June 18, 2009:
We pre-booked our return from Malaga to Seville with the ALSA Bus Company for a 9:00 AM departure. Unfortunately, our Hotel was not within walking distance to the bus station so we had to catch a taxi. Luckily, there wasn’t too much traffic and it only cost us 5.2 euros to the station. We arrived in Seville around 11:30 AM at the Prado Bus Station and as usual, we had to look for our hotel. We chose Hotel Un Patio en Santa Cruz because of its location both near the bus station and the city center sites. From our crudely drawn map we were able to find our hotel within a few minutes and were ready to visit the many attractions of Seville.
After walking for 10 minutes or less we had reached Seville Cathedral and were eager to get out of the sweltering heat of 37 degrees Celsius. The entrance fee is a little steep at 8 euros per/person, but once inside you will see the justification for it’s price! The Cathedral is impressive both in its architecture and works of art, jewelry and even the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
The tower (La Giralda) was built by the Muslims and when they were defeated by the Spaniards they asked if they could demolish their sacred tower. However, the Spanish leader told them that if they even removed one brick, all of them would be stabbed to death.
After gaping in awe of the cathedral we went back to the hotel for a short siesta. The heat in Spain is unbearable, so it makes sense to sleep the hottest hours away. In the evening when it had cooled a couple degrees we walked to the Seville Expo 1992 Building.
The expo building may look very historic but was recently built for the 1992 Expo. Yet it is very impressive but appears mostly abandoned and has been neglected and currently parts of it are under repair.
After that we walked across the river to explore a little of the Triana side and got a great view of the Torre de Oro.
It was so hot that kids were jumping off the bridge into the river to cool off. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at McDonald’s for a McFlurry and to soak in the cool air conditioning.