Chasing Summer –

During the night, the Odyssey came up the Guadalquivir River to make port for two days in Seville, Spain. I was here just a few months ago waiting for the boat to be ready, so the rainy morning didn’t bother me. I was prepared to spend less time exploring and more figuring out my schedule, writing my blog, and cleaning up my room.

I did want to go out for a walk, at least, though, so when Angela and Steve messaged that they were heading out, I joined for the walk into the old town.

Walking from the port took me by a few things I hadn’t seen the first time I was here and some previous favorites.

Parque de Maria Luisa is a huge park with lots of pathways. It also is the home of the Museo de Arts y Costumbres and the Archeological Museum (still under construction).

This park leads to the Plaza Espana, which I had seen last time, but it is so impressive that it is worth a second and third visit.

My morning stroll also brought me back to the Universidad de Seville. Also, a stunning building that was formerly the Royal Tobacco Factory. From the look of the building, tobacco must have been big here.

The next morning I was back at the Plaza Espana since it was the closest point to the old city from the port. From the Plaza, I walked to Jardines de los Reales Alcazares (Royal Palace Gardens) and visited the Fuente de Mercurio.

I veered off the garden path to visit Rosina’s Balcony and a sculpture at Plaza de Santa Cruz.

My meandering took me to Santa Maria la Blanca Church Street and the church.

I passed by the Convento de las Salesas on my way to Plaza de Platos. At the Plaza is a house, Casa de Pilatos. This house can be visited for 12 euros so we chose not to enter.

Since the Palace was sold out and I couldn’t visit it this trip, I headed towards Palacio de las Duenas. This alternative palace is not far from the center but added a few steps to my day. This also cost 12 euro and was not something I was willing to pay.

I have to remind myself that sometimes I am on for a long time, so I don’t need to do everything. I can’t afford it either and would rather spend my money on something that I want to see.

From the failed Palace, I walked back towards the port and stopped at the giant mushroom. Setas de Sevilla is a huge wooden structure that towers above the street. It is 113,000 square feet and 85 feet tall. There is a viewing platform that I could have paid to visit, but it’s so big that I could see it just fine from the street.

I stopped for a quick snack and drink before going back to the Odyssey by way of the promenade.

That evening, the cruise left port an hour earlier to clear the lock before dark. A single tug guided us as we backed up until there was enough space to turn the boat around. Once turned around, we needed to go past several roads that raised their bridges to let us go through to enter a lock.

In the lock, the water level was raised before lowering the front gate for us to continue going upriver. The ship needed to travel about 6 hours up the Guadalquivir River to enter the sea before we could continue onto Africa.