crystal cruises, crystal serenity, cadiz, seville

Plaza de Espana

Instead of spending the day in Cadiz, we're headed for Seville, the 4th largest city in Spain, and about 80 miles north of Cadiz. We're hoping to catch the 8:55AM train that will arrive in Seville around 10:45AM. Leaving the ship almost immediately after we're cleared, we have about 30 minutes to locate the station and purchase our tickets. It's about a 10 minute walk around the port, again through construction, and into the train station. With about 10 minutes spare, we've purchased our return tickets at the service desk, located the departure platform, and found our seats onboard the comfortable regional train. Exactly as would be expected, the train departs the station at 8:55. By about 10:50 we're at the central station in Sevilla, Santa Justa. On the advice of the in-station tour office, we catch circular bus "C-1" for a quick and inexpensive (1.30 euro) ride into the old section of town. Note: if your train stops at San Bernardo, 1 stop before Santa Justa, this station is a bit closer to the old town. Also, a high speed rail link is currently under construction between Cadiz and Seville which should shorten the travel time to under 1 hour.

The bus drops us very near San Sebastian park. Through the park is our first stop, the Plaza de Espana (Spain Square). This huge, half-circle building was built for the Ibero-American Exposition World's Fair of 1929. The center courtyard is set apart from the park with a moat and numerous beautiful bridges. In the center is a large water fountain. Along the walls of the Plaza are tiled "Province Alcoves", each representing a different province of Spain.

Departing the Plaza we head toward old town, past the former tobacco factory (now housing the University) and into the narrow cobblestone streets. These winding, narrow streets are nearly impossible to navigate by map - but are home to outstanding sidewalk cafes, quiet plaza areas and cozy restaurants. Dominating this area is the Cathedral and its Giralda Tower. The Cathedral is the largest in Spain, and said to be third largest in the world after St Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London. Nearby are many important houses, government buildings, museums and religious monuments. You could easily spend days just within the old walled area of the city.

To the south across the massive Guadalquivir river is the newest development including the remaining parks and buildings from the Expo '92, commemorating the fifth century of the Discovery of America. On the northern bank of the river is the Plaza de Toros, the Bullring and Museum.

After enjoying a wonderful paella lunch and relaxing at a few street cafés we're headed back to Santa Justa for our 5pm train to Cadiz. By the time we arrive back to Cadiz, it's dark and a bit quieter in the otherwise noisy port area. We're back onboard for a 9pm departure to Casablanca, Morocco.