The Trip to Sevilla

We've just spent a few days in Sevilla, and it's already time to leave :-( It has been an amazing few days. We drove here from El Algar and the drive was fairly boring with the topography a lot like central Utah, except for the palm trees. We did find an amazing cathedral in a small town I think was Vellez-Rubio. We saw this amazing structure from the highway, and got off to explore it. The drive took us through some very narrow and beautiful back streets lined with apartments and shops, but my impression was that it was very clean and well cared for. Here are a few shots of the cathedral.

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We stopped for lunch in Granada. Granada has been populated since 5500 B.C. Think about that for a minute. It has had people walking it's streets since 5500 years before Christ, and of course, the 2000 years since. It was occupied by the Romans, but before them, the Visigoths. It was conquered by the Moors in 700 A.D. For much of it's existence, it has been an independent city/state. The Moors built the famous palace/fortress called the Alhambra here. We didn't have time to take a tour :-(

The city is located at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was very interesting to me to see many of the names of US cities/mountains/etc. on street signs in Spain. For instance, we saw, Sierra Nevada, Corpus Christi, La Hoya (LaJolla?), Valencia, Santa Cruz, Modesto, San Francisco, and many others. We had lunch at a sidewalk cafe and Ellie had crepes with ice cream. Then we were off to Sevilla.

We arrived at our apartment, which was really nice. I am continually surprised at the depth of the security we find in the apartments we rent. I don't know why I should be when I think of the centuries of conquest and reconquest that have taken place here. This apartment had an underground garage that could be accessed with an electronic key that was passed over a sensor. The garage is secure from the rest of the building because you need a key to access the stairs or a key to access the elevator. The apartment has a dead bolt lock that has five separate steel bolts. The main door to the building has a key, and there is also a key needed to enter the courtyard which is surrounded by a high wall and has a steel bar (very secure) door. The windows all have roll down metal shutters that totally block out the light, and would prevent anyone but the most determined from entering through a window. Even the churches have steel bars over the windows, and all of the houses have similar. We see graffiti everywhere, but it doesn't seem to be gang related...just a desire for expression, and seeing every building as a canvass crying out for paint. I contrast this with the sense that we have never needed to be in fear for our safety here, and we have been generously received by everyone.

The owner of our apartment was so generous. We found the kitchen stocked with a fresh loaf of bread, jam, butter, milk, cereal, tea and coffee, juice, ice, wine, and a fruit bowl full of fresh fruit. The bathrooms were stocked with the usual, but he had loads of fresh towels, multiple choices of shampoos and bath gels, etc. He also provided a bus pass for free, along with instructions of where to go to catch the buses, and where the markets and best restaurants were. The apartment itself had three bedrooms and two baths, along with a kitchen and living/dining room. Renting through Airbnb has been an amazing experience because of hosts like him..so much better than hotels, and way less expensive than most hotels.