Didn't See a Barber in Seville

 April 27, 2025
Seville, Spain

"The air soft as that of Seville in April, and so fragrant that it was delicious to breathe it."
Christopher Columbus 

Columbus has fallen out of favor in the US it seems. In fact, none of our onboard lecturers can say anything good about him other than that he was a fairly decent navigator, despite never knowing where the heck he actually was. But in Seville, he's still counted a hero who helped put the kingdom of Spain on top during the age of European exploration and expansion in the 15th century. 

The Viking Sky actually made port in Cadiz, a fascinating city originally built by the Phoenicians and later occupied by the Romans. We've been here twice--sounds terribly spoiled of us, doesn't it?--so we decided to branch out into the countryside to visit Seville this time. We joined the "Seville on Your Own" tour which meant Viking would bus us to the city, let us roam free and then pick us up at a designated place and time for our return trip.

The road to Seville runs through about 115 km of relatively flat land with hazy distant mountains to the east. It's been so long since we've seen arable land, our Iowa-upbringing made us heartily approve the agriculture activity we drove past. There were fields of wheat, cotton, olive groves and vineyards.     

Seville itself is a charming collection of ornate buildings, home to a Great Cathedral and Alcazar, once a Moorish fortress and now the king's palace. Those were the two sites we most wanted to visit, but they were closed because the king was "doing something" in both venues today. 

Royalty can be so inconsiderate sometimes, can't they? 

Anyway, we went with Plan B, which turned out to be lovely. We took a taxi to the Museo de Bellas Artes and spent our afternoon enjoying El Greco, Murillo, Velasquez and Zurbaran. I'm not as familiar with the work of these Renaissance artists as I am with those from Northern Europe, so it was a delight to discover them in person. It's one thing to study a painting online, another to stand before a wall- sized triptych. 

It was a wonderful experience and we felt very comfortable wandering the city. There are myriad squares where street artists prop up their easels and I didn't see a single homeless person or anyone begging. 

Another nice change. 

I used to be confident to wander when we travel. Constantly remaining in the "ship's bubble" of pre-planned excursions has dulled that confidence somewhat. Today was the best of both worlds. We could do what we wanted in Seville and linger as long as we desired instead of being hurried along trying to keep up with the group. But at the same time, we were returning to a Viking bus that was guaranteed to wait for us to come back to Cadiz. 

It was a day of many delights!