Real Alcazar Gardens

Hello again, hope your week is going well so far.

In my last post I mentioned the hugely impressive gardens of the Real Alcazar - what a treat they were, I really wish that I could share the scent of the myrtle and the orange trees along with these photos - it was intoxicating.

Palm and orange trees against the blue sky of Al Andalus...

Sweeping vistas...

The building on the left is a wedding pavilion, built by the King for his bride...

It was a very warm day, 21 degrees Celsius, so a shady part of the garden was a very welcome place for a little sit down and a rest...

These beautiful fellows are really quite tame...

Some amazing flowers and plants...

Running water everywhere, the engineering of supplying water to the population of a large city was something the Moorish designers put in place a thousand years ago, amazing...

Truly an amazing place to visit, absolutely magical - probably the best gardens I have ever visited (and that is saying something as I have been blessed to visit some very special gardens).

Hopefully back soon with our visit to the Catedral and our climb of the Giralda Tower!

Helenxx

Real Alcazar - the inside story

Hola!  I am back again with some more photos of Seville, this time our visit to the Real Alcazar (Royal Palace).

This imposing chap greets you at the gate...

The outside of the building looks rather formidable...

But inside, the beauty and refinement is amazing...

This dome is made of thousands of pieces of glass...

Breathtaking...

The inner court reminded me so much of the Alhambra in Granada...

There was also a slightly newer part, with a definite Renaissance feel...

But, for me, the real beauty is in the Moorish design of Al Andalus...this is the underground pool where the inhabitants of the palace would cool off during the summer heat (which can reach 45 degrees Celsius in the summertime)...

The patterns decorating the palace were simply stunning, oh if only I had quilting skills to replicate some of these patterns...

I fell in love with this place, but the inside of the palace is only half of what awaits the visitor - back soon with photos of the amazing (and huge!!) gardens.

Helenxx