As in the case of yesterday, the day before, the day before that, and the day before the day before that, this morning was another early rise so we could catch a 9am train to Sevilla to tour the city for the day. I brought studying to do on the train, but promptly went back to sleep once we got moving. Oh well... Tomorrow is my recovery/sleep-in morning before we're up again on Friday morning for our overnight in Granada.
Today, however, was another beautiful day here in southern Spain. Sevilla is only about an hour by train, so we had a nice long time to explore the city. We started our morning walking from the train station in the new part of the city into the older quarters where the Catedral de Sevilla is situated. Sevilla is organized, like most cities in Andalucia, with the old city in the center and the newer, modern parts built around. Sevilla is the biggest city in Andalucia (Córodba is only 300,000), so once we made it into the heart of the old city we pretty much spent the rest of the day there.
Our first stop was the Cathedral, which I visited just a few weeks ago with Preshco. Somehow we ended up entering through a back door and dropping in on a daily mass service with all these priests and nuns walking around the Cathedral in a processional and singing religious chats. Unfortunately, once the more serious part of the mass began, the stray street-people who had sneakily managed to get inside were asked to leave until the mass was open and the building re-opened to the public. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the service, but oh well. It was still great to see as much as we did; we never see anything like that in Northampton.
Our next stop was the Torre de Oro, which was one of the defense towers, port control points, and access points to the city from over one thousand years ago. Legend has it that it was once covered in gold, hence "oro," though I'm not sure if I believe it. Isn't gold much to expensive to coat a defensive building with? Torree de Oro, in addition to having become emblamatic of Sevilla, is now a little museum, we we made a stop to climb the tower and learn a bit about the building's famous history.
Torre de Oro
From the top of the Torre de Oro looking back at the Cathedral
Torre de Oro with Cathedral
After walking around Sevilla for a bit more and exploring along the river esplanade, it was time to head back over to the see the rest of the Cathedral, but not before buying some roasted chestnuts for snacking before entering. This picture was taken in front of the Cathedral, and personally, its my favorite from the day. We're both so happy!
The major reason we wanted to go back into the Cathedral, despite having to pay this time, was so that my mom could climb the tower to see the view from the top. I was skeptical about going in again and having to pay, but I'm glad we did. The weather today was in the mid-60's and sunny, so it was perfect for looking out over the entire city.
Looking out over Sevilla from the bell tower
Bell tower from the courtyard
After grabbing a quick bite to eat at a restaurant I'd previously been to with Preshco kids, we met up with Johanna, who is studying this semester in Sevilla. Its been really great being so close to her here in Spain; I've seen her once in Córdoba, we went to London together, and today I saw here again in Sevilla! That's roughly two times more than I see her when we're both at school in the US at Connecticut College and Smith.
Jay
Johanna took us to Plaza de la Encarnación, where the German architecture firm J. Mayer H. Architects just finished building this incredibly modern new pavilion-type thing. This "Metropol Parasol," which just opened in March of 2011, is home to a grocery store, an open-air plaza where concerts will supposedly be held, and is constructed over Roman ruins that creates a museums of Sevilla's architectural past and present. Apparently it was a really contentious project since this modern monster was being plopped into the middle of the historical city, and people are still unsure how they feel about the "mushrooms."
Staircase of the Parasol
Its massive.
I understand that the Parasol was built to provide housing for the ancient ruins (like these in the basement-ish enclosure), but I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the architectural style. The only way I can see that the architect could have taken inspiration from the ruins and come up with the Parasol design is to take the complete opposite of the two. Perhaps the stark contrast will increase appreciation for both of Sevilla's architectural places of interest.
After the Parasol, Johanna had to go home and do a bit of work, but my mom and I made sure that we saved time to go the Plaza de España, which was built for the World's Fair in 1929. It was showy and interesting, but compared to the millennia old architecture I've been seeing for months now, it fell short. Some of the Preshquitas have been raving about how cool it is ever since we got back from out group trip to Sevilla, so I did make a point of checking it out. I'm glad I went, but it was a "one stop shopping," whereas I could go back to the Cathedral for architectural appreciation many more times.
Each of Spain's major cities has a little tiled bench area around the perimeter of the mote and plaza, so when it came time to take a break from walking we obviously sat down at Córdoba.
Plaza de España de Strange
Post-Plaza, we headed back through the city towards the train station with a quick stop for ice cream before zipping back east to little Córdoba. We're both so exhausted (I think we walked close to 10 miles today. Its 3 from Calle Postrera to the train station and back), so I'm going to be glad to hit the pillow in about 30 seconds and stay down until whenever I feel like getting myself up tomorrow. Oh! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I wish I had some tofurkey...
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