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Roland Routier
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Roland Routier

An open-ended adventure by Roland Routier Read more
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  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    More little bits

    June 18, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    The staircase is a 16thC entrance to the Upper Palace (the present Royal Chambers.) The tiles were copied from the 'Madre de Dios' convent in Madrid.
    Hanging from the coffered ceiling decorated with carved flowers is a lantern. How they lit it is a mystery since there is no visible pulley mechanism
    The plate is one of the earliest uses of copper in the firing in order to give it a lovely golden colour.
    The flower pot is to prove I was actually in the Alcazar, in case you thought I made it all up.
    A different appreciation of the plaster arches, and of the windows overlooking courtyards, (which they all do.)    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Unexpected

    June 18, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    This little face was left by the craftsman who restored the Dolls Courtyard tracery. There are several such faces and one tradition is that spotting one brigs good luck.
    The peacock was displaying for the American tourists - until the tour leader approached it. How I laughed when it turned around and had a hissy fit snapping at her.
    The map is a copy of the ones used by early navigators. South is upwards. The islands are Sardinia with Corsica below. The Spanish coast runs virtually straight into the Atlantic.
    The Indian chap got confused and, thinking he was in the mosque, knelt to pray.
    The confessional chair makes clear that anonymity and secrecy are relative concepts.
    The strange piece of furniture is some sort of musical instrument. On each side are iron hoops for fitting long poles, presumably for transport and not whilst being played.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    In the Halls of the Fountain King

    June 18, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I will spare you all the fountain courtyards.
    Instead a few halls:
    . the Maidens Courtyard with a skillfully designed Renaissance upper story (16thC) superimposed on a traditional Arab base.
    . the Dolls Courtyard
    . the Ambassadors Hall or throne room
    . the palace administrators courtyard
    - the Admirals Hall, part of the "House of Trade with the Indies". This is the very place where Amerigo Vespucci, Magellan and Elcane planned their global expeditions & Juan de la Cosa made the first world map.
    . the bedroom alcove    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Alcatraz

    June 18, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Fooled you! Its the Alcazar. Yes, again they pop up in 6 Royal cities in Spain.
    This one was started in the 8thC on top of a Roman & Visigothic settlement.
    Enter through the Lion's Gate.
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    In the - wait for it - Lion's Courtyard the remains of the old Arab defence wall.
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    The most famous part is the Mudejar Palace which was built by Pedro I of Castille in 1364 on virgin land and still used by the Royal Family when they reside in Seville.
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    Viewed from the entrance Court of the Hunt.
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    Exit through the stables
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    My favourite place is the subterranean bathing pool.

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  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Clappers

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Oh what fun it is to see the tourists who have climbed the 34 floors of the Giralda tower jump every 15 minutes when the electro-mechanically operated clappers strike.

    La Giralda was the 1198 minaret modelled on that of Koutoubia (the most important mosque in Marrakech. Until an earthquake in 1365 knocked it off, it had a copper ball ontop like a big golf tee off.
    Then the usual story of Christian adaptation.
    The name comes from the Spanish word girar (to turn) owing to the 1568 4m high weathervane created by Hernan Ruiz.
    There is a twin tower in Rabat by the same architect, Ahmed Ben Maso
    One of the few treasures kept inside are the pair of brass knockers that used to adorn the front door of the mosque. But dont ask to see La Girlda's knockers because the staff won't understand.
    Minarets have 2m wide sloping ramps to access the summit rather than stairs. This means a donkey or pony can walk up but I don't know if they did.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Invasive species

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    We all know the danger of dumping non-native house plants, (like Japanese knot weed,) or pets, (like cats,) into the landscape
    but nobody warned us about dumping IKEA lampshades. Here is a wooden one that has gone completely wild without supervision.
    Still the city has made the best of it, concealing its origin and changing its function from lampshade to sunshade and hence calling it the Metropol Parasol. And charging 3 Euros to crawl over it.
    Here is the fantastic spin the city fathers put on it:
    "Intended as a Guggenhein Bilbao-type landmark, to put Seville on the contemporary architecture map, this extraordinary, flowing structure (known locally as Las Setas, the mushrooms) consists of six huge linked parasols made of waffle-type criss-crossed wooden beams - it is said to be the world's largest timber-framed structure. Metropol Parasol's trademark amorphous shape can be seen reflected in every detail of the development, from the curvy benches to the sinuous flowerbeds. The parasols, which measure 150x70m in total, took six years to build, and cost a reported 123 million euros."
    I dont believe a word of it.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Barrio

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Some street scenes in the barrio SantaCruz
    The awning with what appears to be smoke is a common sight. I couldn't at first understand why I was feeling drops of water land on my head and thought the pigeons were overreacting. Turns out the awnings spray a mist of water to cool passers-by.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Beyond my means

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    The old tobacco factory is now the University.
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    Museum for Mudejar Art
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    Inspired by the Raj; the Archaeological Museum
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    Overtaking the Jones'
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    Not a theatre, not a bullring, just a new apartment block in sympathy with its surroundings.

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  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Landmarks

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Plaza Virgin de los Reyes: trams, traps and tourists
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    The Baroque Palacio San Telmo is the seat of the Regional Government's President so you need an appointment to get in. I didn''t.
    It was originally built as the Colegio Seminario de la Universidad de Mareantes, a home for orphaned children of sailors. Then in 1682 it was used as a marine academy, training ships' pilots, navigators and high-ranking officers of the Flota de las Indias, the Indies Fleet. It is named after San Telmo (Saint Elmo), the patron saint of navigators.
    From 1847 it was the headquarters of the Railway Society, and the site of the Literary University, but they couldn't afford the upkeep.
    In 1849, the building was bought by Antoine d'Orleans, Duke of Montpensier, and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa Fernanda de Bourbon, daughter of King Fernando VII and sister of Queen Isabel II who converted it into royal palace.
    Maria Luisa donated to the city of Seville in 1893 a large part of the palace's extensive private grounds , which became the Parque Maria Luisa, the site of the 1929 Expo.
    The Infanta bequeathed the estate to the Archdiocese of Seville, who in 1901 turned it into a seminary and hospice for soldiers wounded in the Moroccon wars. They made many architecturally and aesthetically displeasing alterations to the fabric of the building, and abandoned it after a damaging fire, (St Elmo's?) in 1952.
    Eventually, the State took it over in1989
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    Even Haliburton and the Defence Industries could learn a thing or two from the Figueroa family about milking government contracts. They managed to spin out the manufacture and delivery of this stone "Churrigueresque" portal over 70 years and 3 generations.
    Surrounding the columns you can see female allegorical figures representing the arts and sciences. San Telmo is holding a ship and charts, flanked by the sword-bearing San Fernando (patron saint of Seville,) and San Hermenegildo (who was martyred in Seville) with a cross.
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    Cute but modern tower built for the 1929 Exhibition.
    Note the Gorilla Knitting in the windows.
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    The main body of the Torre del Oro is a duodecahedron built by Moors during the 13thC. The subtlety of so many angles to consider was beyond Pedro 1 of Castile, so he added a middle part with only 6 sides. The circular top was plopped on in 1760.
    The rumour is that its name derives from its use as a temporary vault for gold and silver from the Americas. Seville had become the favoured port of disembarkation because it was far enough upstream to deter Barbary pirates from attacking. Recently archaeologists have discovered some of the original lime and plaster on the walls, which would have given it a golden hue.
    Originally it had a twin on the opposite bank of the river, a chain linking the two to control river traffic.
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    Now it is a naval museum of all the usual stuff except for this small plaque of El Princessa Deasturias. A trireme in the Spanish navy?    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Scene / Seen / Seville

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    The Science Museum should have better security when conducting genetic experiments on butterflies.
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    Plaza de los Reyes.
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    Virgin de Summit - take your pick.
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    Random door
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    Widows weeds
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    Government building - ex convent    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Its only Rock and Roll

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    What is the wooden artifact? "Dirty Work" it was, and if you remember the albums you can guess what use was made of it.
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    The Orangery of the mosque, where the faithful carried out their absolutions before entering for the service.
    Or was that afterwards?
    Maybe it was for ablutions before.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler
    1

    The old curiosity shop

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Lots of South American gold and Mexican silver to be found here.
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    fish spine?
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    The Bishops mattress for all night vigils.

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Why the doors are locked

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

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    Las Santas Justa y Rufina appear courtesy of Francisco Goya.
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    The 16thC Monstrance presented by Juan de Arfe who was not short of a bob or two.
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    2m font for full body immersion
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    Ivory statuette
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    Mini monstrances    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Old sailor's never die -

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    - they just move to a different See

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    If you thought that the remains of Christopher Colombus were in the Dominican Republic (DR), you may well be right. In fact this great world traveller continued to traverse the globe even after his death in 1506 in Valladolid (Spain). For a seasoned sailor of his stature, this inconvenience of corporal interrment was soon overcome. He surfaced and was re-interred in the Santa Maria de Cuevas Monastery (Seville). Although a creature of habit he did not stay long and put this minor setback behind him, travelling in 1542 to the island of Hispa (DR) where he rested for a while. In 1795 the French invaded and he escaped to Cuba where his remains remained until independence. His Cuban residency was then revoked and he returned to Seville to this magnificent tomb.
    Or did he? A box of bones and an inscription were found in the DR in 1877 but the authorities forbad the exhumation for DNA testing. Inconclusive tests were run on the body in Seville so nobody knows for sure.
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    One of the Kings who first united the Middle Age states of Spain was Ferdinand III of Castile, (then Leon and then Galicia.) For services rendered he was elevated to sainthood. Was St Fernando really so effete as his statue suggests?
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    Maintenance of the cathedral continues thanks to the income from tourists (9 Euros each) of which the clergy only keep 33% for themselves and their charities.
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    The first oval ceiling created for a chapter house
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    Lorenzo Mercadante de Bretana built this alabaster sepulcher between 1453 and 1458 for Cardenal Don Juan de Cervantes.
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    There are 11,960 precious stones in the crown of the 22 carat gold Virgen de los Reyes.
    Lots of polishing needed here.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Leaving the horse outside

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I enter through the only one of the 8 entrances (thanks Mastercard) open to me and am confronted by 80 chapels inside. In the old days that would have entailed 8 or 9 rolls of film to record: I pledge not to do so. The longest nave in Spain, a country famous for its naves, spreads out over 8816 sq m and rises a lofty 42m.
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    Before the 2nd Vatican Council which changed many rituals, the Office of Darkness was held during the 3 days before Easter. The large candelabra was a fixture.
    The 14 candles, representing the 11 Apostles, (excluding the naughty Judas Iscariot,) and the 3 Marys, were extinguished one by one after each Psalm was said during Matins and Lauds.
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    An altar viewed through the legs of Chris Colombus' pallbearers.
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    15thC lectern in the choir
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    18thC organ by Duque Cornejo
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  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Bishop's seat

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Fortunately an act of god in 1356 cleared the site of the mosque with an earthquake leaving room for a new christian cathedral to be built in 1410.
    Unfortunately, another act of god caused the pillars of the church to collaps 5 years later, so the foundations of the one that exists today were laid in 1410.
    In 1565 the perimeter of the grounds was surrounded by chains supported on small pillars. This was to prevent the merchants from entering the building on horseback during inclement weather.
    It also demarcated the boundary between civil and secular authority. Jump the chain and your safe. The idea of a church offering sanctuary, like privacy in the confessional, has of course dissipated.
    The idea was to build a church "so beautiful and so great that those who see it will think we were mad." So they did: and so they were.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    What it looks like

    June 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    From high up it becomes obvious why the temperature is 44 degrees C today. The city is flat, in the middle of a plain which the Guadal_quivir saunters through.
    The "Young American Doing Europe" season has begun, filling the streets with throngs in thongs mixed in with a few Marines looking for the Guadal_canal.
    I found a free parking spot about 1500m from the centre which was great but warm as the temperature dropped only to about 23 degrees at night. The young lady having a siesta does so with good reason: by about 15:00 it gets too hot to really do anything, but after about 6 the temperature starts dropping steadily and by 9 it is quite comfortable.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    A Revolutionary, with his Arms

    June 16, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    "Roland! At last you have arrived. Welcome, welcome to my city"
    "Well Soi me old mate, its a real pleasure to see you again. But since your all togged up, shouldn't I be calling you 'Generale'?"
    "Por favor, formality is not needed between us: just call me Bolly as all the cognoscenti do."
    And they rode of together into the sunset to view the city.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler
    11

    Visited Seville

    June 16, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Famous for its rocket and its cathedral.
    The Cathedral is big and solid with thick, sturdy pillars. Crocodiles like it.
    The lady on top points the direction according to which way the wind blows. She is a good Catholic.
    People put funny things on their houses. I don't know what they are.
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    The official name for the lady, a 1568 bronze statue by Bartolome Morel was "Victrix Fideri Colossum". Don Quixote with his reputation for courting called her the "Giganta de Seville" and wondered at his lack of success with the fair sex. Now it is known as "la Giralda" or even "Giraldillo".
    This is a copy made by Jose Antonio Marquez to serve during restoration of the original.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Cool cloister

    June 15, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    In the middle of the day I found sanctuary in the cool cloister of the Monasterio de Santo Domingo, now vacant.
    Yet another cloister photo is included because I liked the peacefulness of the scene. Also there are a couple of excellent illustrations of architectural conflict.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    If you've seen one ... ...

    June 15, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    No town worthy of the appellation "de la Frontera" would advertise itself to the world without its own Alcazar Mezquita Arabe.
    Since they are all similar, I did not more than peak inside.
    Under its walls, an unnamed man is fighting an enemy in one direction, whilst what can only be an early form of arrow machine gun is aiming in the opposite one. In this heat, fleche wounds are deadly.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    How the toffs live

    June 15, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    An example of the restraint in houses can be seen in these aristocratic houses, Palacio Domecq and Casa Perez Luna.
    The Palacio Virrey Laserna allowed me to visit a few rooms for 12 Euros and a state tax sunsidy. The first Count, (El General D. Jose de Laserna y Martinez de Hinojosa, Ier Conde de los Andes,) made his money in South America and returned after a series of battles without Spanish reinforcements had depleted his military capability to the point were Simon Bolivar could front up and take over. The family still live in the house he returned to. It reminded me of the Consulate in Tangier or of Southdown house more than of a palace.
    No photos allowed, alas, though there are probably some online. I took a couple in the garden to show the tiles, made in Spain but inspired by the Americas. Most are original, but the younger son of the present Count, who escorted me around, assured me they were still available today in case of breakage. Now there is after sales care.    Read more

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