6/7 Day

As we expected, we had another full day of walking on Friday, discovering some of the significant sights of Sevilla. Several of us left after breakfast to hike to the Plaza de Toros -- the bullfighting ring.  The arena was empty, but a tour guide helped us imagine what an actual bullfight would be like. We learned a lot about the history of bullfighting and saw many historical artifacts, costumes  and artwork in the adjacent museum. While Gib might have liked a little blood and gore, Susan was quite happy to do without it!  We toured the Cathedral de Sevilla in the afternoon, which, as we mentioned yesterday, is the world's third largest Christian cathedral. (Just to give you some context, the largest cathedral is St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; the second largest is St. Paul's Cathedral in London.). The total surface area of the Cathedral de Sevilla is 23,500 square meters. The cathedral is filled with lavish art and elaborate religious decor as you might expect, but the highlight for our group was the ramp we hiked up to get to the belltower (former minaret.)  From there, we saw a beautiful panoramic view of the city of Seville.  Our most amazing discovery of the day, however, was the Real Alcazar -- the oldest Royal Palace of Europe still in use.  It was built in the 10th century over the remains of an Islamic quarter and is an amazing combination of art, history and culture.  The Palace is filled with tiles and tapestries and painted walls, while the luxurious gardens are filled with fountains, statues, and hundreds of trees and flowers. Every time we walked down a hallway in the Palace, or along a walkway in the garden, we were amazed to discover yet another phenomenal room or patio behind the first!  It took us over two hours to get through it all, and we still didn't see every nook and cranny.  We figure the royal family never had to leave the walls of the palace and it's gardens! Today's photos include:  one of Susan in the Plaza De Toro (the bullfighting arena);  one of the view of  Sevilla from the belltower of the Cathedral;  and one showing part of the Alcazar, and one of its many pools.  

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