Seville-So Many Histories...

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BENIDORM
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Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby BENIDORM » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:52 pm

Last week we spent some time in Seville, not as tourists more as visitors ..if you get my drift...

You don't have to be interested in history, but places like Seville will impress everyone and when you leave you will take some of the place with you...in your heart and in your mind....
It would probably take months to visit everywhere and see everything, so I will just ask you to join me for a short walk around Plaza Nueva, very central and close to places like the magnificent Cathedral.
We sat on the comfortable benches, sheltered by the towering leafy trees which line the Plaza, it was so relaxing, just watching the multitude of people strolling past, from all walks of life and from many countries , children playing, elderly people gathering to chat with anyone who would listen to them, gaggles of happy smiling Japanese tourists, the list is endless...
I know from history lessons I attended decades ago, that so much has happened in this space, so many cultures over many centuries who have left their mark.
Even Cervantes was imprisoned for awhile here, and most of this area was part of a very big convent and I believe very recently the Duquesa de Alba lay in state in the impressive Town Hall, allowing her many followers and friends to pay their last respects.

And tucked away in a building opposite the electric trams terminus, is a small Chapel, one of the few remaining parts of the Convent left standing.
We entered into the Chapel , it was quite dark but with many worshipers sat or kneeling in silent prayer, and the Chapel is open 24 hours of the day, I'm told,and in one corner at the back, the duty shift working Priest was sat waiting to absolve you of your sins....if you need his services...
Every minute or so the door would open and worshipers would enter, some just staying long enough to dip their fingers into the bowl of Holy water and silently praying before leaving,so really a very ancient place of dedication with a modern twist operating as One Stop Shop Chapel, catering for everyone no matter what religion, if any ,that they follow.

So Thank You for reading my small snap-shot of Seville, and if you haven't visited it yet, then please put it on your list of 'things to do'.
Regards,
Gordon

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Pamela1 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:22 am

Love reading your posts Gordon,always so informative and interesting..I am going to Seville in Feb so i shall put Plaza Nueva on my list... :thumbup:

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby BENIDORM » Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:38 pm

Pamela 1...Thank You !
I hope that you have a great time when you visit Seville.

I try to offer little 'snippets' of information that will create interest in the subject, and I suggest that everyone who doesn't already, does as much research themselves about destinations etc, this way it's much more memorable and enjoyable...

I also have to admit that on our last visit we did become 'tourists' for a few moments when we went into a souvenir shop and bought two Seville fridge magnets... :oops:
Everywhere we visit at least one fridge magnet is purchased, it's almost an obsession with Mrs.B, the fridge door is quite full and if we buy any more we will have to buy another fridge to accommodate them...
I think that it's a ploy by Mrs.B to create a magnetic force field around the fridge to stop me from snacking and grazing when she's not keeping her eye on me.... :( ...

Does anyone else admit to purchasing souvenirs...?

Regards,
Slim Gordon....

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby gerryh » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:12 pm

Yes, always buy a fridge magnet of the places we visit. :wave:
Since we have lived here in Spain we have been promising ourselves a visit to Seville.
Just booked, near El Corte Inglais in the centre, for next February to coincide with my birthday. :thumbup:
Cheers
Gerry
Last edited by gerryh on Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Gerry Harris

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Gasman » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:12 pm

Mrs G loves the small ceramic plates so beautifully and colourfully glazed which are available in the giftee shopees - hard-pressed to resist every time she shows various tourists from family and friends doing the Tour of Sevilla. There is some tourist tat there but there are some lovely things too.
Agree that Plaza Nueva has its own atmosphere - have you seen the Mushrooms not far away?
IMG_20170614_120714 (340x191).jpg
IMG_20170614_120714 (340x191).jpg (96.5 KiB) Viewed 7796 times
And nobody should miss the Alcazar, old palace - all those tiles and moorish influences, and gardens to get lost in ...

Pamela1
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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Pamela1 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 3:54 pm

Snap Gerry...im going in Feb for my birthay too...12th to 16th...There will be 11 of us so im looking forward to it..

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby ValL » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:05 pm

I love and miss Sevilla, I lived on the outskirts for years and loved any time spent wandering in the town. I plan to take a break there next year. Thank you for your lovely post.

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Evelyn » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:55 pm

My favourute area is the Jewish Quarter where we stayed in the most amazing hotel.....Hotel Las Casas de La Juderia, Calle Sta Maria La Blance 5. Well worth a look.

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby BENIDORM » Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:34 am

Thanks everyone for your input, great to hear recommendations etc. :thumbup:

And I'm very pleased to note that we are not the only people who collect souvenirs.!
I've actually still got some of the souvenirs that I brought back from Spain in the 1960's, mainly well constructed items made from olive wood, probably considered by some to be 'tat', however they now come under 'Vintage Spanish collectables' and have risen in price, not a fortune, but a realistic increase.
I've got several wooden boxes, for example a box holding two packs of playing cards, with a decorative poker-work design on the front, and my favourite is quite a large cigarette box ,leather bound with a classic scene ( purchased in Seville in 1965), strange really as I've never smoked and keep my collection of fountain pens in it !
But the one thing I resisted the temptation to buy was the famous straw donkey....!

I was a little disappointed to see how many Costa Coffee,Mc Donald's, Domino Pizza etc., type outlets have 'sprung up' in Seville, when there are so many fantastic little backstreet bars and cafes where you get a great cup of coffee etc, at very reasonable prices.
Anyway I'm sure everyone will enjoy their visits to Seville and my birthday is also in February and we are planning to stay for a few days.

So if anyone has any other little 'snippets' of info to add I'm sure new visitors and re-visitors alike would be grateful to read them....
Regards,
Gordon.
ps..Gasman..we did see the 'mushroom'....really different and an interesting structure.....

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Pamela1 » Wed Nov 08, 2017 7:03 pm

Gordon i too have collected souvenirs, for many many years i collected clay constructed painted Spanish houses that you hang on the wall...I collected them in all different sizes but most were quite large or medium sized, I also collected ceramic plates which were mostly of the traditional Granada pattern which is glazed in green, blue and white... I have lost count on how much i spent over the years and my conservatory walls looked more like a shoppers den :lol: ...We did some work to the house and they were all packed away never to come out again however since we bought the Cortijo some have made the journey back over to Spain and are seeing the light of day again, i must say they do look well on the outside walls of the front porch and look like they belong there!..
Now i don't collect anything but i still love ceramics and have added a ceramic wall clock to the outside wall because we never knew the time of day being mostly outside and i got fed up of people asking me what time it was..
How surreal that those of us who have a Feb birthday have plans to spend it in Seville! Now someone is bound to come along and say their Birthday is in Feb and have no intentions of spending it in Seville. :lol:

BENIDORM
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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby BENIDORM » Thu Nov 09, 2017 9:56 am

Pamela1,
Interesting.. :thumbup:
Perhaps you should consider turning your Cortijo into a rural museum of traditional Granada pottery.. :D ?

We also collect the 'Granada' pattern pottery and I've 'excavated' many fragmented pieces lost or buried in the fields over many centuries, the colours have varied a lot over the years , but help to date the pieces, the early rustic pieces are just plain or glazed brown, but still a very interesting chance to look at the way people who inhabited the area lived.

As for celebrating Birthdays and other Anniversaries , Well ...Seville and Granada City are both very romantic and interesting places to melt into and absorb the culture and history and add more wonderful memories....

Hasta Luego,
Gordon...

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby maureenscot » Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:18 pm

Yep, I buy fridge magnets and ceramics wherever I go in Spain

BENIDORM
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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby BENIDORM » Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:06 pm

The only 'problem' that we've found when purchasing souvenir fridge magnets is the fact that many are produced in China.
So we always check the product label first and reject it if not produced locally or at least in the region.

And it's nothing new about souvenir products being produced in other countries, for instance many of the postcards from the early 1900's in UK ...Blackpool-to- Brighton etc...were actually printed in Germany and I was told that Germans photographers used the taking of photographs for preparation of their 'war effort' against UK..
Another historian told me that the Zeppelin raids on UK were aided by identifying targets from the postcards.. :shock:
Not a lot of people know that ... :D

Regards,
Gordon..

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby olive » Sat Nov 11, 2017 5:44 pm

a bit off Sevilla topic but my dad, as a pre war child, remembers walking down Newborough in Scarborough and seeing a German leaning out taking photos from a Zeppelin.

I have just made a note on my calendar for next Feb for the birthday boys and girls Sevilla reunion. We can have a race up the Giralda on our zimmer frames.

PS Gordon. I have just had my will amended. I am leaving you my collections various of fascinating useless stuffs. You will be able to open a museum in Salar, perhaps call it the Louvre Salar. :lol:

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Floriana » Sat Nov 11, 2017 6:03 pm

Some friends recently took a cycle tour of Seville and enjoyed it immensely - plenty of stops and a really good guide.

Pamela1
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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Pamela1 » Sat Nov 11, 2017 7:07 pm

olive wrote:
I have just made a note on my calendar for next Feb for the birthday boys and girls Sevilla reunion. We can have a race up the Giralda on our zimmer frames.
Olive, we may all be there at different times in Feb so the zimmer frame might not see the light of day if there is no one to race against :lol: :lol:

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby Pamela1 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:50 pm

Beautiful weather here today in Seville...so many tourists My family and i have enjoyed it so much but im citied out now and ready for home..
Apart from the apartment not being anything as described "luxury" we got over the disapointment on got on with our holiday....I doubt that we will be back,seen it, done it and have the tshirt...Facinating city but not so friendly people...

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Re: Seville-So Many Histories...

Postby oliveview01 » Wed Mar 21, 2018 2:15 pm

Every time we go to Sevilla we find something new and interesting. One day we came across a small square with a wall plaque dedicated to a neighbours husband's aunty. She was a Nun who could heal people, she was made a Saint.


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