Our next port of call was Cadiz, Spain. We did not arrive until noon, so we spent a very leisurely morning relaxing. We did loose an hour due to a time change, so the morning went by quickly. After a quick lunch, 5 of us headed out to see if we could repeat our cab adventure and go to Seville. After some negotiation, we piled into 2 cabs and we headed off. Seville is about an hour from Cadiz. The terrain is very flat and mostly farm land. It has been quite dry so the fields were brown. We saw wheat fields, corn fields, olive orchards, and other farming. The population was small in the 100k between Cadiz and Seville. There was very little modern farm machinery. We saw many farmers with hoes working large fields.
Our first stop in Seville was at Maria Luisa park. It is a huge park which we wandered around for 30 minutes or so. It was quite hot (95+) so it was not pleasant to exert ourselves, especially in the sun. Still, it was quite pretty and would be an oasis in the middle of the city.
Our next stop was a gorgeous building (we can't remember its history or its current use). The detail work on the face of the building and the walks and walls was special.
By this time, we were hot and thirsty, and needed a "nature break" as they call it in a bike race. Our drivers brought us to a beautiful Westin hotel that had an amazing courtyard where we had refreshing drink and cooled off.
Our next stop was in the old center of Seville at a palace which was occupied by Spanish royalty in the 1800s.
The palace was surrounded by the city and had small gardens and courtyards inside.This picture was taken just inside the entrance. The next picture is the main courtyard which is just on the other side of the arched entryways.
The inside was beautifully constructed. The amount of detailed work both in wood and in tile was incredible. It was hard to capture in a photo because of the lighting, but this picture gives you an idea of how detailed the walls and ceilings of the interior are. It was a hot day in Seville. The temperature inside was the buildings was tolerable. But, I would bet that they spent much of their time outside in the courtyards and gardens on hot summer days.
Just across a little square was the Seville cathedral. It is a magnificent building from the outside. We didn't take the time to view the inside.
It was a good was to see some of Seville. We were a tired, but happy mini-tour group.
