It’s the 29th April and the Welcoming Dinner tonight is the beginning. We spent the day doing a bit of shoe shopping then relaxing on the Terrace, swimming (Lyndal went in – it was icy cold ) and reading and being thankful we had arrived before the blackout.
Our travelling companions arrived by various modes of transport. Those who had booked to fly were now on trains and those who were on trains waited for many hours at the train stations trying to get seats. One mother and daughter unable to find any transport took a taxi from Barcelona to Seville.
Matthew (our team leader) and Javier (our guide) spent the day tracking people down and getting them to the hotel. As we gathered for the Dinner all but one were present and she was on track to arrive the next day. We were a group of 17 – mainly Australian and mainly women – from diverse backgrounds and many extremely well travelled. Some were on their 10th Ross Tour overseas and were old hands and one of our friends was there from our last tour.l
We started as we were to go on – walking through the narrow streets to the selected restaurant. (Our bus couldn’t get through the narrow streets of most of the towns so we walked everywhere). Our restaurant, Cabonata, was a seafood restaurant with a Michelin Star and each course was superb.
After several glasses of good wine we headed back to our hotel. Matt and Javier were like a couple of sheep dogs trying to get everyone headed in the same direction. It was a very convivial start to our tour.
The next day we boarded our bus to visit two renown courtyards. The first stop was the Hospital de los Venerables. Originally it was developed to house destitute elderly priests in the 16th century but, other arrangements being made, it is now the Seville Cultural Center with a sunken courtyard that is a beautiful blend of cloister and patio.
We explored the Santa Cruz quarter, Seville’s picturesque medieval heart and checked out the Cathedral, ending up back in the Plaza de Espana. We spent a little time there looking at the tiled alcoves that feature colourful murals of Spain’s provinces and then it was our time to enter the Real Alcázar de Sevilla.
We headed back through the gates in the city wall, lined up and had our passports checked against our tickets and went though a metal detector before entry.
The Alcázar of Seville is recognized as the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use. The upper chambers of the Alcazar are still used by the Spanish royal family as their official residence in Seville. It is one of the best examples of architecture in the style of Mudejar (the Moorish style). The original palace, called Al-Muwarak, was built by the Almohades in the 12th century. Since construction, it has been constantly reworked and expanded, acquiring new stylistic features. It is a stunning building set amongst beautiful gardens, also Moorish-style.
The Palace and gardens were the primary filming location for the Water Gardens of Dorne in the fictitional kingdom of Dorne in Game of Thrones. Specific scenes were shot in various areas within the palace, including the Grotto Gallery, the Baths of Doña María Padilla, the Dance Garden, and the Hall of Ambassadors.
Returning to our hotel, we decided to give further exploring a miss. Lyndal was sneezing and had a sore throat – the first sign of the head cold and chest infection that were to plague us for the rest of the tour.