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Sunday, March 9, 2003
We got up super early this morning and headed toward Seville. Mom directed dad down lots of narrow, crooked streets until we found a good parking space. We headed on foot down Calle Sierpes toward the cathedral and the Alcazar. The Cathedral didn’t open until 2 pm so we started at the Alcazar. It was an amazing building which was founded as a fort for Cordoban governors in 913 AD. Inside the Alcazar there were so many interesting things to see. We rented headsets to hear all about each room and the architecture which was mixture of Moorish and Christina influences. We also saw a model of Christopher Columbus’ ship, the Santa Maria. After touring the inside of the Alcazar, we ventured outside to the gardens. There were beautifully landscaped areas leading to a maze made of shrubs. There were also orange trees everywhere! We had a great time walking through and playing in the maze.
After lunch, we visited the Seville Cathedral. Christopher Columbus’ tomb resides in the cathedral held aloft by four huge allegorical figures representing the kingdoms of León, Castile, Aragón and Navarra. We walked up about 35 flights of ramps to the top of the Giralda. It was designed with ramps instead of stairs so that the guards could ride their horses to the top to look out.
After touring the Cathedral, we decided to take a boat trip up the river to see all the new bridges that were built in 1992 for the 500 year anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
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