June 23

June 23, 2007
After a good night sleep we awake refreshed to learn that two of our traveling family was casualties of our trip to Gibraltar. As you may recall I said earlier the food in Gibraltar as typical of Britain was terrible. Well Chris and an elderly woman in our group did not survive the gastronomical experience.

It seems Chris has a bad stomach all time and as such woke significantly dehydrated and feeling very poorly. Our other traveler was in such bad shape she did not leave her room. Fortunately Chris recovered as the day went on but so far at 7:00 PM we have not seen the other casualty.

Barring the stomach issue, Chris, Cathy and I joined the bus for a guided tour of the highlights of Seville. Here we take a 4 hour walking tour of the major highlights of this once Moorish and now Christian city. We see 800 year old aqueducts, a 1400 year old Moorish fortification, a church built by the Moors and reclaimed by the Christians where it was increased in size to the third largest Cathedral in the world.

Seville is old and new. The Jewish quarter once inhabited by 30,000 Jews was the central area of commerce and dining. Today Seville has only 30 Jews registered and as such Christian influence controls all.

One highlight of our tour was a visit to the home of the highest ranking noble in Spain. Our bus takes us to a Palace in which lives a single old woman of 88. She was at one time the wife of a Spanish Duke and holds 26 noble titles, more then the King of Spain. Although her titles are basically meaningless her wealth and home are amazing.

Following the Palace tour we head to the Gardens of the Queen. Once her private gardens, the queen gave her garden to the people, actually she could no longer afford the upkeep so now a park the people pay for it. The gardens are lush and beautiful with fountains and monuments. Along the river and bordering the gardens was the home of the 1929 Spanish American exhibition. Much like a worlds fair the area had pavilions exhibiting art and life in the US and Spain. Most of the buildings were temporary and so are gone but some were more permanent and are now used as offices for government officials.

We head toward the Cathedral, a Gothic structure in the dead center of Seville. The Moors first built a mosque on this site but once the Spanish took control the area was Christianized and the 1400’s the immense Cathedral to our Lady was complete.

The highlight of the tour is the Tomb of Christopher Columbus and that of his son. Legend has it that Seville, Hispaniola, Madrid and the isles of Jamaica all claim to have his body and all show a memorial to the explorer. In 2006 three of the 4 graves were opened and bone samples were taken and analyzed. Using DNA it was conclusively proven that the bones in Seville were indeed the actual bones of the Discoverer of America. His son Diego is also buried here. He was a Priest and fellow traveler accompanying his father on 4 journeys into the new world. Diego was Christopher’s chronicler and author of the diaries of Columbus and so Seville also boasts the largest collection of the works of Columbus in their library.

The Church is amazing and filled with timeless and priceless works of art, gold and silver. The Tomb is made of Bronze and depicts four larger then life men carrying the coffin of Columbus across a black onyx floor, amazing in size detail and splendor.

Next we are on free time. It is near 2:00 PM and the temperature is approaching 100 F.
This is the time to find some food and some shade. We spy a paella restaurant right across the street from the Cathedral and we head for it. I was told by a Co-worker at my office that this is the best paella in all of Seville so we decide to give it a try.

Good thing we got there early. As we walked over to the restaurant, the outside shaded tables were already full, so we headed to the inside hoping for a table and A/C. Inside was empty so we moved some tables together to accommodate 7 people and sat down. Not one minute later another tour group was given free time and they all tried to get in. Since we took over the open space they were forced to leave. At capacity the inside of the restaurant could hold 15 people and outside another 20 at most. This is very typical of the local restaurants, they may be small but there are a multitude of them. Door after door, row after row you can find a small restaurant so you just have to move a few feet to the store next door to find good food.

Anyway we all order chicken paella which is a dish of two pieces of chicken in a saffron rice with vegetables. The rice is slow cooked for many hours which changes the consistency to a delicious paste like fell similar to pasta. The plate also has olive oil and a red sauce and is absolutely delicious and filling.

After lunch we try walking around a little to do some shopping but the heat and the siesta time get the better of us and we take a cab ride back to our Hotel. Chris did not come with us after the morning tour so we were anxious to see how he was feeling. It seems that a combination of medication, A/C water and rest resulted in a miracle cure. Thankfully he is much better, not 100%, but much better. By tomorrow we all hope he will be back to normal.

When Cathy and I got back we both joined in the traditional Siesta and slept for a few hours. It is now 7:00 PM and still near 100 F outside. In an hour or two we will head out to dinner as tonight we are on our own for dinner.