After Cordoba we boarded another train and went to Seville. I had been there for Semana Santa, but did not see the tourist attractions. In the afternoon we walked around the town and saw the wonderful Plaza de España. It is a large building in a half circle with a fountain in the middle. The plaza was built in 1929 when Seville hosted the Spanish-American Exhibition. After that we walked by the river and did a bit of shopping.
The following day, even though it was raining, we visited the Alcázares Reales de Sevilla or Royal Fortress. It was originally built as a Moorish fortress and later taken over by the Christians, like most things in Spain. Many subsequent monarchs added to the palace so it is a mixture of all types of architecture. The Royal family still uses part of it as their residence in Southern Spain. It also contains the room in which the contract between Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Monarchs to sail the Atlantic. The best part of this place was the extensive gardens.
After the palace we went to the Catedral de Seville, which is the largest Gothic Cathedral. Inside is a monument and the remains that are said to be those of Christopher Columbus (It is highly debated if it is actually him because he died and was buried in the Americas and remains were later dug up and shipped to Spain). The Cathedral is beautiful and has one of the tallest high altars. Also attached to the cathedral is La Giralda, a tower that was part of a mosque that used to be in the place of the cathedral. The tower has NO stairs. It only has a ramp and was designed for a horse to be able walk to the top. In the courtyard of the cathedral are orange trees. Oranges from these trees, and later made into marmalade, are sent to the Queen of England every year on her birthday as gift from Spain. That concluded the program excursion.
To see more photos click here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058790&id=21204555&l=50c85558aa
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