Walking Tours

Last night we had our first walking tour in my Antonio Machado class. It's not such a great time because our class meets Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 to 9:30, so it's dark out by the time we leave. We walked up Calle Sierpes, which now is a major shopping area in Sevilla, but it is surrounded by streets named for friends of Antonio Machado. We made our way through Plaza de Encarnacion, up to Calle Duenas, where El Palacio de Duenas is located. This is one of the many homes of La Duquesa de Alba, and the place she got married (my senora tells me it was her 3rd marriage and she is in her 80's) in October of 2011. The building is also part of the inspiration for Machado's poem "Retrato" which evokes a very strong sense of place in its imagery of (roughly translated) "a patio in Sevilla in a orchard of lemon trees". As my professor tells us, patios are a very important part of Andalucian culture. It's a space that most buildings here have, usually decorated in ceramic tiles and in the center of the building. He instructed us to return during the day and promises that it's worth it to see the Palacio. Then he treated us to tinto de verano (red wine with fanta in it, a very popular drink here) and told us to be responsible tonight!