On Friday November 16th, after breakfast in our room we walked 15 minutes to the Prado de San Sebastián bus station. After a couple of tries we got the right bus company for tickets to Ronda. Although we’ll have to check our credit card statement to make sure we weren’t double charged, we managed to buy 2 tickets on the 9:30 am bus next Tuesday for 12.60 euros each. We always check our credit card statements online every week or so anyway just as a precaution.
Later we went to the Alcazar, the huge Moorish fort and palaces. There was a lineup so we sat in the sun for awhile to see if it would diminish. It didn’t so eventually we lined up. Still it only took us 35 minutes in line to get in.
The first few sights beyond the entrance were unimpressive. After the Moors were defeated by the Christian forces, the Alcazar became the Sevilla home of Spanish royalty, as it still is today. More palaces and additions were built.
Since Sevilla used to be the port from which New World expeditions were launched, Isabel and Ferdinand used the Alcazar as the main office from which their New World enterprises were managed. It was in these “Admiral’s Apartments” that Queen Isabel debriefed Columbus after his New World discoveries. A famous painting from the 1530’s, the “Virgin of the Navigators” hangs on the wall here. It shows the Virgin Mary with her cape sheltering not only Spanish navigators but the indigenous people of the New World. Nice sentiment but the reality was much different.
As we wandered through the maze of rooms, we just weren’t getting much out of it until we got to King Pedro the Cruel’s palace, the Gothic wing and the Gardens. Then we realized why the Alcazar is such a must see site. There are huge rooms, extensive ceramic tile mosaics and beautiful tapestries. The gardens are also big and elaborate.
In the end, we spent about 2 1/2 hours in the Alcazar and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth seeing. The last few days it has been cool in the mornings but it’s sunny and T-shirt weather in the afternoons. We’ll take it.
Finally, after a drink in our room, we went down the alley and across the street to the Bodega Santa Cruz again. The tapas there is hard to beat.
Later we went to the Alcazar, the huge Moorish fort and palaces. There was a lineup so we sat in the sun for awhile to see if it would diminish. It didn’t so eventually we lined up. Still it only took us 35 minutes in line to get in.
The first few sights beyond the entrance were unimpressive. After the Moors were defeated by the Christian forces, the Alcazar became the Sevilla home of Spanish royalty, as it still is today. More palaces and additions were built.
Since Sevilla used to be the port from which New World expeditions were launched, Isabel and Ferdinand used the Alcazar as the main office from which their New World enterprises were managed. It was in these “Admiral’s Apartments” that Queen Isabel debriefed Columbus after his New World discoveries. A famous painting from the 1530’s, the “Virgin of the Navigators” hangs on the wall here. It shows the Virgin Mary with her cape sheltering not only Spanish navigators but the indigenous people of the New World. Nice sentiment but the reality was much different.
As we wandered through the maze of rooms, we just weren’t getting much out of it until we got to King Pedro the Cruel’s palace, the Gothic wing and the Gardens. Then we realized why the Alcazar is such a must see site. There are huge rooms, extensive ceramic tile mosaics and beautiful tapestries. The gardens are also big and elaborate.
In the end, we spent about 2 1/2 hours in the Alcazar and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth seeing. The last few days it has been cool in the mornings but it’s sunny and T-shirt weather in the afternoons. We’ll take it.
Finally, after a drink in our room, we went down the alley and across the street to the Bodega Santa Cruz again. The tapas there is hard to beat.
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