11/18/2007 – Sevilla

Our tour began at the Plaza de Espana. This was the main, Spanish pavilion when Sevilla hosted Expo ’29 and it is very ornate with arches, columns and pedestrian bridges adding to the atmosphere. The two main towers in the Plaza represent Ferdinand and Isabella and there are fifty-two arches that represent the fifty-two provinces of Spain. We had some time to stroll around and take photos. There were gypsies selling scarves and souvenirs but they were not very pushy.







Sevilla is a very well maintained city. Orange trees line the streets and they just opened a new electric streetcar line of which they are very proud. The streetcars are very modern looking but when they are coming they play a recording of a bell ringing as streetcars did many years ago. It is a nice touch and adds to the atmosphere nicely. There is a very nice park near the city center and there is a nice mix of tourists and locals out walking and enjoying the day.



We made our way to the Alcazar of Sevilla. There are many Spanish Alcazars and this is the Royal Castle of Sevilla. It is unusual in its design as it is a Christian castle that was built by a Muslim after the Moorish occupation. So you have many Muslim and Moorish influences in the architecture. There is one room where you can see the Christian cross, the Star of David and the Arabic representation of Allah Akbar. It was clearly created for an open minded sovereign.







After the Alcazar we went back to the hotel to rest but I wanted to take a tour of the bullring so I took a bus back to the city center and walked to the ring. Along the way I was stopped a few times by people who asked me something in Spanish. I felt good about myself. I thought I must be blending in and this was a goal of mine after what happened in St. Petersburg last year. When I arrived at the bullring, however, an old gypsy woman immediately accosted me. She gave me a sprig of rosemary and grabbed my palm to give me a reading. She had a vice like grip and I couldn’t get away so I just let her finish. When she was done she demanded five Euros. Sensing a trap and not wanting to get my wallet out I flipped her a one Euro coin and ducked into the bullring when she let go to accept it. She wasn’t happy with me and I hope I avoided her gypsy curse.

The bullring was marvelous. I had hoped to be able to see a bullfight on our trip but, unfortunately, the bullfighting season ends in October so this was the best I could do. My visit consisted of a tour, a visit to the bullring itself and a trip to the bullfighting museum and the Toreadors chapel. The bullring itself has a capacity of 13,000. The guide explained that there are three trophies that the toreador wants to collect. Any combination of ears and tails that add up to three is what is ideal. So if a toreador collects two ears and a tail and then kills the bull cleanly, they are carried out on the shoulders of the spectators under the Prince’s box.

The museum covered the history of bullfighting and had the toreadors outfits displayed so that you could see them up close. After the museum we visited the toreadors chapel, the need for which is obvious.








When the tour was finished I walked back to the hotel. Before I went in, though, I walked around the corner to see the stadium in which the football team Sevilla plays their matches. In addition to a bullfight, I wanted to see a Spanish league football match but there is a break in league play right now so players can participate for their national teams in the Euro 2008 qualifying matches that took place in the last week. Actually, on the day I arrived in Madrid I could have gone to the Real Madrid – Mallorca match but I decided that I was too tired after the flight and I didn’t feel like spending eighty Euros for the cheapest seat so I skipped it.



In the evening we went to dinner and a Flamenco show. This was very worthwhile. It was an hour and a half of very talented dancers playing their castañuelas and dancing with their fans. There was one guy dancer with a greasy mullet that had all the older ladies swooning. In fact there is an older woman from New York on our tour who said something to me that was just unprintable. Needless to say, she was very moved by that guy. Actually, she said she was moved three times.