Palaces and Geese!

Sorry this post is so late in the day, I've been busy!

I started off the week with a visit to the Palacio de Lebrija right here in Sevilla. Regla Manjón was the Countess of Lebrija and a great lover of art. She collected many pieces from her various travels around Spain and the world and had them all displayed in her house. Her travels were particularly unusual, because women did not travel much in the early 1900s.

 Almost the entire first floor was covered in mosaics from Itálica. Our guide told us that workers had to bring the mosaics here piece by piece, which is incredible! I'm pretty sure there were more mosaics here than there were in Itálica! This particular mosaic has a picture of Medusa in the middle.

 This mosaic depicts the various amorous conquests of Zeus as well as the four seasons.

 In some parts you could actually walk on the tiles! You could WALK on 2,000+ year old tiles!

       

This was one of the many patios in the house.

And this is a picture of the woman herself. Below this is a bust on display in the house that depicts Mrs. Manjón later in life. Her name, Regla, actually means menstruation. If she was going to be stuck with a name like that, at least she got to be rich!

On Friday, my interest group was supposed to go to Cádiz, but our trip was cancelled at the last minute because of the weather. On Saturday though, I went to Córdoba! We started off the trip with a trek across this bridge, known as the Puente Romano (or Roman Bridge).

Before we even got across the bridge though, we found a very friendly goose! One of my friends, Jessie, really wanted to pet it, as did some other girls on the trip. I don't think the goose was very amused :P

 Crossing over the bridge, we passed by the Puerta del Puente and the Triunfo de San Rafael. The first is a beautiful archway that remains from the old city gates. The latter is a sculpture of the city's patron saint, San Rafael.

Next, we went to see the very impressive Catedral de Córdoba. It used to be a mosque, but was converted to a church upon the expulsion of the Moors.

 Some parts look much more like a mosque than a church, as is evidenced by the two above pictures.

 After we left the Catedral/Mezquita, we took a stroll around the older sections of Córdoba. It's a very pretty little city.

 Next we went to the Sinagoga. Originally it was a synagogue, but then it was converted to a mosque, and then a church, and now a museum! Virtually none of the once thriving Jewish population of Córdoba remains.

Next, we went to the Alcázar de los Reyes Católicos. It was from this palace that Ferdinand and Isabella plotted the conquest of Granada from the Moors. The inside of the palace isn't that exciting, but there are many beautiful gardens surrounding it.

On our way to the gardens, we walked by the fish pond. I'm pretty sure they must not feed the fish anything, because they were literally jumping out of the water at us when we walked by!

Next, we saw some of the gardens! We found a statue of Columbus presenting his proposal to go west to Ferdinand and Isabella.

 Mattie and Tra got separated from the group at one point. So we took this photo of them "looking" for us :P

We then went to have some lunch. We stopped at a local cafe and had salmorejo, a local delicacy! It's basically a thick, creamy tomato soup served cold and topped with bacon and eggs. It wasn't my favorite, but hey. When in Spain!

Also during our visit, we managed to find a stray cat that was incredibly sweet! Here he is in my friend Mandy's arms.

Everything else is going well! I'm a little sick, but I'm getting better. My classes are still going very well. This week in my cinema class we're watching "Clara Campoamor: La Mujer Olvidada" and "La Lengua de los Mariposas", both of which are very interesting in their own right. I'm gearing up for my mom and sister to come visit soon, but that also means it's almost time for midterms! This weekend, I'm going with Laura to Morocco! I'm super excited about that. Also, I wanted to wish my baby sister, Andie, a happy sweet sixteenth birthday! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, Panda, but I'll see you very soon!

Until next week!

Carly <3

Carly the Explorer!

WELL!
This past week has been kind of a whirlwind! I've been doing so much! I'm still enjoying my classes, especially my cinema one. This week we watched "Belle Epoque" which won the Oscar for best foreign language film when it came out.

On Wednesday, my interest group went to a Flamenco bar. We watched flamenco dancing while sharing some tapas in a much more informal setting, which was kind of nice. It was too crowded and dark to really get any good pictures though :(

On Friday, Laura and I decided to go to the Catedral de Sevilla. We also really wanted to go see the Archivo de Indias, which is right next to it, but we've had some trouble finding days that it was open. When we got there, it happened to be open so we decided to go there instead. It was built in the 1500s originally as a market, but Carlos III eventually turned it into the archives of all documents relating to the Spanish Indies colonies. However, most of these documents are not available for viewing. We did get to see some original portraits of Hernán Cortes and Christopher Columbus, though. Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures of the actual exhibits, but I did get some shots of the outside.

 This is the Catedral that we didn't end up going in. Some other time!

After that, we decided we didn't have enough time to see the whole Catedral, so we went on a walking tour of the Santa Cruz neighborhood. It was one of my favorite parts of my trip so far!

We started the tour in the Plaza del Triunfo, the square adjacent to the Catedral and Archivo de Indias. Apparently, the square was built in gratitude for the city's survival of an earthquake in 1755. It is said that the city survived because of its devotion to the Virgin Mary. There is a statue of her in the center of the square.

Next, we walked along the Muralles. These ruins are all that remain from the city wall originally built by the Moors.

Next, we entered the Plaza de la Alianza, where we saw the Hostelería de Laurel. This was the scene for the opening of Cervantes' famous play, "Don Juan".

We next saw the Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes, or Hospital of the Venerable Priests. It was orignially built as a hospital for aging and ailing priests. Now, it's a museum. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to go inside.

Up next, we saw the Plaza Doña Elvira. This is one of my favorite spots that I've found in all of Sevilla. It was so quiet and peaceful!

Next, we walked down Calle Susona. According to legend, Susona was a Jewish girl who fell in love with a Christian. She betrayed her father, a powerful figure in the Jewish community, for her lover. As a result, she and her entire family were killed. She asked that when she died, her skull should be placed on the streets as a reminder of her treachery. I don't know if this is true or not, but there is a skull painted outside the house where she supposedly lived!

Next, we walked along the Callejón del Agua. It borders the Moorish walls, and was the main waterway during the Moorish times. 

Washington Irving stayed here as well as at the Alhambra while writing his book, "Tales of the Alhambra".

We then entered the Plaza Alfaro. This balcony is supposedly the setting for one of the love scenes in Rossini's opera, "The Barber of Seville".

Next, we went to the Jardines de Murillo. The gardens used to be the gardens and orchards of the king's royal palace. They are named after the famous Sevillan painter, Murillo.

Next, we saw the Plaza de los Refinadores, where many of Sevilla's refiners lived. In the center of the square is a statue of Don Juan, Sevilla's legendary seducer. Laura is being "seduced" by him in the picture :)

Then, we entered the Plaza de los Cruces. The columns these crosses are built on have been here since the Roman times!

Next, we entered the Plaza Santa Cruz, where an old church used to be. It was the church of the Sevillan painter Murillo and he was buried here. It was destroyed in the 1820 French Occupation and the cross in the middle of the square serves as a reminder.

After that, we entered the Judería. All the Jewish people in Sevilla used to be required to live here. However, in 1391, Spain went through a surge of Catholic fanaticism. The Archdeacon proclaimed that it was the Jews who killed Christ, and as a result, all the Jews except for a few who managed to escape were executed. This passageway was one of the few escape routes.

All in all it was a beautiful walk on a very nice day. I was so glad we decided to go adventuring!

On Saturday, we helped our señora make tortilla española. I don't usually like omelets (not a big fan of eggs. Where did I get that one from, Mom?), but tortilla is one of my favorite things I've had here. The ingredients are basically just potatoes, olive oil, garlic, and eggs. But it's so good!

After we finished making it, we sat down to a nice lunch together to enjoy the fruits of our labors! This picture is of Laura and our señora, Inmaculada. In addition to the tortilla, we're having bread, fuet (the sausage-like thing on the left), San Iacobo (kind of like Cordon Bleu, ham with melted cheese in a breading), and cheese! I LOVE Spanish cheese.

On Sunday, I went to the small town of Carmona, about 25 miles east of Sevilla. It was nice to get out of the city for awhile!

We first went to the Necrópolis Romana. This is where the Romans would inter their dead. They did not believe in burial unless the person was a child less than a year old. They would cremate the body, place it in an urn, and build an elaborate tomb for the family. Some of the tombs are remaining today. We actually got to go down into one!

Laurel was scared to go down. :P

This next picture is taken underground inside the tomb. It's the spot where the urn would have been placed in the tomb. There were several of these throughout the tomb along with an altar to the gods.

Some of the tombs are in excellent condition, while others are not as well preserved.

The largest tomb that they have uncovered so far is the Tumba de Servilia. According to legend, Servilia was a beautiful woman from a rich family who died a virgin. Her father was so distressed at the loss of his daughter that he built a giant, partly open-air tomb for her, so that the family could come and reflect on her life. When it was discovered, there was a statue of Servilia still surviving, that is now in the museum. 

The Tumba de Servilia contains some of the only remaining tomb paintings. Usually the whole tomb was decorated with elaborate paintings to please the gods, but these have been lost over time. It's a little hard to see, but there is a silhouette of a woman in the painting.

 We also went into the museum where they had some of the things found in the tombs on display. Below are some of the urns, and the statue of Servilia.

Next, we went to the Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla. It was originally Carthaginian but has been built on by the Romans, Moors, and Christians. It has been used for a number of things over the years, from a defensive wall to a jail to a palace. 

Halfway up, there is another small museum. In this museum is the original flag of Carmona, given to the city by Fernando III who called the city the star of Andalucía.

 At the top, we stopped to take some pictures. There were some great views of the city! In the first picture is Chelsea, Mattie, Laurel, and me.

Before leaving, we stopped at another mirador to get some final shots.

It was a crazy busy week! This weekend will be crazy too. I'm going to Cádiz with my interest group, and Córdoba and Osuna with my friends. Hasta luego!
Carly <3