The Cathedral area in Seville

This post is literally just an overview of the area where most of the sights of Seville are: the Cathedral; the tower of Giralda; the Real Alcazar, which our guide book says is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. We did not manage to go inside any of them: tickets were sold out 10 days before for both the Cathedral and the Palace. It never occured to us to pre-book let alone so much in advance.

So, we walked around the square during our second full day when we intended to visit these sights, and then on other days we would walk through this area on our way to other places.

The Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede, or, Seville Cathedral, is one of the largest churches in the world. After its completion in the early 16th century, it supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for a thousand years. 

The Cathedral occupies the site of a great mosque built in the 12th century. Eclipsed by the Christian construction, La Giralda and the Patio de los Naranjos are the only lasting legacy of the original Moorish structure.

Given that we could not go inside, we circled the building, admiring the imposing doors

looking closer

It's a large square, with the tram running through it and a lot of pedestrians

 

and lots of horse-drawn carriages for the tourists.

There was a fair on one side of the square, and we had a look

Another imposing entrance

major avenues run through the square, 

most of them lined with flowering jacaranda trees

All these imposing entrances that we could not access!

This extremely long queue, is the queue of people who had tickets, waiting to be allowed in

The convent which is by the Cathedral

We got to the Giralda, the bell tower. Its height is 105 metres. This is the former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule. It was converted into a bell tower after the Reconquista.

We were able to go inside one of the side chapels of the cathedral which was open to everyone,  the Monasterio de la Encarnacion MM Agustinas

We were also able to go inside this building, the Diputacion Sevilla, Casa de la Provincia and had a look at their temporary exhibition

Jose Luis Fernandez, F.171, 1980

Eduardo Sanchez-Beato, Peligrosa Trama, 2021

This one shocked us. Apparently the title translates: Dangerous Plot. Seville is such a religious city, so, yes, they must find it blasphemous?

looking closer

Jose Luis Romeral, Atentado, 1992

We moved on towards the palace, Real Alcazar, home to Spanish kinghs for almost seven centuries. Apparently it's set in a huge paradise garden, and is a celebration of Mudejar architecture. We were allowed through the arch

 

into the Patio de Banderas

We circled the area and were told that the tickets were sold out for ten days,

and moved out of the large square, into the narrow streets that surround the Cathedral and Palace

Through this delightful square

where all the benches were inlaid with ceramic mosaic

It's odd: I really liked this square, and yet we never spent any time in it, we just walked through it. I wanted to eat here, and yet we never managed it.

Instead, some days we  would end up here, Hosteria del Laurel, one of my favourite places for lunch, where I would have artichokes, each artichoke with a prawn on top of it. Delicious!

Then, through the narrow streets again,

which would then become wider as we neared the main shopping area

turn into wide avenues

and eventually we would reach our hotel.

It was very disappointing not being able to see the Cathedral and Palace, but there is so much more to Seville than the main tourist sites, that in the end it did not matter at all. We had such a good time while we were there.

The Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

Just off one of the entrance passages of Placa Reial, we enter the Barri Gotic

The Barri Gotic is the historic centre of the old city of Barcelona. It encompasses the oldest parts of the city and includes the remains of the city's Roman wall and several notable medieval landmarks. Much of the present-day fabric of the quarter however, dates to the 19th and early 20th centuries. It retains a labyrinthine street plan, with many small streets opening out into squares. Most of the quarter is closed to regular traffic although open to service vehicles and taxis.

This time we did not manage to explore this area fully as there was so much we wanted to see and do, and one week was not enough. But also, I had my accident and this made us lose half a day. Furthermore, one day it rained so hard all day,  that all we could do was visit the Picasso and Moco museums, which was part of the plan, but it meant that the whole area, La Ribera, where those museums are situated, which is part of the Gothic Quarter, we were unable to explore at all - the rain was pounding on us and the streets had become rivers. 

So the Gothic Quarter  was explored on our first full day in Barcelona, together with the whole of Las Ramblas and that was it.

You can see how these narrow streets would provide shelter from the beating sun in the summer.

Catalan flags everywhere

The lack of traffic makes walking here such a pleasure

Quite a few shops, mainly for tourists

great vaulted ceiling

Three spliffs in its mouth!

We got to the Placa de Sant Jaume, the administrative heart of both the city and surrounding Catalonia. Both the Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the City Hall are located here, across from one another.

Placa del Sant Jaume leads directly to the Placa de Saint Miquel and as I could see bits of this structure, I went to investigate

a sculpture - I could not find any information about it

and a whole section for kids to play

We moved back to Place del Sant Jaume and I spotted this on a balcony - I saw one of those in Madrid as well - interesting

We stopped here to have a look

 the torro, the local delicacy

and then moved on

Gorgeous

some of the buildings here have such detail

There's quite a few of these around

We were now heading towards the Cathedral

Situated in the middle of Placa de La Seu, the Cathedral is dedicated to the martyr Santa Eulalia, the patron saint of Barcelona.

We went inside, but did not purchase tickets, so what we did see was limited

The cloister garden surrounds the Font de Oques (Well of the Geese)

where 13 geese symbolise the years of Eulalia's life

and where various scenes are enacted.

We left the Cathedral, walked through some seriously narrow streets

and stopped at the Palau del Lloctinent because the inner courtyard appealed.

We then moved on to

Museum Frederick Mares

which has another gorgeous, peaceful courtyard

beautiful building

and having made a full circle, ended up at the Plaza de la Seu, where facing

the Cathedral

a Christmas market was in full swing. We came across quite a few during that week, and this was by far the best

First thing I noticed was these exposed bottoms which were to be found on quite a lot of the roofs of the stalls

Looking around the stalls, they appeared to be everywhere

They are called Caganer, and they are a popular figurine found in Catalan nativity scenes, dating back to the 18th century. They are traditional, depicted by a peasant wearing black trousers, a red sash and a barretina, a typical red cap. They are a symbol of good luck, joy and good fortune in the home. It is said that through his/her defecation the land is fertilised for the following year.

We continued walking through this wonderful district

got to the Placa de Sant Josep Oriol

and sat down to have a cooling drink. 

Various entertainers did their stuff in front of us

We then moved on to the next square adjoining it

Where a small producers' market was on

where the loveliest, friendliest people were selling their produce.

The church of Santa Maria del Pi dominates the square

And then, I saw it! A whole shop selling Caganer.

We had to go in.

They are very graphic, aren't they?

We moved on. This was the extent of our exploration of this wonderful district. There were just too many other things to do. 

We did however, venture here in the evenings after our drinks in Placa del Reial, as there are quite a few restaurants here that we liked.

We tried to eat here but they were fully booked, and as they were only open three days a week, we had missed our chance for a future table.

We ate here twice as we liked the place.

We were intrigued by the queues 

for this place.