Traveling to Seville, Alcazar Palace - Nov, 2014

Alcazar Palace

Most people from the conference went on this great evening tour of the Alcazar.  Incredible place, I can't believe that people lived (and still live) here!  Next time I visit Seville, I will be sure to tour in the daylight. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella lived here.  They had a meeting with Christopher Columbus in the throne room, which is that second picture down, with all the arches.

Bits and pieces from Wikipedia:
The Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, originally developed by Moorish Muslim kings. The palace is renowned as one of the most beautiful in Spain, being regarded as one of the most outstanding examples of Mudéjar architecture found on the Iberian Peninsula. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe, and was registered in 1987 byUNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Bits and pieces from Andalucia.com:

It's easy to be fooled into thinking this is a Moorish palace, some of the rooms and courtyards seem to come straight from the Alhambra. Most of them were actually built - by Moorish workmen it's true - for King Pedro the Cruel of Castile in the 1360's who, with his mistress Maria de Padilla, lived in and ruled from the Alcazar. Pedro embarked upon a complete rebuilding of the palace, employing workmen from Granada and utilizing fragments of earlier Moorish buildings in Seville, Cordoba and Valencia.

Pedro's work forms the nucleus of the Alcazar as it is today and, despite numerous restorations necessitated by fires and earth tremors, it offers some of the best surviving examples of Mudejar architecture.

Notice the arched doorways with the
wrought iron and glass.

The tiles are hundreds of years old and very thick.

And then the gold domed ceiling...

Yes, these walls are carved wood!

All the details and craftsmanship were amazing!

This was the center of the house and the area of living for Pedro
the Cruel and family.  These were baths and pools.

I thought is was a mirror at first.  But no, the arched doorways just go on and on.

Then there are the gardens outside.  There are various walled areas, fountains, big porches and plants and palm trees everywhere.
Remember, back hundreds of years ago, the royalty who lived here did not often leave the walls, especially the women.  So having a garden to exercise and wander in was probably crucial for one's well being and sanity.

Heading outside.  I love the tiles on the floor!

Notice the details of the tiles on the stairs.

This is an outside view of the patio that we just passed inside; the
photo on the left. What a great place to spend an afternoon!

This was the wall around the outside of the gardens near the palace.

Notice the beautiful rock patio and fireplace.
Another great place to spend an evening!

Traveling to Seville, Casa de Pilatos Courtyard Garden - Nov, 2014

The Beautiful Main Garden at Casa de Pilatos

I am glad that I explored the main parts of the palace first.  It gave me time to just hang out in the large garden courtyard and dream.  The colors are beautiful, although I am not usually one to love pastels.  But everything about this area is perfect.  There are three separate additions to the palace, all separate wings and all slightly different from the main palace.  Three added wings off a main building creates a square courtyard in the middle.  This large courtyard is filled with paths, small trees, vegetation and probably flowers during the warmer seasons.  There is also a natural spring off to the side, which I read was quite rare for an individual residence.  But I guess that this in not your ordinary residence!

I head out of the main building towards the wing on the left.
I shall call is The Pastel Wing.

I am not one to like the color yellow on the
exterior of a residence.  But this is lovely!

I SO wanted to jump up and pose as the statue
in the middle!

This is what I had just seen from inside.

I walk out to the middle fountain to take my photo of The Pastel Wing.
Then I turn around to continue...

Absolutely breathtaking!  Notice the gal up on the terrace painting, on the right.
I shall call this The Painter's Wing.

Look at the ceiling above, on each level.  The detail!

Ahhh, there is a door below, slightly ajar.

Open doors always deserve a peek.

There is a small gurgling fountain in
front of the slightly open door.

I peek inside, there is a man working on an
old wood project, perhaps a door?

Looking out across the garden from the Painter's Wing.

On the immediate right is a one story building, that I believe
used to be used as the bath house?  I shall call it the Bath House
wing, regardless.  Besides, there is a natural springs next door,
so that makes sense.  This is my favorite spot!

Walking onto the front area terrace area
of the Bath House.

The small gurgling fountain, in the middle of the terrace immediately attracts my attention.  It is small, enchanting and something that should not be too difficult to recreate elsewhere in the future.  I love this!  
My foot is shown, to show the size.

On the terrace, as I look to my left, I see an ancient marble statue and various tiles.
Look at the tiles here!  So random, yet perfectly placed!  I want to do this on a future project!
SO lovely!

Standing on the front of the Bath House terrace, I can see the
gal painting across on the left patio.

Looking out across the garden, I notice a dark red building with
a strange entryway in the front.

Once I get closer, I hear water and see a
statue inside.

This is the natural springs on this estate.
This was why this wealthy family built
here, I would imagine.  Because of the
fresh water.

Elsewhere near the garden was an area
where they stored interesting marble
items.  It was so overgrown with vines
over the top, that it looked like a room.

Another room off the garden.  I am not
sure why this is here, or what it is,
but it is pretty nonetheless.

Time to head out the door and find some tapas!