After lunch, on Wednesday, December 18th, I had tickets to the Cathedral. I bought my tickets to the Cathedral in advance. I'm not sure that was required when I visited, but it is recommended in the height of tourist season for sure. Plus, I like to avoid wasting time by standing in line for tickets, so I almost always purchase tickets in advance when I can.
The Sevilla Cathedral is the 3rd largest church in Europe (after St. Peter's at the Vatican and St. Paul's in London), and it is the largest Gothic church anywhere. It's kind of hard to take in the exterior of the cathedral. Like in other cities I had already visited, this was the location a mosque that was ripped down after the Reconquista.
This is the Tomb of Christopher Columbus.
The "pallbearers" represent the kingdoms that formed Spain: Castile, Aragon, León, and Navarre. Granada, the last of the kindgdoms, is represented by a pomegranate on a spike.
Columbus moved around a lot after death. He died in northwest Spain and was buried. Then was moved to Sevilla to a monastery. Then to the Dominican Republic (as he'd requested), then to Cuba. In 1902, he was brought home to Sevilla. They did DNA testing in 2006, and it turns out, the remains here actually are Columbus (they used bones of his son for comparison).
You exit the Cathedral into the Court of the Orange Trees...
After the Cathedral, I walked toward the river. I stopped at a shop that sold beautiful Spanish shawls. I got my grandmother a scarf for Christmas in that style (because I thought it would be more wearable than the large triangle shawls). I then wondered on down to the Plaza de Toros, the Bullfight Museum and Bullring. If you know me at all, then you know that I'm not ok with bullfighting, but it's part of the culture in Spain, and I was interested in finding out more about it.
They have about a 40 minute tour.
It includes art...
the costumes...
...and the a behind the scenes look at the bullfight process. Interestingly, they meet here with their lawyer before the fight.
This is the chapel where they stop to pray before the fight.
Where the matador enters...
It was really cool that we got to walk out into the ring. You could imagine what it would be like to be completely surrounded by cheering fans.
The royal box...
After the leaving the Plaza de Toros, I walked across the river. This is the Torre del Oro (Gold Tower). It was the starting and ending point for all shipping to the New World.
I crossed the river to Triana. This is the area of the city where you find ceramics, as these towers that greet you on that side of the bridge show.
I wanted to buy ALL the ceramics. I really wanted a flower pot after seeing the ones at the Royal Alcázar, but I knew that was just crazy. I kept my purchases to a smallish 7-8 pieces.
You weren't suppose to take pics, but I snuck a couple...
I went back to the room to unload my purchases and rest for a few minutes before heading out to see Sevilla after dark.
I have no photos of it, other than this one that is the back side of some of the stalls, but I found an Artisan Christmas Market that was wonderful. Like seriously, some of the most unique vendors I've seen at any market in any country. It was really fun to walk around looking at everything. I got my other grandmother a necklace made from a Bougainvillea flower. They dry the flowers and cover it in a resin. It was really pretty and reminiscent of my day in Sevilla where I had seen Bougainvillea blooms at the Alcázar.
Plaza Nueva
I headed back to the restaurant I'd been frequenting, La Azotea, for Tapas and a Sangria. Their Sangria was so good!
Cheese plate and Pork Loin
It was a great day in Sevilla!
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