The Cathedral in Seville

The largest Gothic cathedral in the world is here is Seville. It's truly enormous! The tomb of Christopher Columbus is here; he died in 1506 and was first buried in Spain, then moved to the Dominican Republic, and on to Cuba. Once Cuba gained its' independence, his remains were sent back to Spain, to Seville. Doubts about whose bones were really in the tomb were laid to rest once and for all when DNA testing was done.

Beside his tomb is a giant mural of St. Christopher. In the Ornaments Room, we saw the jewelled crown, Spain's most valuable, with 11,000 precious stones. The enclosed choir space, with carved wooden choir chairs, is a separate area across from the high alter.

This church also has enormous columns, beautiful stained glass, and a large baptismal font in a side chapel that's still used today. Under glass, in a climate controlled display case, is the silk pennant Ferdinand III had raised over the mosque that once stood here (and was razed to make way for the cathedral), on November 23, 1248, when Christian forces expelled the Moors from Seville.

This gives you a sense of the size of the Cathedral

At last it was time to climb up the Giralda Bell Tower; it's 330' tall, and instead of stairs has a brick ramp - it was designed for riders on horseback - they would ride up five times a day to give the Muslim call to prayer, as it was formerly a Moorish minaret.

Detail on the crown

There were interesting views from the top - we could see down into the Alcazar where we were yesterday, we picked out Plaza Nueva, that we walk through every day to and from our hotel, we could see the river, and so on.  Just before we left, Brad asked an employee where we might find a good place for lunch, and were told of El Casario. We followed her directions, found the little street, and almost walked right by the tiny unassuming restaurant. With only 8 small tables and 8 stools at the long wooden bar, it was a bustling, very full place. Luckily two women left and we took their places at the bar. We ordered a salad, green beans with ham, and a fish dish, all to share.  "No fish today! It's Monday" we were told. This is because the fishers don't go out on Sunday, so there's no fish in the market. They only serve fresh fish! It was a very authentic place, with delicious food, full of locals; a real find!



Looking down from the bell tower to the Alcazar
 

Cake in a bakery window