Sevilla, Day 2

On our second day in Sevilla we got to take a tour of the Alcazar, the royal palace, with our guide, Manuel. As with most things royal in Andalusia, there is a long and complicated history involving Romans, Moors, Visigoths and Spaniards. The palace that stands today is built right on top of a Moorish palace, which in turn was built upon the bones of a Roman city. enter image description here

Where Moorish and Spanish construction meet

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Some of the original Roman stones can still be seen around the foundations of the palace.

The current buildings are a blend of Moorish and Spanish royal architecture, and they are really impressive:
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The entrance to the royal palace. Built by Spaniards but notice to Moorish style architecture and the repetition of lines in groups of six.

The opulence of the palace really cannot be overstated. Walking into the royal throne room we were both agog and the walls and ceilings: enter image description here

The dome at the top of the ceiling is made of wood. The balconies are false; they lead nowhere.

The garden outside the royal throne room is serene, even with many people walking around. Reminiscent of the Alhambra and Generalife in Granada. enter image description here

There are several acres of gardens beside the palace. We just went through a very small portion of the whole garden. Here is a photo:

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We also got to see the area underneath the palace where water was collected and stored:

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The tour of the palace was really worthwhile and we got a lot more out of it with our guide Manuel.

After we finished our tour of the palace, Manuel took us to the cathedral for a tour which was also quite interesting.

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By the time we'd finished viewing the cathedral we were ready to sit down and grab a bite to eat. Manuel suggested we go to one of his favorite bars in Sevilla, Casa Morales, which is located just a few steps away from the cathedral. It was mobbed with patrons but somehow Manuel got the waiters to find us a table, which were in very short supply. With many vultures circling the waiter waved us through and put a "Reservado" sign on the table while we made our way through the throng. We were very happy to get a seat and ordered some typical tapas. I got a "Pepito" sandwich (a slice of pork on a roll which is heated on a griddle; super sabroso!). We also had some fried cod, gildas (skewers of grilled peppers, cheese and anchovy), and some tortilla espanola (thick potato omlette). washed down with 0.0 (alcohol-free) beer. It was just great.
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