October 4 - Seville

Seville

Seville is a large city that is located on a navigable river leading to the Mediterranean Sea.  It has been occupied by the Romans and many other peoples.  It is the home of a large cathedral that contains the tomb of Christopher Columbus.  It is also the place that Ferdinand Magellan left for his historic circumnavigation of the globe in 1517.

We began the day with a visit to the Plaza de Espana.  This plaza was build in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition.

After visiting the Plaza we continued on to the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See.  This Cathedral is the 3rd-largest church in the world as well as the largest Gothic Church.  The Cathedral was originally built as a mosque in the late 1100's.  It was converted to a "Christianized" mosque in the mid-1200's.  It was expanded into a Gothic cathedral between 1434 and 1517.
 

Seville Cathedral

Columbus' tomb

The Torre del Oro - a defense tower built on the river Guadalquivir in the early 1200's

After touring Seville we went to the airport and flew on to Barcelona.

In case it hasn't looked like it the days have been long.  Most days start by leaving the hotel at 7:00 AM and getting to our new hotel around 7 or 8 in the evening.  On this day we arrived in Barcelona at around 8:30 PM and got to the hotel at about 10:30.  The next morning starts at 7:00 am ... nice relaxing vacation.