On the Road Again: Carmona

I thought I posted this on Wed. but I didn't. It's Thursday now; we're in Madrid

We didn't want to take another long drive today so we went to Carmona, which is about 20 miles outside Seville. People like Rick Steves say you should go to Carmona and Cordoba on the same day but that's a lot of driving and walking up hills. Also, it's blazing hot here again so walking outside of any kind is a problem.

Carmona is one of the white towns. The highlight of this town is the Alcazar or Fortress, dating back centuries. There are remains dating from the 14th to 12th centuries BC. The first structures were built by the Carthaginians and remains of some of the original walls are visible.  Around the 3rd century BC,  the Romans reinforced the fortress and gave it the  basic shape that remains today.

View of Carmona from the Fortress

 The Tourist information center is also the way into the structure under the arch. It's a clever way to ensure all visitors go to the center, get a map, and tour some of the town. You pay the 2 euros (1 for retired people), walk up some steps and go into the first roof level. Then, you keep walking up to tour the various sections.

The Gate of Seville (Carmona is in the province of Seville)

After touring the fortress, we walked up more of the town and saw only the outside of some churches and convents because visitors' hours are very limited. We lunched at the town square which is round which we have noticed is true of most of the town squares.  This one, however, had a roundabout around it and we were  sitting for lunch at a table that was actually in the roundabout.

Ancient Ruins

View of Church Spire from Fortress

Once again, in our walk up the hill of this town, we were forced to slam ourselves against the walls of buildings in order not to be hit by cars or motorcycles.  Maybe because it was so hot today, but walking in the narrow streets/sidewalks has lost its charm.  The drivers are extremely nice about stopping for pedestrians both in crosswalks and if you're walking right in front of them in a narrow street. But eventually, the pedestrians have to get onto a narrow strip of "sidewalk" or in a doorway. Residents seem to take it in stride but it is getting tiresome.

After this short adventure, we returned the rental car and came back to the apartment to get ready to take the train to Madrid tomorrow. We are hoping there are sidewalks there.