Day Trip to Carmona

I went to this beautiful medieval city in February so thought would take S and show him how interesting a place it was to visit. And one of the oldest cities in Spain.

We were up early and ready and out the door walking the 15 mins to the bus station by 9 o’clock for the coach to Cordoba, leaving at 9:30.  It was another sunny day, colder in the mornings.  The sun rises at 8:30 here and sets around 6 ish.

We arrived in Carmona around 10:15 and made our way to the huge Seville Gate at the entrance to the old town, stopping in a little cafe first for coffee and toast and jam.  

The tourist office is also at the entrance so we popped in there for the map.  The town sits up high so was a strategic spot to build the gate and the castle.

First of all we walked through the small winding streets to the Town Hall to view a large mosaic called the Mosaic of the Medusa which was part of the 2nd century AD Roman baths!  The building used to house the Jesuits.  It was unearthed in 1942 and is in full view in the central courtyard of the building.  

We wandered up to Plaza San Fernando which is nearby to the market square.  Daily life was being played out with most of the seats round the plaza  filled with old guys chatting and laughing.  Lots of coffee being drunk.  

Next was the Church of Santa Maria which sits on the site of the original mosque, the only part remaining is the beautiful arched courtyard/patio.

The old town was very quiet, not many tourists around at all.  We walked to the other end of the city where the magnificent Cordoba gate stood.  Looking over the flatlands towards Cordoba.  There was a school nearby and could hear the children outside singing Christmas songs.  

Was needing the loo so headed towards the Alcazar which is now a hotel.  I had been there last February so knew where to go for the loo.  We had a walk round it as it had lots of interesting area including a huge pool!

Getting hungry now so went back to the main area and found a restaurant open on the Fernando square serving a Menu de dia for 13€ for 3 courses.  It was delicious.

Sat there a while in the sunshine and then back down to the Seville Gate and the castle which gave us a great view over the rooftops of Carmona.  The bus back to Seville was at 3 so walked the short journey to the bus stop in the newer part of the city.

The bus dropped us off at an area of Seville quite a bit from Triana so before heading back there we had a cuppa and cake to keep us going!
A walk to our bus stop for the C3 circular bus that has a stop right outside our hotel.  We would have walked but had planned on going out wandering in the evening to see all the Christmas lights from Triana and the bridge over to the old town area of Seville.  

My favs were the HUGE three wise men following a star.  There was also craft stalls nearby and would have liked to buy something but only a rucksack not much room for anything major.

Got back to hotel and pretty dam tired again after our busy day