Cadiz/Seville, Spain

We boarded a small bus at Cadiz portside for our tour to Seville ninety minutes away. We entered this stately city, with its Moorish and Roman origins and architecture. The cobblestone boulevards were huge – void of cars and only available to light rail, pedestrians and horse and buggies. Our first stop was the royal palace and gardens – whose architecture was mostly Arabic – with its mosaics, archways and tile work. Although the Christians took over power in Seville in 1248, they admired the Moorish style. The castle is still used today by the Spanish royal family for weddings and huge gatherings.

Right outside the walls of the castle was the Jewish quarter – a maze of small streets and squares. The Jews provided the financing for all the lavish buildings in the center of the city. After their expulsion in 1492, all the synagogues were destroyed. We didn’t find out if there was still any Jewish presence…

We crossed the square into the largest Gothic cathedral in the world – a monstrosity of church which had at one time been a mosque. We had never seen anything like it – giant pillars, gold inlaid Biblical imagery)! The surprise inside, was a monument built to hold the remains of Christopher Columbus (his orders were to never be buried on Spanish soil – thus his coffin is on a pedestal held by four statues).

Back outside we noticed women and young girls all dressed in flamenco style dresses – beautifully put together outfits with hairpieces, shoes and jewelry to match. Men were also all dressed in suits. Today was the Fiesta of Seville and everyone was heading across town to the fair grounds. We decided to follow people for the mile walk – all who were converging to the site in horse drawn carriages, buses, taxis and on foot. What a wonderfully festive feeling – amazing site to see. No two dresses were alike and everyone (babies and little girls alike) were dressed for this occasion. We only had a short glance into the fair, but could see the thousands of guests eating, drinking and dancing.

Upon our return to Cadiz, and a Spanish dinner on board the ship, we returned to explore the medieval town of Cadiz. It was a magical maze of carless cobblestone streets, will small shops and central plazas – a place to gather, mingle and drink a cup of coffee. Our late departure certainly allowed us to have a great “taste” of Spain!