Hola! I have a lot to catch up on this round! Yesterday, on our quest to do something cultural for the day, Audra, Cherise and I decided to go to la Torre de Oro, a old watchtower along the river in Sevilla that is supposed to have a very pretty view of the city. But when we got there we found out it was closed, so we ended up just walking along the river. We sat by the edge and watched the kayakers paddle along the water as the sun set. So pretty!
Cherise and Audra
As the sun set and the lights came on
The first thing we came to was this enchanting little stone bridge over a pond
Me and Cherise on the bridge
This is where we ate lunch
After lunch we met our class at the plaza in front of the cathedral. Our teacher, Fernando, took us on a tour of the massive cathedral-- apparently the biggest in all of Europe! It was beautiful, although it felt more like a museum than a church. In the huge main part of the dome it even had exhibits about the New World up, and only a very small part had pews and a traditional church setting. I thought that was interesting-- it was a different feel than most cathedrals I've been to in Europe, which feel more sacred and holy.
The outside
The inside
Our professor, Fernando, giving a tour (in Spanish)
This is what Fernando called a "comic." It was designed for people who couldn't read, because when it was created only five percent of the world was literate. It depicts the life of Jesus carved out of gold.
Here lies Christopher Columbus! Apparently four different countries thought they had the remains of Christopher Columbus, but they did a DNA test on the decayed body and compared it to his descendents, and found that the actual remains are indeed in Sevilla.The highlight of the tour was the climb up the Gibraltar bell tower-- a huge tower with a 350 view of the city. Incredible!
The view showing part of the roof of the cathedral, the Castle of Alcazár, and the Parque de María Luisa and towers of the Plaza de España in the distance
After the cathedral tour I went out for coffee, hot chocolate and pastries with some friends at a cute little place outside of the cathedral. We stayed there for an hour talking (not in Spanish, unfortunately, I really wish people would start speaking in Spanish so I would begin to learn it...) I had chocolate caliente, but it was incredibly rich and thick, pretty much just like a melted chocolate bar. I could only drink half of it!
Tomorrow we go to Córdoba with a class trip! So excited! Hasta luego!
Oh. My. Goodness. Every single picture here is its own work of art--the park could just as easily be a paradise!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the comment "I really wish people would start speaking in Spanish so I would begin to learn it" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. El hecho de que estás en el país creador de la lengua española significa que tomaste un examen de competencia antes de llegar Y que estás matriculada en clases muy avanzadas aun para estudiantes de la concentración español aquí. Sabes la lengua, tienes habilidad para hablarla y cuando regresaría sé con toda certidumbre que ¡serás más elocuente que yo!