Sevilla!

So I went to Sevilla and I saw my first flamenco show! I was so excited and I was actually told not to get my hopes up for a good show...I don't know what those people were talking about because it was amazing! I enjoyed the show a lot even if it was so full of people and standing room only! Loved it! In the morning we headed over to the Alcázar of Seville praying that it wouldn’t rain all day like it was planned to! You will probably see the pictures in the video I made and think wow this looks exactly like your pictures of the Alhambra in Granada! Well! I thought the same thing! It looks very similar to the Alhambra, but it was built for Catholics so it really has no relation to Islam even though the architecture is clearly Islamic! Now how’s that for interesting? Now, it’s actually a royal palace and is still used by the royal family when they come to Sevilla.

The gardens on the outside were gorgeous as well, there are orange blossoms all around and it smells soooo good!

We then went a little souvenir shopping and it started to rain!!!!!! But we were in luck! Because we were going to the Cathedral! Woo! Shelter! Haha..I learned a lot about the Cathedral in my art class so I was curious about it. After seeing the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona though, your mind always compares even when you don’t want to.

I was just really dark inside so my pictures didn’t turn out well. But it was cool to see Christopher Columbus’s tomb. Or so they say, our tour guide says that he may not even be buried here, they just say that. His body was moved so many times that they don’t know if the tomb has been tampered with.

Also if you look closely they are stabbing Granada!

I can’t remember the story exactly, but the four men holding the tomb represent the kingdoms of Spain but Granada was still Islamic territory at this time so one of them (I think Aragon) is stabbing it! So much hatred! Granada is represented as a pomegranate because in Spanish that’s what it means!

Next we climbed to the bell tower to see the city and it was like 30 or so stories or ramps and when we got up there is was so windy and rain was pelting us in the face! And there were so many people who wouldn’t let us see through the lookout areas L you had to push and shove! Rude! It would have been worth it if it wasn’t pouring at the time. Sad day. I got some pictures but rain drops ruined them!

After we got back to the hotel we had free time and we just went shopping and got lost…typical touristy things!

The next day we went to Plaza de España! And it stopped raining! It was so beautiful!

There were boats you could rent, a nice park with bikes, definitely a relaxing atmosphere (just watch out for the gypsies – DON’T take their “gifts”).

I recommend this place if you ever go to Sevilla! You could spend all day here really. It’s HUGE!

Overall it’s just a great city if you love history and you love great architecture and nature. You have it all in one!

Here's the video log (youtube didn't like the songs I choose but I couldn't have the heart to change them because I love them all so much, and the singer is from Sevilla...how perfect!)
http://s1161.photobucket.com/albums/q516/SaraRosenbauer1/?action=view¤t=Sevilla.mp4