This morning began with my alarm clock going off with the sky still dark. I did this on purpose too. What's wrong with me? But since I was going to be in this hotel in Seville for two nights, I wanted to get a run in this morning. I got in a solid four miles at a consistent pace and the heat wasn't bad at all. When I came back, I quickly showered, inhaled some breakfast, and then it was time to hit the road to Plaza de España. On the way there we passed a lot of the buildings that belonged to other countries many years ago from the 1929 World's Fair that are all something else now. They are all architecturally unique to their countries which was neat to see. Once we got to the Plaza de España, (where part of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones was filmed. I've never seen it but was told that by the guide) which was Spain's pavilion in the fair we got to look around and wander a bit alone. It was a very cool space with four Venetian style bridges and curved hallways. I definitely enjoyed seeing this. It was gorgeous.
From the Plaza, it was off to the Santa Cruz quarter to get a walking tour and of course, some gelato (banana chocolate) before heading to the Alcazar Palace. I realized I had seen this yesterday on my walk and didn't realize what it was so obviously didn't go inside. This time, I got a tour of it. Once again, this majestic palace had very high ceilings and magnificent colored tiles on the walls. The archways were incredible as were the gardens. I was a little bored at the pace of the local tour guide and the information, but I usually am on any guided tour of a museum or historic site. I can't seem to focus and pay attention. Grrrrr.... This guide was enthusiastic but I think I was just super tired because I didn't get my bus nap in today. Sigh.
I had almost an hour and half of free time after the Palace but had walked around this area yesterday when I explored. It all looked familiar so there wasn't much more for me to see. I realized how much ground I covered in my free time yesterday. I stopped and got a smoothie for lunch (banana, peach, spinach) from a cute little juice shop and just relaxed a bit and of course, used the free wifi. With this heat, I'm sick of only having heavy options for lunch so finding this juice place was great and I paired it with a Kind bar I had packed. It was no Juice Press or Juice Gen, but it did the trick and I didn't feel so gross after like I have the last few days after lunch. Can't a girl just get a big salad with fresh veggies around here?!?! It's harder than you think.
Finally, it was time to go to the Cathedral. Another day, another cathedral. This was also the one I saw yesterday on my walk and was blown away by. These churches in Europe are so magnificent though, and this one was no different. This Cathedral also holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It also had an absolutely incredible pulpit with the walls of gold. I mean, it must be worth millions. It was so intricate in detail and was just gorgeous.
Instead of doing the whole tour with the group, I stayed with them for about fifteen minutes because I had told the guide I wanted to climb the Giralda clock tower to get an aerial view of the city. I went with four other girls and we climbed the 35 ramps (used for two horsemen to pass through back in the day) and 17 stairs to get to the top. Once up there, the view, as expected, was spectacular. You could see other churches, the bull fighting arena, and many other very cool Seville buildings. Damn, I love an aerial 360 degree view of a city.
After the Cathedral it was back to the hotel for three hours of free time. I went swimming and just laid by the pool and relaxed for a bit. I am on vacation after all. Eventually it was time to go in and shower and get ready for the evening.
On tap for tonight was a Flamenço show, dinner and then a horse and carriage ride. First up was the Flamenço shows which was actually at the Muse del Baile Flamenço. There was a private tour of the museum followed by the show itself. There as a make singer, a guitarist, and both a female and male dancer. Everyone was super talented. I didn't realize how many different combinations are incorporated into the art of Flamenço. The dancing itself was so impressive with the hand gestures, the footwork (beyond incredible) and the hand clappers (castonettes). It really was a cool thing to see. Everyone in the show was so passionate about that they do and it was so obvious to the audience. This was such a great culturally Spanish experience.
Dinner was pretty good tonight and included a ton of food as per usual (bread, patè, lots of fried little things, risotto, and fish) and then we were picked up by horse drawn carriages. I had taken a Benedryl before dinner to hopefully combat any allergies from the horses and all was well. The carriages took us on a little tour of the city and then brought us to our hotel. It was awesome seeing the sunset over the city of Seville while sitting in the back of the carriage.
Overall, today was yet another great, full day! There was a lot of history involved that made me sort of lose interest here and there but each site we went to was fantastic and important to the county of Spain. Tomorrow it's off to Portugal for two days before making it back to Spain. It's going to be a long drive but I'm already psyched for my next bus nap. Hasta la vista amigos!!
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