Our little group has now combined in Seville, the starting point for our adventure.
Having already been to a flamenco night in Granada, and being quite underwhelmed by it all, I sent the others off last night to enjoy their own experience here in Seville. I stayed in the apartment and did some planning for the next few days. Our apartment by the way is superb, enormous and right beside the cathedral. Trams run up and down the street which is buzzing and busy with all the restaurants and bars around. Last night, Helen and I tried to find a tapas bar recommended by our landlady, and after wandering g the streets and battling with non existent GPS, we gave up and settled for a bar near our apartment which was actually fantastic. We talked for hours, catching up on things as we hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years! The others did their own thing. Belinda went to bed early and the others went out for dinner somewhere else.
Today was an early start and after a quick breakfast across the road at the only bar that opens earlier than 9.00, we were met by our guide for the morning and taken out to Santiponce and Itálica.
I have been there before but I’m here to tell you that having a guide made a huge difference, and we learned so much! Santiponce is on the outskirts of Italica, once the capital city of the area and dates back to 2,000 BC. The Roman ruins around town are still being excavated and the houses all have Roman things inside them. This is an entrance to a house that shows a typical monument above the gate for instance.
We then moved on to Italica and walked around the amphitheatre and remaining Roman ruins. Our guide was absolutely fantastic, so knowledgeable and passionate. We spent about 2 hours there, learning all about the Roman daily life and how they lived. Truly fascinating and educational! For instance, I didn’t know that they had all sorts of animals to fight, like elephants, as well as the lions. (All brought over from Africa). Slaves would have had such a shitty life building all of this . We saw where their houses were, all the beautiful mosaic floors still in tact, and even where their baths and bedrooms were. A bread oven (just like a pizza oven) was still in place where there would have been a shop. I could just imagine what it was like for these rich Romans living up on the hill with slaves to pamper them, feeding them peeled grapes and fanning them with palm fronds. I think I would have enjoyed such a life🤣
After an exhausting few hours exploring Italica, we were driven Down to the Plaza de España . This was beautiful but our feet were aching so we called it a day with our guide and went back to the apartment.
You would think this is enough for one day , but no. After a brief stop for lunch back at the apartment, we wandered down to the alcazar palace. It was in the heat of the day and finding shade was mandatory but we really enjoyed our visit there
My trotters were aching by late afternoon and I needed a toes-up, but where was my slave to peel my grapes and fan me with a palm frond?
Margaret Caffyn 