It was so nice to have my mom and sister visit. It was very relaxing to have them around, and kind of fun playing tour guide.
We went to El Catedral de Sevilla in the middle of the week, and climbed La Giralda.
The Cathedral really is beautiful. I really like going to old churches, I think they have so much history. It's amazing what people were able to accomplish without the use of modern technology, and it often makes me question my dependence on it.
The above three pictures are from the main part of the church. The main altarpiece is undergoing restoration, so the Altar de Plata in the first picture is used instead. The second and third picture are of the choir and the organ.
In addition to the church being beautiful, it also has a lot of history. The first picture above is from the Chapel of the Ancient Virgin, where Columbus prayed before his second voyage to the Americas. The second and third picture are of his tomb. There is some debate about whether he is actually buried here. According to his will, he wanted to be buried in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, and originally he was buried there. However, due to warfare, his remains were moved to Cuba. In 1900, Cuba gave his remains to Spain as a present. DNA testing has been done, and the remains are shown to be a 99.9% match to those of his son who is also buried in the Cathedral of Seville.
This painting, by Murillo, hangs in the Chapel of St. Anthony. Apparently, in the 1800s, someone cut the saint out of the picture and auctioned it off on the black market. Luckily, the person who purchased it returned it to the Cathedral.
After we finished in the Cathedral, we went up the Giralda. The tower of the Cathedral is named this because there is a weathervane on top, which moves with the wind. The spanish verb "girar" means to turn. It was very beautiful!
Our ticket to the Cathedral also gave us free entry to the Iglesia del San Salvador (or Church of the Savior). The whole church was completely covered from ceiling to floor with gold and decorations. It was probably even more elaborate than the Cathedral!
We also went to the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, or the bullfighting museum. We learned a lot about bullfighting, like that there are multiple matadors, and as many as 6 bulls can die in a fight.
We ended out the week with a flamenco performance! It was fun to play tour guide, and it was nice to have a reminder of home.
Next week is Semana Santa (or Holy Week), so we don't have school. I'm going to Switzerland, Germany, France, and Belgium with my friends! Until next week!
Carly <3
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