Sunday walk

I caught a cold and stayed home most of the weekend. This afternoon, I was fed up with staying at home. So I took a walk through Sevilla and took some photos.

First, I walked through my own neighborhood, which is the Barrio de Santa Cruz. It's very old and also called "Zona monumental". The architecture feature the typic colonial style. It's also full of tourists here in the summer. 

Hundreds of years ago, Sevilla used to be a city of very high economic importance - thanks to the river Guadalquivir. This is where Columbus started on his voyage to discover the Americas. This is where all the gold that came from the West Indies was unloaded. There is still a lot of the former glory around the old city, and the Sevillans seem to be very proud of it. I'm no fan of colonialism myself, but it's fascinating to see where it all started.

The Sevillan emblem: Orange trees.

Golosinas: Candy!

A delicious looking bakery

Sun peeking through in the Jardín del Murillo

Tablao "Los Gallos" 

Wonderful architecture

A patio in Santa Cruz

Plaza Doña Lina 

Nice, but hard - on Plaza Doña Lina

 Then, I made my way to the Cathedral. From my house, I just have pass the old royal palaces to get to Plaza del Triunfo. Many horse-cart drivers wait there to take you on a ride!

The walls of the "Real Alcazares" - the royal palaces

La Catedral

Waiting for a job

In front of the Cathedral, there is a nativity fair. Spanish christmas songs (Villancicos) blare from cheap megaphone loudspeakers. And you can buy little Jesus babies, Maria statues and sheep by the dozen. I was amazed. Of course, what attracted me most was the miniature food ;)

Almost no one in town today...

Miniature road to Bethlehem

 After the fair, I made my way to the Guadalquivir river for a coffee.

Torre de Oro, an ancient watchtower overlooking the river

At the aquatic café "Pedalquivir"

Suddenly, the sky turned pink and gold. 

Calle Betis in Triana

Puente de Triana