Nerja History Group trip
Two nights three days - Simply Seville there are family photos. The gardens are also lovely.
On Tuesday 23rd January, 30 of us set off by coach for the
wonderful City of Seville. We had a breakfast stop en route and
then went straight to La Casa de Los Pilatos in the Barrio Santa
Cruz. This privately-owned Palace, has a very interesting
history and all the walls on the ground floor are covered in tiles
made in Triana, then upstairs are some beautiful frescoes and
furnishings. We boarded the bus again for a short journey
across the River Guadalquivir to Triana to the ceramics
museum. Apart from learning about the process of making tiles
and ceramics, there are some fine examples to be seen. We
then had free time for a
tapas lunch, boarded the bus
once more for the drive to
our centrally located hotel
Hotel Inglaterra for our two
nights B&B. Having checked
in, we took some time for a
bit of R&R before meeting
again early evening, for a
cocktail on the roof terrace. We then went to a convent where the nuns sell marmalades
and jams and where there is a small museum and highly
painted church. One of the nuns made herself available to
answer any questions - it seems the they retire at 9pm and rise
at 6am. She seemed very happy and content with a serenity in
her demeanour. After making some purchases, we walked with
Marta back to the area near Las Setas once again, where we
separated and had a tapas lunch independently. We met up in
the evening, for a short walk to another restaurant for dinner.
This restaurant is in another former private palace, with
original tiles and proved to
be another gastronomic
delight.
Some of us then went to a
Flamenco Show in part of
yet another private palace.
This show was wonderful -
raw and authentic, quite spell
binding. We then had a walk
back to our hotel for a good
night’s sleep.
The views are wonderful -
the Cathedral all lit up, other
spires and buildings clearly
defined. We then walked to a
nearby restaurant ‘La Isla’ for
a wonderful meal with fine
wines and returned to the
hotel for a good night’s sleep.
On the third morning, after
breakfast, some of us went to
the Museum of Bellas Artes
to the Murillo Exibition. The
building itself is lovely, a
former Monastery - one of
the Galleries is in the former
church, which has a highly painted ceiling and dome. There
are some short videos to watch and also the sketches which he
would later use for his paintings. Some of the group, took
themselves off to see other monuments, some a horse and
carriage ride then, after lunch, we all met up to board our
coach for the journey home. We had been blessed with
sunshine during the trip and, when we boarded the coach, it
started to rain! We all had a wonderful time.
After a buffet breakfast, our Guide Marta collected us at the
hotel, first of all, giving us a potted history of Seville. We then
had an excellent walking tour with commentary by Marta, she
has a degree in history and is passionate about her city. We
walked towards the Cathedral, with Marta giving information
about the buildings which we passed. We walked under the
amazing structure, the Metropole Parasol, known as Las Setas
and then ascended by lift to walk along the structure itself.
Once again, amazing views all over the city in different
directions. We then had a coffee break and continued to the
Casa de Las Duenas, the private palace home of the late
Duchess of Alba. It is such a stark contrast to the Casa de Los
Pilatos the previous day, which is empty of furniture on the
ground floor. This home is packed, each room giving an idea
of the Duchess’s interests and tastes - she loved flamenco and
The Nerja History Group is for anyone interested in Spanish
History and meets each month between October - April for
Presentation Talks on Spanish history and Trips. Please see
www.nerjahistorygroup.es
Hotel Inglaterra, Plaza Nueva, Seville tel +34 954 22 49 70
Guide Marta Casals Tour Sevilla : tel +34 606 757 422
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