Sevilla, te quiero

Next stop on our "routa de Andalucía" was way too short.  Sevilla is one of the best cities I have ever been to.  I don't know much of Spanish history, so I was amazed that this is where Columbus set sail for the new world.  It is where the great Isabelle and Ferdinand were married and had their children.  It is the home of Flamenco and the place where the Santa Semana (holy week) is done the best.  

The largest cathedral in Spain and the third largest in Europe is in Sevilla.

Here is a partial side view.

Another side view in late afternoon (8pm).

Inside the Cathedral there is also the largest altarpiece (retablo) ever made.

I couldn't get it all in; its 65 feet tall.  A retablo is supposed to evoke heaven -- a completely golden space with figures of god projecting out of niches.

 Christopher Columbus is also buried here.  Here are some Japanese tourists who wanted to be photographed with the remains of a person most Americans do not revere.

Sevilla is a medieval city with winding streets and small plazas.  It has an amazing atmosphere, especially in the old Jewish quarter.  Originally the Jewish quarter was a ghetto separating them from the Christians, but when Ferdinand and Isabella expelled all of the Jews from Spain this became just another part of the city.  Regardless of its negative history, it is the most lively and romantic areas of the city.

The medieval quarter starts just beyond the Plaza de Banderas (Plaza of the Flags).  Here is a view of the church from inside the Plaza lined with orange trees.   Oranges and olives grow everywhere, falling from trees, and spilling into the streets.

Street signs spelled out in tile.

Napoleon burnt down a church that was here (a church that was built after a mosque was burnt down to build a church).  He built the French Embassy here and it still stands.

Sevilla is also the city of Flamenco.

We went to a flamenco performance that was not cheesy or touristy in the courtyard of an apartment complex.  The performers sang, danced, and played guitar two feet from the audience, not on a stage.  It was intimate and passionate.

The performers asked that we not take videos or flash photos.  I, unlike 85% of the people there, respected their request.  I only have the memory and that is enough.  The performance was fantastic and if you ever go to Sevilla, this place is wonderful: Casa de la Memoria.  My mother was particularly enamored of the passion of El Choro!

I want to mention that Sevilla is not all history and tradition.  There is an amazing night life as well - plazas filled with bars, restaurants line the river, clubs are hidden in the side streets.  I wish I could have spent more than two days.  Echarte de menos Sevilla y te quiero.