March 16 + 17 – Seville

March 16, 2019 – Seville, Spain
Seville is not on the coast. It is 50+ miles up a river from the Costa del Sol. The ship had to do a 180° turn a few miles before docking to make it easier when we leave. We will stay overnight in Seville.
We did the usual panoramic drive to start the day. The city has had multiple expositions and many of the buildings from the 1929 exposition are being used as consulates or offices. We stopped to walk across a bridge to the Triana district where we visited a food market and had samples of Manchego cheese. Back on the bus we traveled to the city center. We walked past the cathedral and got on line for the Alcazar. The Alcazar is now a UNESCO site but the royal family is allowed to stay when they are in Seville. The buildings are a combination of Moorish and Renaissance styles of design. On the walls the murals and designs include symbols from all the religions of the area – Catholic crosses, Jewish stars, and Muslim stars and quotes from the Quran.
Some of our group stayed in town while most of us returned to the ship for the lunch. After lunch I joined a group walk through the large park behind the cruise dock. We ended up at the Plaza de Espana. The building there was built for the Exposition of 1929. It is an impressive sight and worth going to if you visit Seville.
After dinner they had a Flamenco Show for us. The group belong to the best known Flamenco association in Seville. They consisted of a guitarist, a singer, 2 female dancers, and a male dancer.
March 17, 2019 – Basilippo Olive Farm and Seville
Today is our last day on the ship. We will disembark tomorrow morning.
We went a half hour from Seville to the Basilippo Olive Farm. They have 6,000 olive trees and produce extra virgin olive oil. We learned about the different types of olive oil and how to read the label to get a good bottle. We were told about the picking process and the pressing process. We got to do olive oil tasting the official way. It was very close to the way to taste wine. We were served chocolate cream with olive oil poured over it. Sounds strange but it was delicious. After time to shop at their store, we were served an incredible lunch. One of the most unusual things in the store were jars of stuffed olives. They had strawberry stuffed olives, fig stuffed olives, and gherkin stuffed olives. I’ve included a picture of a gherkin stuffed olive just because it looks so funny.
We got back to our ship at 2pm. Sailaway is at 4pm so we are all busy packing. We will have a farewell dinner tonight.