Cadiz y Sevilla

It was raining again this morning as we pulled in behind “The Splendor of the Seas,” another cruise ship. Cadiz may be the oldest continually inhabited city in the Western World; it was founded by the Phoenicians in 1000BC.
Our tour started at 8:30 and was supposed to be 8 hours long. The Captain then announced that “all-aboard” would be at 4PM. And to top that we left late. It was a 90-minute ride to Seville and we would see much of old Cadiz; the ride to Seville was to be a beautiful scenic trip. It was POURING rain and you could not see a thing! We entered Seville driving down the Avenue that was the center of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition where many of the building are now embassies, schools, universities and cultural centers. When we got to old Seville, our first stop was a tiny souvenir shop because they had free bathrooms. Well, there was a line there for some time and another tour showed up with the same intention, to use the restrooms. When we finally got out of there and started out through the old Jewish Quarter, the rain stopped. The old Jewish Quarter does not have any Jews in it. They were expelled along with the Muslims in the 15th Century. They could stay if they embraced The Holy Mother, The Church. It is beautiful with narrow cobbled streets [some as narrow as a meter] doorways opened to revealed landscaped gardens and patios, balconies, tiled street names, bodegas, ice cream parlors and very old buildings. Some are from the 13th century. At the end of an alley we are poured out into a grand plaza with the most extraordinary church. Seville Cathedral along with its tower, The Giralda is the third largest Cathedral in the world. It started as a converted mosque [consecrated in 1248] but then the “expansion” was added. This massive Gothic structure was built from 1434 to 1517. It kept expanding until 1928 when it was declared finished. It has dozens of chapels and the largest altarpiece, the 15th Century Retalbo, in the world. And it is covered in gold. A short walk from the cathedral is the Alcazar. It is a royal palace that is still used by the royal family. The Mudejar architecture is the finest to be found. The coffered and gilded ceiling in the Sala de Justicia is as magnificent a design as I have ever seen. We strolled for an hour or so through the gardens with pools and fountains around every corner. Then it was off to lunch.
We had a buffet lunch at the Hotel Macarena, like the dance… no, like the Madonna. There is a very important statue in Seville called La Virgen de la Macarena. She is the patron saint of the bullfighters and they outdo each other by giving extravagant and bejeweled dresses for the statue to wear in the processions. Some are said to be sewn with gold and silver and adorned with diamonds and other precious stones. We left Seville driving past and through the site of the 1992 International Exposition. We drove back to the ship exhausted.