We took another weekend trip on the third week. We went on a three-day two-night trip to Sevilla and Grenada, to the area of Spain called Andalusia. We went to a hotel just across this river, which is the Guadalquivir. That tower you see just beyond the boat is the Torre del Oro Naval Museum. It's named for the golden tiles that once covered it. Used to have a heavy chain that stretched across the river to protect from invaders. Now, it's just a naval museum. The other spire in the background is the Gilada Tower and Cathedral.
This is the main door to the cathedral, but it's closed to visitors and we had to go around to the other side to get in. Fantastic stonework. It's Gothic in style.
This is the Cathedral, which is the third-largest church in Europe (after the Vatican's St. Peter's and London's St. Paul's) and the largest Gothic church anywhere. Took 'em 120 years to build it on the site of the main mosque. They built it during all of 15th and part of 16th century.
This horseshoe arch was left over from the days when the cathedral was a mosque.
I never did figure out what the alligator was all about. He was made of a wooden log and it appearted that he could be swung back and forward. Who knows why?
Ferguson, our tour guide. He works as an art historian at the University of Salamanca and does a fantastic job of describing the architecture and the major art works we saw on the trip. He always carefully differentiated between stone and brick construction, pointing out that the brick was faster and cheaper to build with. The Moors seemed to prefer it and I think he was trying to say they were cheapskates.
This is a view of the ceiling of the catheral ceiling.
That's me and Sal in front of what they call the Tomb of Columbus. They're currently doing a DNA study to see if he really is in there. A good story and a beautiful tomb.
We trekked to the top of the Giralda tower, which is now the bell tower for the catheral. When it was built, it was the Moslem tower for calling the faithful to prayer five times each day. The mullah would ride his horse up to call the hour of prayer on a series of 38 ramps that climb the 330 feet to this level. It offers magnificent views of the city below.
A view north from the tower. Up close you can see the old streets zigging and zagging all around. Off in the distance you can see the structure where they had the world games and a modern bridge across the river.
This is a big bull fight town and that's the main bull fight ring over there.
Views of the stone tongs they used to raise this prodigious tower, an many other tall structures in medevial Spain, into place. This was on display in one of the alcoves on the way to the the top of the tower. I was delighted to see it here since I had told someone this is how they did it and I had never seen anything like it before, to the best of my recollection.
Another view of another church from the tower.
Beautiful foutain on the street outisde the cathedral. Notice the UPS truck in the background. It's a "Brown" world.
That's the Alcazar in the background. The horse carriages here were abundant and they had the most beautiful carriage horses I believe I've ever seen. Cost about $35.00 for 30 minute ride.
Sallie and I walked down to the Palacio de Bellas Artes and on the way got a look at the streets in the Barrio de Santa Cruz. Notice the awnings up overhead. Designed to keep the sun from shining directly down into the area and keeps it much cooler.
The courtyard in the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Beautiful.
They had an excellent collection of church art. This is an exquisite Dolarosa. You could actually see the tears flowing down her checks. Looked like some kind of molten glass.
Another fountain and a street scene.