Enjoying Seville

Seville was built on the Guadalquivir River which opened up the downtown area and made it quite scenic. It provided architects with opportunities to be quite creative in the design of these suspension bridges.

The city planners were also thinking about bicycles as a form of transportation. The Bixi system which allows a person to rent a bike at one location and drop it at another, was in wide use. A station just outside our hotel window controlled about 50 bicycles, and there was another just a block away. The stations would fill between 7 and 9 AM with people commuting to downtown and almost vacant in the afternoon for the commute home. Then also, throughout the day and evenings bicycles came and went continuously. About half the bicycles on the pathways were Bixi bikes and the other half personally owned or shop rentals. I rented one for a day from a rental shop, and rode for hours. There was always a paved path or dedicated bike lane wherever I went. Some were more colourful than others.

There was lots to see. Our hotel, Alfonso XIII was not the only historical building in downtown. There were many buildings accenting Seville’s heritage. The Cathedral was the most spectacular. The combination of size and artistic detail was almost unbelievable. Apparently, it took 120 years to build

After visiting this and seeing that, we normally had a picnic lunch in the park. But when it was time for dinner out, we enjoyed one of the street-side cafes or Tapas Bars.

After 3 enjoyable days in Seville, it was time to head for the Canary Islands.

Click the link below and I’ll tell you about living in our self catering apartment on Gran Canaria, and cycling on the beach between the sand dunes and the sea:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2012/04/sand-dunes-of-playa-del-inglis.html