This week we took an all day bus tour to Seville. Seville is a beautiful city of wide streets, parks and spectacular architecture. We drove through the large Maria Luisa Park south of the city near the river. The park is huge, miles long, with many pavilions, water features and plazas. We stopped at the stunning Plaza de Espana. This is a huge plaza set off by a colonnaded building with the most amazing tile work we've ever seen. Arched bridges with painted ceramic posts and balusters connect the colonnade to the plaza area where events are regularly held. While we were there a military band marched across the plaza and performed for a group of dignitaries. We felt lucky to witness this. 

We then walked through the old town area of Seville and saw the remnants of old Roman viaducts . Water gardens are still popular in Seville, and we glimpsed one through the gates of a courtyard. Game of Thrones filmed the scenes in Dorne and the Water Gardens at the Alcazar in Seville, but our short visit didn't allow us time to see these sites. Wish we could have!

The highlight of our trip was our visit to the spectacular Cathedral of Seville. Built on the site of an old Moorish mosque from before the 10th century, it is the third largest cathedral in the world and an amazing Gothic spectacular. The bell tower used to be the minaret of the mosque and you can see the Moorish details in the stone lattice work decoration and keyhole arches. We entered through the Patio of the Orange Trees and saw the fountains used for ablutions in the courtyard. This cathedral is massive with 80 chapels, a very impressive organ with thousands of pipes, and a golden main altarpiece that spectacularly stunning. On top of all this gothic splendour, soaring arches, and stained glass windows, the Cathedral also boasts the tomb of Christopher Columbus enshrining at least part of his body in a casket held aloft by marble figures and lots of ornate decorative work . Very spectacular. Then, to honor the family, the brother of Columbus is also buried in the Cathedral in a less spectacular but still impressive chapel. This cathedral is massive with 80 smaller chapels and soaring ceilings. They told us that every morning at 8 AM the huge iron gates to the main altar and the organ area are unlocked and a priest says a Latin mass for the faithful, accompanied by the organ. Now that would be something to see. I haven't heard a Latin mass in probably 50 years or so.

After touring the Cathedral we wandered the streets of Seville and stopped at the new Hard Rock Cafe for a bit of lunch. Seville's streets are narrow, mostly one way and one lane, but the sidewalks are broad, wider on each side than the road they flank. Every third or fourth shop on the street is a cafe or restaurant with tables and chairs on the street and many streets converge in squares or circles crowned with a fountain. It's really a lovely place to walk and sit and sit coffee on the street. I'd go back to further explore Seville someday.

Enjoy the pics!