Tales of our Travels: Day 15

We awoke to the sound of rain lashing down but we were determined to find our way to the great art museum of Seville, the Museo de Bellas Artes. Despite umbrellas and appropriate clothing, we were soaked by time we arrived only to find it closed - forgot to check hours, it's closed Mondays. We got chatting to a very nice Norwegian man outside the museum, who had also made the same mistake, and waited out the rain together with coffee and sherries at a nearby cafe. When he left, we asked for the bill and found he paid for everything!

Then on to the famous bullring, Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza. I am in no way in favour of attending bull fights. The idea of watching an animal being tortured slowly is revolting but I was interested in finding out why Spaniards find this sport so thrilling. So we signed up for a tour of the ring and a small museum within the building. Below are some pics.

The ring exterior - built in 1780.

The ring itself.

Painting of a matador.

The head of a very famous bull who eventually met his end in the ring. Note his missing ears, taken as trophies.

Here's the chapel where bullfighters pray before they enter the ring (and they need to!)

The stable where the horses of the picadores are kept.

I understand the long tradition behind bull fighting but, as our guide told us, when an ambulance must be stationed outside the ring for every event, you really need to question the sanity of it all. Bullfighting's been banned in Catalonia since 2012 so attitudes appear to be changing.

We then strolled along the river, had some lunch in a non-tourist area and took photos. This is the city of orange trees - they're everywhere. The oranges resemble large limes now but by January they will will be ripe for picking. Marmalade season!