left is a map and statue.
The Palace of San Telmo now serves as the seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government. The palace gardens were donated to the city of Seville in 1893 by Princess Luisa Fernanda and are now home to a popular city park.
This small building is not far from the palace and was used as Luisa's sewing room.
The next group of photos focuses on details of buildings, balconies and such that caught my attention.
The temperature hit a high of 31C, but even still there were places to relax in the shade.
Along the river walkway are vine covered cafes.
The roots on the tree shown at the left above were almost as impressive as the river view.
At the end of the street is another street and lovely outdoor cafe. Inside the brick building was an arts and crafts centre that featured many talented artists and their wares. At times like this I wish my backpack could transform into Mary Poppin's magical bag and accommodate everything my heart desired. On second thought, maybe it's just as well. I'd exceed most airline's weight limit in no time flat.
At the far end of the alleyway is an arch leading left to yet another street. The focal point, however, is this tile painting.
I spotted this next tile outside a bar/cafe's blackboard advertising the daily specials!
The cathedral area was a picture to behold. Old world charm at its best.
One individual, however, took the day in stride on her balcony. Did you spot her?
From here we strolled along the outside of the city wall and meandered through narrow alleyways and streets that opened up into small parks lined with outdoor cafes, restaurants and shops.
This store sold spices.
I walked past the open doorway of this restaurant and stopped to take a second look.
Any guess as to the specialty of this shop?
Just before dusk we found our way back to the hotel, determined to one day return to spectacular Seville.
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