Brian's Rick Steves' Tour of Spain Scrapbook
Concepción met us again the next morning and this time guided us through the Alcazar. More Moorish architecture with a little gothic thrown in.
The highlight for me was the model of the Santa Maria. What followed Christopher Columbus – imperialism of the worst order - was a record for the human capacity to be cruel, but Christopher Columbus was amazing. He once wrote,
For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.
At six-thirty the group followed Jorge past the cathedral and boarded horse drawn carriages for a champagne tour through the streets of Sevilla. Annie and I shared a carriage with Jorge and Augustine.
Once the tour of the Alcazar was complete and we once again said goodbye to Concepción, Annie and I wandered over to Calle Sierepes to shop for a purse. I used my Spanish a little. "Mi esposa quiere comprar una bolsa por favor " - My wife wants to buy a purse please. And then later, "Adios Dinero" as she bought a blue leather purse made from Adalusian leather.
Back in the Santa Cruz neighborhood we had lunch with Dwight and Linda at Bar Restuarante El 3 de Oro. We had a wonderful paella – extremely good. The four of us ate every morsel, saffron rice, mussels, squid, and cod.
We clomped our way to Plaza de España created for the 1929 international fair. According to Jorge the Plaza served as part of the set for the first Star Wars movie. I assume that by “first” he meant the first prequel. One could look on the internet, but one did not.
We stopped to explore, took pictures and then rode off in the Sevilla evening ending up at Restaurante San Marco in barrio Santa Cruz. We dined on seafood and laughed as David argued that we should not shift from the left to right hand with our forks when we eat. He was a man who like Bonnie makes life better for everyone because of his ability to find humor everywhere. It was his sixty-ninth birthday and we sang Happy Birthday to him.
Exquisite Details
Tapestry in the Alcázar
Model of the Santa Maria
Tourists On Their Way To Calle Sierepes
The Horse Drawn Carriage Tour Of Sevilla
Plaza de España
Jenny and David
Looking Up In The Alcázar
Journal and Photos of the Last Day of the Tour
On Our Way To Dinner
The University
We rode past the university, which at one time was the Tobacco Factory where Carmen worked in Bizet’s opera. In the distance I heard someone singing: “Love is a rebellious bird/That nothing can tame”