In Seville

October 26, 2022

Our only church visit - we made it a good one

We enjoyed a slow start to our day off the bikes. We did some planning for the next few days, then went out for what I think was our best breakfast so far in Spain. We had delicious tostadas with tomato, cheese, ham, and olive oil at a small café serving organic foods.

Then we walked towards the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, aka the Seville Cathedral, our one planned church visit of the trip. Yes, I know there are historic churches in every town and city in Europe. It's just not my thing, nor Gail's. We're happy to explore castles, parks, and markets instead.

Along the way to the cathedral, we scoped out some nice looking empanadas for tomorrow's ride. Even on the way to a church, we were thinking about food. It turned out that our slow start was perfect timing. We joined the cathedral lineup about 7 minutes before the doors opened for the day at 10:45 am. We wore masks in the crowded space, but didn’t see another person wearing one. We toured the ornate church, including seeing Christopher Columbus’s tomb, where his remains may or may not be.

And we went up the bell tower - La Giralda, for some amazing views of the city. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville with a belfry added by the Catholics after the expulsion of the Muslims.

Back down again, we struggled to find the exit, so did another lap of the cathedral.

The exterior of the huge cathedral. At the time of construction, it was the largest cathedral in the world, built to demonstrate the city's wealth.

There are 80 private chapels. I guess if you're rich enough, you get your own place to pray.

The main dome of the cathedral collapsed in an earthquake in 1888.

Of course, the two organs are huge too. They're not all that old, having been replaced after the 1888 earthquake.

This is Christopher Columbus's tomb. There seems to be some doubt that his remains are in there. He was first buried in Spain, then moved to what's now the Dominican Republic, then to Cuba, and then maybe back here. He was quite an adventurer, even in death.

La Giralda, the bell tower, was was originally constructed as a minaret in the 12th century.

Climbing up the bell tower was worth the effort, to see the bells.

Then we went for a walk in search of lunch and green space. The green space came first, in the form of Maria Luisa park. We hoped to walk through the University of Seville grounds, but they are all walled off. We stopped at Plaza de España- a huge building and canal built for the 1929 World Exposition. Gail ate some freshly roasted chestnuts there, but they are not my favorite.

We watched a flamenco show from the steps of the huge building, so that meant we didn't need to book one for the evening.

The Plaza de Espana. Well worth a visit.

We saw this fellow riding a crazy tall bike. Looks like he's on tour too!

After enjoying the flamenco, we headed back towards the old city for lunch and beer. I enjoyed the best salad of the trip - lambs' breath lettuce, goat cheese, walnuts, and tomatoes. Yum. Then we had an after lunch gelato before a late afternoon rest in the hotel. We had dinner out at a touristy but very good tapas restaurant.

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