DAY 3 (El Final)
Awake and checked out by 9:30...we were
able to store our bigger luggage at the hotel for free. Walked back to
the Plaza de la Encarnacion with the Metropol Parasol...also known as
the Mushrooms. (The parasol is rather controversial
apparently.) Had breakfast at a little place, not much to jump
up and down about but good. Went below the parasol where there
is a Roman street. Then to the first level where there was some kind of
children's chess tournament taking place.
From here we meandered through
various neighborhoods to find, with the aid of google maps and a physical
tourist map, the Alameda de Hercules. He is, according to legend, the
founder of Sevilla.
From there to the Basilica de la
Macarena and the old city walls of the Macarena. At the church we semi-crashed
a very pretty wedding. We watched them all process out and then
watched everyone throw rice at the bride and groom.
Walked along both sides of the wall
and then paused in what I believe were the grounds of the Andalusian
Parliamentary building (Andalusia is one of the 17 autonomous communities
within Spain and Sevilla is the provincial capital)
(Plaza de las Armas...a bus station)
From here we walked all the way to
the river front and then along the banks of the Guadalquivir until we reached
the bride of Isabella II again. At that point we turned back towards the
city and found a place to eat.
Visited the Museum of Fine
Arts...very nice. I think we could have stayed for hours if it hadn't been 20
minutes until closing time.
Then over to the Archive of the
Indies. Everyone was utterly drained by this point so the air
conditioning and the possibility of benches was wonderful. Not to mention that
this was a fascinating place. Sevilla was the only port city permitted to
receive and deal with New World trade until it became overcrowded and disease
ridden. This building was constructed as a space for merchants to
negotiate deals and recount tales of the new world; t was never finished for
that purpose however as Sevilla lost its rank as the primary port
city. However, now it is chalk full of historic documentation of New
World discovery and trade.
(one
image of the many custom made shelves filled with volumes and volumes of
information)
After about an 1:30 minutes of
wondering around this place, nearly watching the video twice, we finally
departed for our final destination that day: Plaza de
España. Probably one of our favorite places as it was just
beautiful. We got in the fountain to cool off and then paddled a
little boat around the moat.
And that pretty much it for
Sevilla. We went back to the hotel for our luggage and then took a taxi
to the station. We were absolutely exhausted. The heat and the
walking completely drained us. The 2nd day we walked 11 miles and this
3rd day we walked a total 14 miles with less rest in between. But
all that we saw was worth it...and we were able to talk the entire way
home quite amicably.
Made it home around 12:30 in the
morning and went quickly to bed.
El Fin de Sevilla.
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