Seville
A strange and almost sinister mist hung low over the fields of the river valley as we drove north to Seville. This city really is a splendid jewel in the Passage of the Moors’ crown. This has been a truly splendid journey in which we have seen so many wonders of the eastern Mediterranean: Fez, Marrakesh, Chefchaouen, Tanger, the Alhambra. All these places have stirred our sense of the aesthetic with their color and beauty; Seville seems the perfect note on which to end this modern odyssey: home of Carmen, the famous Barber, and 700,000 Andalusians.
The sun was bright without being hot as we walked to the castle, the Alcazar, greatly extended by the Arabs to keep out the Vikings. This was a real coup for us, because the Alcazar is closed to visitors on Mondays. Thankfully this did not stop us from getting in. Not because the group stormed the bastion, but by some bureaucratic magic done behind the scenes we were given an exclusive tour. From there the group went to the vast gothic cathedral, where our cheerful video-chronicler, Bernadette, valiantly climbed the Giralda tower, symbol of the city and the former minaret of the long since disappeared Moorish mosque. From her lofty perch she gave us a fine view of the city.
We then had an excellent lunch at the atmospheric Callejon del Aguarestaurant of arroz a la marinera, “rice the sailor’s way” that was cooked to rare perfection. Afterwards we toured the city in the comfort of horse-drawn buggies, visiting the Maria Luisa park and the Plaza Espana before dreaming our way back to the ship and preparing ourselves for the Captain’s farewell dinner.
A strange and almost sinister mist hung low over the fields of the river valley as we drove north to Seville. This city really is a splendid jewel in the Passage of the Moors’ crown. This has been a truly splendid journey in which we have seen so many wonders of the eastern Mediterranean: Fez, Marrakesh, Chefchaouen, Tanger, the Alhambra. All these places have stirred our sense of the aesthetic with their color and beauty; Seville seems the perfect note on which to end this modern odyssey: home of Carmen, the famous Barber, and 700,000 Andalusians.
The sun was bright without being hot as we walked to the castle, the Alcazar, greatly extended by the Arabs to keep out the Vikings. This was a real coup for us, because the Alcazar is closed to visitors on Mondays. Thankfully this did not stop us from getting in. Not because the group stormed the bastion, but by some bureaucratic magic done behind the scenes we were given an exclusive tour. From there the group went to the vast gothic cathedral, where our cheerful video-chronicler, Bernadette, valiantly climbed the Giralda tower, symbol of the city and the former minaret of the long since disappeared Moorish mosque. From her lofty perch she gave us a fine view of the city.
We then had an excellent lunch at the atmospheric Callejon del Aguarestaurant of arroz a la marinera, “rice the sailor’s way” that was cooked to rare perfection. Afterwards we toured the city in the comfort of horse-drawn buggies, visiting the Maria Luisa park and the Plaza Espana before dreaming our way back to the ship and preparing ourselves for the Captain’s farewell dinner.
