Seville

Tuesday was spent in transit between Portugal and Spain. It's a beautiful city, and there was lots to see. Tuesday night we got in fairly late, but we went for a walk and had dinner before heading to bed. 

Apparently the largest wooden structure in the world. Now if only the structure had some discernible use or purpose?

€8 worth of ham, red wine, and salted tomatoes with cheese. It was ridiculously good. I could have eaten those tomatoes for every meal. 

In the morning, we took a walking tour of Seville, then went back to revisit our favourite parts. First up was the cathedral in the centre of town. It's a gothic cathedral, built in the 15th century on top of the mosque that was built there in the 12th century... Built on top of the Roman ruins there. Space conservation, yo. Anyway, it makes for a really unique structure, with so many different styles and influences in one building. 

The minaret - the bottom two thirds are Arabic, but the top third has the bells and statues of a Catholic church. 

View of Seville from the minaret. 

The tomb of Christopher Columbus! Or someone who shares a bloodline with him. No one is all that sure. 

Gargoyle! First I was excited, but then I thought of the cartoon, and then I thought of Anderson, and then I was sad. 

This pic shows a little of the diverse styles of the place - Arabic minaret and arches, gothic stonework on the right, and a bit of the old Roman pieces at the bottom. 

These orange trees are in the courtyard beside the cathedral. What's interesting about them is that   apparently, the whole crop of oranges every year is rounded up and sent to England, where they're used to make orange marmalade for the queen. 

Next, we went to the Plaza de Espanas, in the middle of Parque Maria Luisa. It's a huge pavilion meant to signify the relationship between Seville and the Americas. It has a lot of historical information about Spain and the quest for the Indies there, and the park is a huge, beautiful green space in the middle of the city. We spent a fair bit of time there, sitting in the shade and chilling. 

The plaza. It's a bit silly, but after so much time there everything has a tendency to remind me of Vegas. I keep expecting things to be made of plaster. 

The fountain in the plaza. 

The shady spot we hung out in for a while. It was nice and peaceful. Until some teenage boy was goofing around and fell in the water. Then it was hilarious. 

Today, we're taking the train to Granada, where we'll see Al Hambra, supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, and a world heritage site. We have two nights there, and then it's on to Morocco!