Sevilla in January Day 5 Barrio Santa Cruz and Torre d'Oro

Andrea feels a little better but doesn’t want to risk going out so in the morning I go for a stroll around Barrio Santa Cruz. I realize I can still make my way around it quite well from my 2013 visit, but it’s very very quiet. I glimpse tourists having breakfast in smart hotels and it’s easy to take photos because nobody is out and about even though it has stopped raining and is a mild morning. 

I wander for a while and then go into Archivio de las Indias which is free, just a security check. There’s an exhibition of panels and documents with students doing a guided visit so I just wander the building and take a few photos. I wonder if all the identical cardboard containers contain documents or nothing but don’t have the nerve to check in case I get shouted at.

Back outside I have a look at the outside of the Cathedral and the inside of Capilla Real which is open for prayer. I continue towards the ayuntamieno, then Tetuan, then go into Capilla di san Jose, mostly because it’s signposted. Over the top splendid Baroque, but it’s small inside and I inadvertently block the way to a lady who wants to pray and wish I hadn’t gone in. I find another Mas supermercado and do some shopping and then go home to cook some pasta for a change.

Rain is forecast for late afternoon, so I go out at about 2.15, taking a meandering route to go past Palacio de los Pinales, now a hotel, which wasn’t worth the detour, then stop at Corte Ingles and Aldi, just out of curiosity. Nothing special in this walk, sometimes I get lucky when I wander and this afternoon I didn’t. As I head for Puente de Triana there are a few spots of rain. I didn’t bring my umbrella because three different websites agreed rain would start at 5pm. I regret wasting time before, and from Puente de Triana hasten along the river, through the gardens, to Torre d’Oro. There’s nobody much about. The security people are chatting and a girl inside at the shop cash desk doesn’t look up from her phone as I go up the steps. It’s good that there aren’t many people because the stairs are narrow and steep. At the top it’s blustery but I manage to take a few photos and have a look at the Naval Museum coming down. Entry to the tower is free, a 3 euro contribution is requested but not required for the Naval Museum. 

When I come out, the rain has stopped but it’s getting on for 4.15, so after sitting on the wall nearby and sending Andrea some photos I decide to take the long way home, past real  Casad Moneda back through barrio Santa Cruz, stopping at Plaza de Santa Cruz which I’d missed in the morning. I get safely back, still dry, before the rain starts.