Hi All, June 8-9, 2008
I´m in Sevilla, and I´m getting the feeling it could contain the soul of Spain. Sevilla was the gateway to the ¨New World¨in the 16th century, it boomed as Spain did. The explorers Vespucio, Magellen both launched their explorations from this city. Hard to believe being so inland, but its river extending out to the sea, was deep enough then for those small draft ships.
In the 19th century, Sevilla was a top spot in Europe, and it shows.
It has a remarkable cathedral that I visited, the 3rd largest in Europe in size, the largest Gothic chapel in Europe and the largest alter ever built. It is impressive. Also near the cathedral is the Alcazar (Al -cath-er), an incredible Islamic palace built in the 12 century, then later, as with all these southern Spanish forts and temples, was rebuilt by the Christian Kings. It rivals the Alhambra Palace in its beauty and intricate detail.
And what of its soul? I was lucky to get in a 1 hour preformance ( it was sold out the night before) of an authentic (ie, not touristy) Flemenco dance performance. This is the soul of Sevilla. Incredible performance by both a male and female dancer, with a 12 string guitar and woman singer accompaniment.
And bullfights. I lucked out, I was there on a Sunday, so was able to make the evening bull fight, although this time of year, the bullfighters are the new guys, they were very good... very brave and showed some amazing ¨soul¨
On to Madrid for my final stop of the trip, its been an amazing adventure.
I´m in Sevilla, and I´m getting the feeling it could contain the soul of Spain. Sevilla was the gateway to the ¨New World¨in the 16th century, it boomed as Spain did. The explorers Vespucio, Magellen both launched their explorations from this city. Hard to believe being so inland, but its river extending out to the sea, was deep enough then for those small draft ships.
In the 19th century, Sevilla was a top spot in Europe, and it shows.
It has a remarkable cathedral that I visited, the 3rd largest in Europe in size, the largest Gothic chapel in Europe and the largest alter ever built. It is impressive. Also near the cathedral is the Alcazar (Al -cath-er), an incredible Islamic palace built in the 12 century, then later, as with all these southern Spanish forts and temples, was rebuilt by the Christian Kings. It rivals the Alhambra Palace in its beauty and intricate detail.
And what of its soul? I was lucky to get in a 1 hour preformance ( it was sold out the night before) of an authentic (ie, not touristy) Flemenco dance performance. This is the soul of Sevilla. Incredible performance by both a male and female dancer, with a 12 string guitar and woman singer accompaniment.
And bullfights. I lucked out, I was there on a Sunday, so was able to make the evening bull fight, although this time of year, the bullfighters are the new guys, they were very good... very brave and showed some amazing ¨soul¨
On to Madrid for my final stop of the trip, its been an amazing adventure.
