The old streets and buildings are so fascinating, we had to take another day to just meander. We picked the narrowest and windiest ones to follow to see what we would find.
Some of these ornate doors hide amazing courtyards! Many garage doors open to a driveway leading to underground parking. The driveways are incredibly narrow – not enough room for a person to walk beside the car. We even saw one garage door open to a car lift, with a queue of cars as it took a while to park one car at a time.Flamenco Centre.Aha! This is how they set up those canvas awnings for shade – they are very effective. 44°C feels 15° cooler with the shade the awnings create.3-D tilework.Felix was very intrigued when we walked by a store that had segways and begged to go check them out. I waited outside (checking google maps to determine roughly where we were). He came running saying the man in the store said he could try one and asking if he could, “Please please Mommy! We don’t have to pay, I can just try!!”. I was pretty sceptical, and went to check things out. Once I confirmed we wouldn’t be charged for the trial (of course, the hope was we’d go for the full tour), I told Felix he could go ahead. He was ecstatic!The guide was from Sierra Leone and spoke good English. Felix, Lara, and I had a quick training session and then we rode the segway up and down the street. Unfortunately, when we tried to contact him a few days later to do the tour, things didn’t work out and we went with another company.Quick pass by the Cathedral and Giralda.Christopher Columbus Monument in Jardines de Murillo. In the middle is the caravel (small Portuguese sailing ship) Santa Maria with the names of the Catholic Monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand on either side of the ship. They are known for: completing the Reconquista (wars between Christians and Muslims to control the Iberian Peninsula – it took 774 years!), their pursuit of religious unification through militant Catholicism against the Muslim and Jewish peoples, and financing Christopher Columbus.Walls of the Alcazar gardens in Jardines de Murillo.Tram that only covers 1.4km for €1.20 per person. It runs on both 750V overhead power and its own batteries. There are some sections in which it has to charge. Here, the pantograph is rising to begin the charging process.Tram during charging. Locals know it’s about to depart when the pantograph starts to lower.
Total distance walked: 15.7 km without use of a map and without a destination. The kids lead and we change direction if someone sees something they want to investigate further.
9.4 km2.1 km4.3 km
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1 comments on “Side streets, segway trials, and alleys”
Great photos of doorways, decorative tilework, and the flowers. Town was built for horse traffic, I guess.
Great photos of doorways, decorative tilework, and the flowers. Town was built for horse traffic, I guess.