Episodes
Wednesday Oct 16, 2019
Seville Episode 07 Triana
Wednesday Oct 16, 2019
Wednesday Oct 16, 2019
We cross the river Guadalquivir to the ‘other’ side, the former working class district of Triana, which has always been a little set apart from the rest of the the city. It wasn’t until the mid nineteenth century that a stable bridge was built to link Triana and Seville! Hear about its Moorish and gypsy roots, its links to Christopher Columbus and its critical role in Seville’s world-famous ceramics industry. Find out about its ‘endearingly scruffy’ atmosphere and how it is the place where two of Andalucia’s most important cultural traditions are thought to have begun: flamenco and bull-fighting.
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Seville Episode 06 The park and the palaces
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
An episode about just wandering round Seville for the pleasure of it! Hear about the art-deco charm of the Maria Luisa Park, with its delightful tree-lined avenues, fountains and statues and the splendid Plaza de Espana, built to showcase Spanish culture in 1929 and today a place to enjoy ice creams and boating. Then discover three of Seville’s palaces, the Casa de Pilates, the Palacio de las Duenas and the Palacio de Lebrija, where shady courtyards, exquisite archways and a feast of other treasures await. This episode offers a little history, a spot of travel-writing and a lot of relaxation.
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Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
Seville Episode 05 Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril
Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
For two weeks every spring, it seems as if the world has come to Seville and this episode explains why. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, sees sombre processions by 50 different 'brotherhoods' to re-enact the events from the last week of Christ's life, the culmination of months of preparation and weeks of rehearsals. In late April, it’s party-time at Seville's six-day long 'Feria de Abril', thought to be the liveliest in Spain. After afternoons of carriage-riding or perhaps a paseo on horseback, the long nights are for revelling Seville style which means flamenco, tapas, funfair rides and dancing till dawn.
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
Seville Episode 04 The Golden Age
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
1492, the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue, marked the beginning of the golden age for Seville, which had the monopoly on trade between Spain and the New World and became Europe's 16th century boomtown. The episode re-tells the story, then highlights 3 places to visit in today's Seville which have much to tell you about the city's role in the discovery of new lands and about the sailors who first sailed right around the globe: the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower), Admiral's Quarters and the Archivo de Indias, former trade centre and now a museum and archive centre.
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Seville Episode 03 The cathedral, the Giralda and Santa Cruz
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Seville's cathedral was built on the site of the mosque when the Christians re-conquered the city, so parts of it – the Giralda, the Patio de los Naranjos and the arched gateway - date from the Islamic era. After choosing just a tiny proportion of the cathedral's treasures to highlight, we head off to the nearby area of Santa Cruz, home to Seville's Jewish community before they fled Spain during the Inquisition. Today it's a charming labyrinth of tiny cobbled streets and flower-filled patios, enticingly viewed through wrought iron gates.
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
Seville Episode 02 The Alcazar
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
The Alcazar is the heart of moorish Seville, perhaps the most beautiful building in the city, although there's strong competition. It captivated later Christian kings like Ferdinand of Castille who moved in and determined to 'die under its roof'. Meet other inhabitants like Pedro the Cruel, who so admired Islamic designs that he borrowed builders from his friend the Emir of Granada and Ferdinand and Isabella who set up their 'Casa de la Contratacion' in the Alcazar and ran their New World Empire from there. Find out what to see and what travel-writers from past ages had to say about this lovely building and its beautiful gardens.
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
Seville Episode 01 Introduction
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
Bienvenidos! Welcome to Episode 01 of City Breaks Seville, which will give you an overview of the city, historically, geographically and culturally and an idea of the material to be covered in the remaining 12 episodes. We hope you will enjoy this series, and maybe feel inspired to plan a visit to lovely Seville. Or perhaps you have already been and will enjoy reminiscing. Either way, we hope you will love our 'virtual visit'!
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Toulouse Episode 09 Gastronomy
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Gastronomy is a definite highlight of a visit to Toulouse and not just because it's the home of cassoulet. Of course we'll look at the legends behind that warming dish and get as far as we can on what might be in the highly secret recipe, but we mustn't neglect Toulouse sausages, the great duck versus goose debate, the many uses of violet as a flavouring or such sweet treats as the apricot-and-almond delight which is fénétra. And then there's the wine. Obviously. We’ll hear too from writers who lingered in the Languedoc and wrote enticingly about the delicious morsels and gargantuan feasts they savoured.
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
Toulouse Episode 08 Carcassonne and Toulouse Lautrec
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
Two ideas for easy excursions from Toulouse. First, the medieval citadel of Carcassonne, silhouetted against the skyline on a million postcards, whose romantic exterior belies an often gruesome history. And secondly, the equally beautiful city of Albi which boasts not just a unique medieval heritage, and a gorgeous gothic cathedral, but also the Musée Toulouse Lautrec. Here you can learn about the life of the artist who grew up in Albi before he set off to Paris to paint some of that city's most iconic artworks. The museum here has over 200 of his paintings and posters, plus a large collection of his drawings.
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Toulouse Episode 07 The Canal du Midi
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
What more idyllic escape from city-centre Toulouse than to potter up the Canal du Midi on foot, by bike or – best of all – in a boat? Hear how ‘Europe’s biggest public works project since the fall of the Roman Empire’ came to be opened in 1681, and find out what there is to see along its banks, just day-out distance from Toulouse. Enjoy the reminiscences of writers who describe sailing down it as ‘motoring though an impressionist painting’ or drifting lazily through ‘a land of sunflowers, wheat fields, vineyards, ancient cities with red-tiled rooves, crumbling ruins wrapped in mystery.’