Seville - home of 100 operas and beautiful gardens

Wednesday, October 30, 2019                                                                         Seville

Monument to Christopher Columbus

Our tour group moved from Plaza del Espana to the Jardines de Murillo - a lovely green
space near the gardens of the Alcazar Palace.  These gardens were once the king's, but they
were given to the public and named Murillo in 1918, in honor of the sevillano artist Bartolme
Esteban Murillo, who was born in a house in the area.  The gardens were developed
for the 1929 Iberio-American Cultural Exposition.  That explains the large monument
to Christopher Columbus in the center of the gardens - as the Expo was dedicated to
Columbus' travels.  

This memorial was also tied to the 1929 Exposition and celebrates Columbus' discoveries

Wide walkways of the Murillo Gardens; along the wall that encloses the Alcazar gardens

Yes, she's a pregnant seller of roasted chestnuts - tis the season!

Flowing roots look like a river at the base of one of the garden trees

Walking along the old city walls in the pedestrian only area near the Santa Cruz quarter

House where Washington Irving lived in Seville - now a small hotel

We stopped at Casa number 2 of the Calle de Aqua to admire a bronze plaque with the image 

of Washington Irving.  Irving lived in Spain from 1826-29.  Here he wrote two books 

about Christopher Columbus and a history of Granada. He lived at this location 

in Seville before he moved to Granada to live the the Alhambra.  He published 

"Tales of the Alhambra" in 1832,  which was responsible for a great romantic image 

of Al-Andalus during the end of the 19th century.

Narrow pedestrian streets

Bar/restaurant where Don Juan Tenorio was said to have frequented

More than 100 operas are based in Seville, including 2 that are set in the Alcazar. We had 

already visited sites from Bizet's Carmen on our bus tour.  Here, we walked in the 

neighborhood of Don Juan Tenorio - Mozart's Don Giovanni, is based on this mythical man

from Seville.  We saw the traditional location for the balcony of Rosina from Rossini's

Barber of Seville, and were in the location of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

The building associated with Rossini's Barber of Seville

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Caballeros officially crowd watching outside the walls of the Alcazar

Lots of lovely places to stop and enjoy a drink and a bite to eat in the green byways

Our guide told us about the many bitter orange trees planted in the green squares.

We learned about bitter oranges, which are planted in many of the green gardens and 
courtyards in Andalusia.  You can tell a bitter orange tree (in addition to biting into
the fruit!) by looking at the leaves, where you will see a double imprint along the edge
of the leaf.  Many bitter orange products are sold - and we bought orange marmalade, 
orange and orange blossom hand lotion and orange flavored olive oil to take back home.

Approaching the three treasures of Seville: the Cathedral, the Giralda (bell tower) and the Alcazar