The one historical fact I learned in Seville

Looking back at the past couple of posts, it would be easy to conclude that I’ve adapted completely to solo travel, and so I want to take a moment to confess otherwise. This is hard. The contrast is more pronounced now because I’m done with one tour and waiting for another – tour mates really do provide fabulous companionship.

Am I homesick – 16 days in? Not exactly. It’s harder than that – because I’m certainly homesick – but for something that no longer exists. So maybe I’m really just heartsick – and it feels terrible at times – each university sweatshirt for sale, each donut, someone in zip-off REI pants, the rum raisin gelato – Ron is everywhere and nowhere and it is truly distressing. I know – there’s no path through but forward. Today is week 11 without Ron and it is easier than week one.

Seville is a great city for solo travel. It’s walkable and charming, with lots of shady squares. The architecture is varied in a way that reminds me of Barcelona. Seville has a gorgeous cathedral – current shape built in 15th century:

And then Seville also has Las Setas – an outdoor market and public space from 2011 – which I just loved:

Las Setas (the mushrooms) are constructed from laminated Finnish pine. Construction started on this 50 million Euro project in 2005 and, by the estimated completion date in 2007, it was discovered that the building was technically infeasible – that certain structural assumptions had not been tested. Two years later – in 2009 – someone came up with a glued reinforcement solution and so for a SECOND 50 million Euros, the structure was finished.

Las Setas consists of 3500 pieces of wood and 16 million screws. There is ongoing debate about the long-term feasibility of a structure made of 3500 pieces of wood when Seville has enormous temperature variation and regularly has hot days of over 100 degrees. The wood was micro-laminated – which makes it waterproof and capable of expanding and contracting on high heat days…long-term viability TBD.

Below is Plaza de Espana – built for the Ibero-American World Fair exhibition of 1929:

My specific goal there was the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs in a 1914 Mudejar-style building:

Before we see highlights from the Popular Arts museum, I want to remind you that my Rick Steves’ Andalusia tour had already covered important/ordinary Seville sites like the cathedral (above) and the Alcazar:

In showing us buildings like these, I think we were supposed to be learning the whole of Spanish/World history, starting with Muslim dominance here from 900-ish AD to EXACTLY 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, which everybody my age learned in school.

By hanging my historical hat on a catchy Schoolhouse Rock-type jingle, though, it seems like I misunderstood a fair amount of what really happened. Columbus came back and forth a few times – needed more silver and probably some wine.

More importantly, in 1492 – and there is no catchy jingle for this – Muslim Spain was finally conquered by Christian forces. All the Moorish architecture shifts here – mosques transformed to cathedrals or destroyed – and I think I came away from the tour with a tiny and new understanding of the impact territorial fighting can have on existing architecture.

Here’s one example – part of Seville’s cathedral, where you can see the Muslim architecture and the re-design in the inset picture:

At any rate, once my Rick Steves tour was over, I was done with history – and the Popular Arts museum featured more low-key sociological items, like this bra from 1950s Seville:

This amazing entry into an sub-Saharan musical instrument exhibit:

Then, tired of museums altogether, I took these photos to share with you: this lunch I had from a vending machine:

Seville’s efforts to save this tree – metal beams built right into the street to prop it up:

This pair of bullfighting shoes – these are the actual shoes that bullfighters here in Spain choose – always paired with these pink socks so the spectators way back in the stands can see the matador’s feet moving:

And then – finally – this artistic creation – to help me shift gears from historical ignorance to art ignorance:

I’ll be back in a few days. I’m going to head up to Madrid and get settled with my next group – Spanish Art: From the Golden Age to Gaudi and Beyond.

14 thoughts on “The one historical fact I learned in Seville”

  1. Thanks for your post. Seville looks like another beautiful city, and I love all of your quirky museum finds. I hope you are giving yourself plenty of grace. Of course what you are doing is hard! For most people it would be impossible. To be out traveling solo in another country at week 11 shows your remarkable resilience. Take care of yourself. I am looking forward to hearing about your Road Scholar tour. I have looked at their tours, but we have never taken one.

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    1. Thank you:) I do allow myself to slow down on a trip this long – why just yesterday, done enough with site-seeing for the day, I came back to the room to watch the most recent episode of Shrinking!!

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  2. “Ron is everywhere and nowhere and it is truly distressing.” Oof. Of course this is hard. When it’s bitter, let it be bitter; when it’s sweet, let it be sweet. Future you is proud of you.

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    1. Thank you – the most continual thing I notice is that I am happy to be away from our house for an extended period of time – because the fresh memories there are ones I want some distance from.

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  3. I admire you in so many ways. It is good to to miss Ron yet know him so well and enjoy the good travel memories you made together. You have strength and sorrow and so many wonderful memories.

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  4. I question the feasibility of waffle cones in such a hot country–perhaps they figured that since they’d never be able to make enough ice cream to fill them they wouldn’t have the dripping and spoiling issue to deal with, so OK, I guess.

    I walked from point to point in Seattle yesterday and, even with sitting in between times, I hurt–deteriorating back. It makes the prospect of walking around museum doubtful–this is one of the things I think of when I see you taking in foreign sites/sights.

    Coming home now, or is there another leg? [That opening shot is a good one of you. I’m glad you’re able to make that face–that’s not nothing.]

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    1. Thank you! I hear you about Seattle walking. Touring is really hard work – I’m terrible at standing and listening. I can’t help myself, immediately looking around for a chair and then, once seated, losing the thread of the conversation. I feel like I take in about 2% of what is said to me and I’m always in awe of the people that actually process info…Ron could usually take in a fair amount of fact.

      I have bravely/foolishly/ignorantly planned my longest trip ever for this maiden solo itinerary. 47 days. So now, 17 days in, I’m up in Madrid for the start of some northern Spain until May 1 – and then up to France…and then finally to the Paris airport, where I get to come home:)

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  5. I appreciate you sharing your honest feelings and experiences, Valerie. I’m sure it’s helpful to others who are experiencing grief right now. For those of us who are not going through this now, it will help us get through it when it happens to us.

    As always, I also appreciate your wonderful sense of humor. I look forward to reading about you walking by great works of art on your way to finding a snack. Good luck with that!

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  6. I appreciate you sharing your honest feelings and experiences, Valerie. I’m sure it’s helpful to others who are experiencing grief right now. For those of us who are not going through this now, it will help us get through it when it happens to us.

    As always, I also appreciate your wonderful sense of humor. I look forward to reading about you walking by great works of art on your way to finding a snack. Good luck with that!

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  7. I appreciate you sharing your honest feelings and experiences, Valerie. I’m sure it’s helpful to others who are experiencing grief right now. For those of us who are not going through this now, it will help us get through it when it happens to us.

    As always, I also appreciate your wonderful sense of humor. I look forward to reading about you walking by great works of art on your way to finding a snack. Good luck with that!

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  8. You are not traveling alone, as long as you blog, we are with you and I believe Ron is with you too.

    I always think of this saying in times of sadness; Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

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