I am so glad I didn’t try to drive in this city! I have never seen such narrow streets! When our driver took us to our hotel he could not get down the alley at the entrance so he had to drop us off around the corner. The street we were on was too narrow to let another car by, so when you get picked up or dropped off you are basically stopping traffic.
We were very close to the Cathedral and the Real Alcazar, the two main attractions in Seville. The proximity was nice, until we realized the Cathedral bells went off all night long…..every 15 minutes! Do the Spanish really need to be reminded that the church is nearby every 15 minutes at 0’dark 30!
We hit Real Alcazar on Monday morning. Buy your tickets online before you go….the line for tickets looked to be about a half hour, and this is the off season. Real Alcazar is one of the Royal Palace’s of Spain, and has quite a storied history. The palace started in the 11th century as a Moorish palace The Spanish demolished most of it after they took it back from the Moors. The Moorish influence remains, and has been augmented through the renaissance period as well as Borbon monarchs in the 19th century. It has been the official residence of the Spanish heads of state and is currently the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use.
There are a lot of water features in the palace. This area was supposed to be for quiet contemplation near the entrance to the palace, but for us it was just a bustle of tourists jockeying for position to try to get the best photo. I had to elbow my way to the front like a point guard invading the paint to get this shot.
The door in the front of this photo is the main entrance to the palace. The blue script above the windows says something about Allah and God, forgive me for I don’t remember.
This is perhaps the most famous part of the Real Alcazar. I think it was featured in Game of Thrones. I know it was featured in Rick Steve’s does Seville. Of course, when he was here he was the only person in the place. More water, more contemplation. I get the feeling these Royals never quite got anything done, but they did think about it a lot!
I loved the detail work in this doorway. Can I get that for my bathroom?
This was the Royal Door of the Peacock, or something like that. Pretty cool regardless!
Pretty amazing detail work on this place. Likely the most impressive palace I’ve seen to date. Fortunately we will see about 12 more before we make it back to Livermore, so I can judge accordingly! What is it with Spain and palaces? Are they the original Kardashians?
A video of another water feature. This was the original storage area for irrigation water, and the little waterfall was coming directly from the aqueduct. I think it’s just a hose now.
This ornate gateway, Puerta de Marchena, was built in 1493 for the Duque de Arcos Palace in Marchena. It went up for sale in 1913 and William Randolph Hearst apparently tried to buy it for Hearst Castle, but King Alfonso XIII (there were a lot of King Alfonso’s as we have discovered) won the auction for the gate and moved it here. Seems like a pretty odd item to auction off, but people will buy anything on Ebay, so why not!
