Seville

I had only ever heard of Seville in relation to the opera. When I saw it was only a couple hours from Rota, I knew I wanted to go there. On our first day, we walked through the narrow, winding streets of Barrios de Santa Cruz. The streets are pretty shady and housed little shops And tapas bars. The best way I'd describe tapas is mini-portioned meals. Small plates of different foods that you share with friends.

Next we walked through the hot Seville sun (along its roads that never seem to run straight) to the Plaza de Espana. This place really was beautiful.

It is shaped like a half circle with a building (used for govt offices now) along it's outer curved edge. Along the inner edge of the building's exterior are 50 ceramic-tiled alcoves, each one representing a province of Spain. The next layer of the plaza is its moat on which you can take a row boat ride. To get to the center of the plaza, you can cross one of the multiple ceramic-tiled bridges. At the center is a large fountain. My description is definitely confusing, so check out the photos later. It's Tiled-Out!

After some tapas, we went to Seville's bullfighting ring, the oldest in Spain. I wasn't as interested as the guys, but I went with the crowd. Apparently Seville's ring is unforgiving in the sense that the crowd is far closer than in other arenas. (Everyone will notice if a fighter makes a mistake.) All kinds of folks were there: tourists, of course, but also local men, women, grandparents, teens, and toddlers. At times it was almost quiet enough to hear a pin drop, but later the arena was filled with cheers and applause.

Six bulls were killed during the 10pm show we attended. I felt like six was literally overkill- quite repetitive. I can understand why people are attracted to the bullfight. It is a spectacle. The fighters are decked out in their "suits of light" and they really do show off (and risk being gored to death) so they can win the crowd. One matador at our show earned a standing ovation with white handkerchief waving, an honor.

The best way to describe my thoughts is to say that the bullfight was sad yet suspenseful. The bull has the disadvantage, but do you root for it to gore the matador? All I know is that it wasn't quite as cool as it appeared in the two Madonna videos, but it was nevertheless an interesting experience.

Later, we walked over the nicely-lit Isabella II bridge to the area known as Triana. The bridge itself was decked out with green and white (the colors of Andalucia province) papery lanterns and Spanish and Andalusian flags. Triana was equally lit up with mounted and hanging lights. There was some definite partying going on!

The next day we headed for Seville's cathedral, Saint Mary of the See. It was definitely huge, third largest in the world huge. It was built on the same site where an earthquake-damaged mosque once stood. The former minaret, the Giralda, was converted to a bell tower (which we went up).

The Altar Mayor or main altar was grandiose and the life's work of a single artist. It had everything on it one can think of, from the Annunciation to the Resurrection.

The Altar de Plata was giant! (way taller than me) It was silver, shining, and sparkling.

There were definitely a lot of life-like figures, similar to porcelain dolls. This was a unique difference from the Italian churches we saw last summer. Also, Jesus seems to have a certain tri-pointed halo.

I didn't take any photos inside. No picture could do it justice. (Although that life-sized statue of Pope John Paul II did make me think twice.)

After some Tapas, we headed for the Alcazar. It is a palace that leaders still live in today. It was built in the Mujera style, meaning that it has an Islamic feel to it, even though Christians were in charge at the time. Ceramic tile, amazing architecture, and beautiful gardens! It wasn't furnished, but it didn't need to be. One could just stroll from one room to a courtyard, then to another room, and so on. The gardens were amazing. They weren't precisely manicured. Instead, they had a free and rustic feel. And there were PEACOCKS! They just chilled out and strolled about. We even saw little peacocklings with their momma.