Seville

The Catholics sure now how to do churches and Spain is very Catholic, even to this day. Going back to the Catholic monarchs Isabella I and Ferdinand II who united the regions of Castile and Aragon, Spain has a great and long lasting Catholic heritage. Here are some pictures of the city :) (I've been informed by a couple people that less is more so I will severely cut down on the pictures I post. I took almost 300 in Seville and about 50 in the cathedral itself and will only post a few).

My first stop in Seville was the Cathedral. The Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and one of the largest church buildings as well. It is an imposing and impressive sight. It also contains a number of different Treasury pieces. I went up to the bell tower in this Cathedral as well. Interestingly, instead of steps, we had to walk up ramps. That was a different experience.

After the Cathedral I probably should have gone to the Alcazár first thing. But instead I went to the El Salvador Church (Iglesia del Salvador). The price of admission was included in the price of the Cathedral so I went in and it was a nice church with some very pretty architecture. It was nice to see a smaller church after the large Cathedrals.

After that I decided to head on over to the Plaza de España (Plaza of Spain). I heard it was large and beautiful, but what I saw was something else entirely. The plaza (the picture at the beginning of this blog in front of it) is very large and very open. I don't think I've seen anything like it before. It has ornate bridges over water that people can rent boats on and paddle around in. Each provence in Spain is represented in the benches in the Plaza. I ended up having lunch in the park behind the Plaza in a place where tourists and locals seemed to enjoy.

After I was done with lunch I headed to the Gold Tower (Torre del Oro). I originally wasn't going to go in but then I realized that you could go to the top of the tower so I did and got some pictures from the top. This was the only stop that allowed me to see the river so I'm glad I went. My Dad would really enjoy this spot because it was also a Naval museum.

Next up was the Alcazár. The Real Alcazár is not just a palace, it is a collection of palaces from different eras in Spanish history all mashed together. I had forgotten what an important role the Moors played in Spain and seeing all the Caliphate dynasty stuff while in Spain has been one of the highlights of my trip so far. The gardens are far reaching and have influences from the different rulers who designed them.

I also visited the Barrio Santa Cruz but don't have much to say about it. It was a quaint part of town with lots of little shops. I probably would have gotten more out of it if I had gone there at the beginning of my day instead of the end but I did take a couple pictures.

My final visit was to the Basílica Macarena. La Macarena (yes, you read that right) is an important area because it houses the "The Virgen de la Esperanza Macarena" (Macarena Virgin of Hope). The floats that are used in the Holy Week (Santa Semana) parade are housed here as well. It is possible to see the Virgin without paying anything but if you want to go into the the treasury and see everything that is not in the church proper then you have to pay 5 Euros. It is definitely worth it in my opinion as the treasury has some amazing things. Next to it are the remains of the City Walls built by the Moors.

Tomorrow I head back to Madrid for one last day in Spain before I head back to France for the first time since I studied abroad there. Quick note, my high school and one semester of college Spanish has held up really well here. All of my conversations have been in Spanish. Most the people I have spoken to don't speak English (why should they? It's their country!) so I'm glad I have been able to speak their language a bit. I won't have that luxury in other countries I visit.