Day 5: Spain!! Seville and Costa Del Sol
Today we arrived in Spain and our first stop was in Seville. We saw St. Mary's Cathedral which is the largest gothic style cathedral in the world and one of the 4 or 5 largest churches. What makes it gothic are the minarets, stained glass windows, and pointed arches. It took 73 years to build the original cathedral and (sadly) it was built over the remains of a mosque. There are 5 aisles and 44 chapels with works of art.
main chapel with over 40 scenes ranging in height from 7 inches to 9 feet depicting the life of Christ
We climbed 35 ramps to the top of the bell tower for panoramic views of Seville
Our local tour guide, America
mahogany and red marble organ from 18th century (baroque period) which has 7800 pipes
Christopher Columbus' remains. The 4 statues represent the 4 regions of Spain
We had to have cafe con leech and churros, of course
After the tour of the cathedral, we went for a walking tour. Of course there were local musicians. We also passed through Elvira square, which dedicated to one of Don Juan's lovers. We stopped there for some gelato.
We got to see a procession which was a little unnerving for us Americans. The Spanish wear robes with pointy hoods to hide their faces. These outfits seem eerie to us but they were a religious symbol which were co-opted and turned into something evil, much like the Nazi's co-opted the swastika from buddhism and associated it with something evil. Still, it was interesting to see, Thirty-four men carry the platform containing the statue of Mary and the procession stops at different cathedrals in the city.
Our last stop was Plaza de Espana. America gives a nice description in the video:
And for some really incredible photos from today, check out what Brianna Hall shot!
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