Wednesday, October 30, 2019 Seville
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| Guadalquivir River, Seville Tower (left) and the Torre del Oro (right) |
We left this morning for Seville at 9 AM. It was a beautiful foggy morning and the drive through
the countryside from Carmona to Seville was full of pastoral, mystic views.
We drove along the Guadalquivir River, and saw the Calatrava single pylon bridge in it's full glory,
as well as the Isla Magica - a theme park with exuberantly tall structures left over from the
1992 World Expo. The quay along the river is wide and tree lined, with lots of room for
walking, running, biking and relaxing
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| Calatrava Alamillo Bridge's single suspension pylon in the morning fog over the river |
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| Guadalquivir River quay and the Train region across the canal |
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| Seville's bullfighting ring |
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| Torre del Oro |
We stopped along the quay to meet our guide, Lydia. While still on the bus, we drove through
the area of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 - large pavilions were built by 18 countries
that were meant to be permanently used as consulates or for other uses. We drove across
the bridge over the Guadalquivir river, and saw the Gold Tower.
The Torre del Oro was a military watchtower that was built by the Almoh Caliphate in the early
1200's to control access to Seville via the Guadalquivir river. It was used as a prison during the
middle ages.
We talked about the opera Carmen when we crossed the bridge to Triana, which
was Carmen's home in the story. We also saw other buildings from the opera -- Seville's
bullfighting ring, which is said to be the most beautiful in the world. We also drove past the
Antigua Fabrica de Tabacos, where Carmen worked as a cigar maker. The Tobacco Factory
looks more like a large palace than a factory, is is the second largest building in Spain. It
employed more than 10,000 female workers in it's heyday, and is now used as a University
building.
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| Buildings from the 1929 World Expo |
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| Beautiful tiles surround the 1929 Columbian expo building |
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| Blue tiles decorate the Guatemalan expo building |
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| Expo building in the Maria Luisa Park |
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| Colleagues join me in taking quick photos on our bus tour |
I've added a few photos from our return at the end of the day to the city of Carmona, and
our return in the evening to our parador. The church towers in Carmona were remodeled
from the original minarets of the mosques from when the Moors ruled this area a millennium ago.
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| Church bell tower in Carmona |
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| View of the valley on the switchback road up to the parador of Carmona |
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