Around Seville with Jeff

 Jeff and I explored Seville a bit last week. We rented Sevici bikes and went around town to some of the famous monuments and parks. 

Sevici Station

We first headed to Parque Maria Luisa and then to Plaza de Espana which is located right next to the park. The day was really warm and sunny so we spent some time in the shade of the park during the afternoon heat. There isn't much green in Seville but this park makes up for it. There is a bird sanctuary and plenty of trees and shade to spend the whole afternoon. We walked around and took some photos and then headed to Plaza de America and then to the Plaza de Espana.

Parque Maria Luisa

Jeff near the "bird island'

Main drag of the park 

Plaza de America is home to a large Archeological Museum and a Performing Arts Museum. Separating the two museums is a large central garden area with fountains and places to sit and relax.

Plaza de America

We headed to Plaza de Espana next. This is a large semicircle government building that is for sure one of the prettiest Plaza's de Espana in Spain. We spent some time walking around the plaza checking tile work and building. Each province of Spain has a small bench area with colored tiles and a map of the region. These line the lower part of the building connecting around the semi circle.

Plaza de Espana

After we headed through a small park near the Alcazar. It has a large monument to Christopher Columbus from King Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic for his journeys and discovery of the New World. 

Monument to Christopher Columbus 

Later in the week we went to the Alcazar, a fortress/palace in the center of the city and a Flamenco show at a local bar with my roommate Nacho and a few friends. We took advantage of the days I had to work because I got out early enough to still see a lot during the afternoon.

La Carboneria - Flamenco bar

Thursday after work we headed out on our trip to Morocco. We left by bus to the town of Algeciras Spain, and made a day trip to Gibraltar. Post to come soon. 

Granada with Jeff: La Alhambra and Hiking in Sacramonte

Sunday morning, our last day in Granada, we woke up early from our hostel to head to La Alhambra. The Alhambra is fortress complex from the 9th century and during the 13th and 14th century it was converted also into a palace by Moorish rulers. After the Christian conquest in 1492 the Alhambra's mosque was replaced with a church. Granada was the last islamic hold out in Spain during the Christian Conquest. In short, the Christian conquest was lead by the King and Queen of Spain to expel all muslim and jewish residence in the country and unite the 4 kingdoms of Spain under one religion, Catholicism. The history of Spain, especially Granada is very interesting and definitely a good read. 

The massive fortress is atop a large hill protected by high incline hills and a river. The three main parts we visited were the Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife. We had a morning ticket which lets you view from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. The Nasrid Palaces were the only area you have to see with an appointment. We booked our tickets late and al that was left was the 8:30 am time slot. Even though waking up at 7:00 am wasn't the greatest we were able to see the most popular part early with less people. 

Alhambra at sunrise

The Nasrid Palaces consists of three palaces built in different periods for the Islamic Rulers. They were all built between the years 1314 - 1391. Inside, the rooms are filled with old arabic scripture and intricate wall designs. Even after the rulers of Spain kicked out all the muslim inhabitants it still kept much of there art and design in the buildings. These palaces are also where the famous American writer Washington Irving stayed during his stay in Granada. The courtyards were so spacious and well groomed. It is amazing how much time and effort they spend on maintaining the gardens and fountains inside the Alhambra. I guess when they receive over 2 million visitors a year it pays to have everything in top shape.

Patio de Comares inside the Nasird Palaces

immense detail

Jeff with Albaycin in the Background

Garden area of the Palaces

We continued the tour of the Alhambra in the Genarlife. This area includes an immense Garden area and a large palace. It was constructed to be the recreation area of the Kings of Granada where they escaped from the official routine. The garden area was so pretty. The amount of time it must take to keep the gardens looking they way the do must be tremendous. 

Pathway from Palaceas to Generalife

Generalife

Courtyard of Palace in Generalife

The last area we visited was the Alcazaba section of the Alhambra. This is one of the oldest parts in the Alhambra and the military area of the complex. The towers of the Alcazaba overlook the city of Granada. You get 360 degree views of the city. This was the point where the old rulers of times past watched over the city and could see enemies approach from far off in the distance. A section of the complex was also used as a prison at one point. 

Jeff on top the Watch tower overlooking the Albaycin

European Union, Andalucian, Spanish, and Granada Province Flags

On watchtower overlooking Granada

We spent about 5 hours viewing the Alhambra. We headed back down into Sevilla and started a hike in the District above the Albaycin called Sacramonte. There are a series of trails that cut up along the mountains into the valley towards the Sierra Nevada's. We pass through a few cave neighborhoods and made our way up to a nice view point that overlooked the valley down onto the Alhambra and the city. It was a clear hot day which made the hike pretty intense. We finally made it to a Church/Museum way up in the valley and headed back towards town. 

Sierra Nevada's

We made it back to the city around 5 pm and found a nice shady place to rest for a bit. We walked around the city for a while and ate, then headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and catch the bus back to Seville. 

I will be putting up a post from the bullfight we saw on Saturday in a few days. I have a lot of photos and videos to sort and load up so it might be a few days before the post is up. 

Jeff comes out to visit

It has been a while since I have had time to post. My friend Jeff from college came out on Wednesday morning to visit. He is staying for about 3 weeks. I went and met him at the airport Wednesday morning and we got back into Sevilla and explored a bit. 

Arriving into Sevilla

After hanging out for a bit and resting at my place we walked around the city for a bit and then went out with a few friends that evening to get some drinks. There was a Barcelona soccer game on so we met up with a group of my friends to watch the game. Later we met up with a different group and ended up not getting home at around around 5 am. Long first day but we had a great time. 

Thursday after work Jeff and I headed to the cathedral in Seville. It is the 3rd largest church in the world; for more info you can click the link to get more info about the cathedral from an earlier post. It is really hard to describe how intricate and massive the church is in words and photos. We spent a lot of time at the top of the giralda looking at the city and pointing out were things were at in relation to where my place is.

Cathedral Entrance

pointing out things to jeff

Friday morning we headed out to Granada, Spain for the weekend. We took an afternoon bus from Sevilla and got in around 2 pm. I studied abroad in Granada and was excited to return again to visit. We got to our place and took a trip into the Albaycin neighborhood. This district of Granada lies to the side of the Alhambra. It consists of very narrow winding streets with nearly every side wall filled with graffiti. The neighborhood also has a moorish medievil past feel with some original buildings and archways throughout the district. The neighborhood sits high about the city with great views.We made our way up the steep narrow streets to one of the most famous spots; the Balcony of Saint Nicholas. 

Sun Setting in the Albaycin

Cathedral of Granada from the Albaycin

The neighborhood also has a good amount of graffiti - some good and some bad. We made our way back down into Granada through a stretch of streets with some good murals. 

Balcony of St. Nicholas with Alhambra and city in background

Balcony of St. Nicholas with Alhambra and city in background

After walking all day through the Albaycin and part of the city we made our way back to our hostel and went out to have dinner and then drinks with a few friends of mine who were also in Granada. The next two days in the city were very busy. We went to a bull fight, The Alhambra and then on a hike. It is going to take a few days to catch up on the events but I should have the photos up later this week. 

Summer is here

The past couple of weeks has been pretty warm in Seville. It has been averaging about 80 degrees but with minimal cloud cover it feels like 100. I haven't had much to post over the past week. My friend Jeff is coming out to visit for a few weeks this Wednesday. We are heading to Granada, Spain this weekend and then are planning a few other trips. I have a almost 2 weeks off mid April for Semana Santa. We are going to travel around Southern Spain and then either take a trip to Morocco or Portugal.

I have been riding my bike quite a bit lately. A coworker gave me a really sweet guide book on the Camino de Santiago that I am doing after my job is finished in June. I am biking from the French border all the way west across Northern Spain to the town of Santiago de Compostela.

The camino is an old religous pillgramage but more and more people are going each year for the experience. The trip is going to be roughly 500 miles after it is all said and done. I leave from a town called Roncesvalles on the Spanish side of the Spanish-French border. I will travel west for roughly 2 weeks visiting all the famous sites and cities along the way. Once I reach Santiago I plan on continuing to a place on the Western coastline of spain called Finisterre, which was once thought to be the end of the "world". 

The next few weeks will be filled with many posts from the travels Jeff and I will be taking. I can't wait to head back and visit Granada again. Fun times ahead. 

Day trip to Portugal

Saturday I went with a group of friends to a beach just across the Spanish-Portuguese border. One of my friends had a coworker who invited us for the day. The drive was about an hour and a half from Seville.

river separating spain and portugal

We went into the town of Vila Real de Santo Antonio and she showed us around for a bit. There was a market going on in one of the plazas and we spent some some walking through it looking at the products. 

weekend market

Cork is abundant in the region and many of the tables and pretty much everything you could think of made out of cork; wallets, hats, belts, bags, coasters, picture frames.. etc. I bough a small cork zip up bag to hold all of the extra change I have accumulated. 

cork products

After walking around for a bit and getting a beer at a local bar we got back in the car and headed to the beach. The weather was a little cloudy and windy but still nice enough to enjoy the beach. We were there for a few hours and then headed back to Seville. Nice relaxing way to spend the Saturday

New Bike

Last week I finally bought a bike to use for a trip I'm going to take across northern Spain after I finish my job. At the beginning of June I will be biking from the a town near the French border of Spain to a town in the northwest. It is the Camino de Santiago which is a historic pilgrimage to the town of Santiago de Compostela. I was going to do the Camino from Seville, but after talking to many people they recommended doing the official camino instead of the "Ruta de la Plata" from Seville. When the date is a little closer I will have more details on the trip. 

I bought the bike from my coworker Jose. I got a really good deal and for the amount I spent it is the best bike I could get. It is a Spanish company and I have already put almost 100 miles on it this past week or so. The other day I took a ride out to Italica on a trail that hugs the river. This is actually the beginning of the Camino from Seville. 

The trail is a greenway that is also used by farmers but also serves as the first leg of the Ruta de la Plata to Santiago in the north. This was the second time I took the trail but I decided to continue past Italica and head to the next town on the camino. 

 There are a variety of signals telling you were to continue on the camino; at rode intersections and crossing there are usually signs but for most of the way it is marked by yellow spray painted arrows. I imagine at times it could be difficult to decipher which way to go. I had a little trouble at one point just on this first leg of the trip, but luckily I made the right choice and continued on.

yellow arrow pointing the way

official sign 

more signals 

 Once I got past Italica I entered in between farmlands on a dirt road that seemed to go on forever. The weather was really nice so I decided to keep going until I got tired. I stopped in the middle of the fields for a bit and rested on a huge cement drain. There was no one in sight except for 2 tractors off in the distance plowing a near by field.

no hands

I went for another mile or so until I reached a point in the camino that I couldn't pass. The road dipped a bit and recent rains had flooded the entire path. I probably could have figured a way around but I was ready to head back.

Me and my lady

Now that I have my bike all I have left to do is plan out the trip. Should be a great way to end my time here in Spain.