Sevilla

This weekend the UNM girls and I went to Sevilla to see what is -according to Guiness- the world´s largest Cathedral. Or at least it has the "most area" or some such thing. At any rate, it was very large and impressive. Sadly, it´s been turned into such a museum type attraction that there was actually a fee to get in. Morally I just don´t find it appropriate to charge an entrance fee for public places of worship.

Still, it was worth it as we had just studied the tower of this particular church in my art history class. It was originally built for Muslim orators to climb to the top of five times every day, in order to call the people to prayer. It has since been converted into a bell tower, but instead of the usual claustrophobic itty bitty circular stairway, this tower had ramps. Thirty four ramps to be precise. Those orators must have been in the best shape ever... Although it seems there was often a donkey involved who did most of the work.

The next day we went to the Alcázar, which you can learn about at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc%C3%A1zar_of_Seville

I can tell you that Ferdinand and Isabella developed Columbus´ expedition to ´the Americas´ there. It is amazingly beautiful, and home to the most luxurious and peaceful gardens I have ever seen. Even more so than the gardens in the Forbidden City, and those were a sight to be seen.

It turns out one of the girls I know here does in fact have a laptop with her! Which is exciting enough to deserve an exclamation because it means I can upload pictures! Hooray! So, views of all of these fascinating Spanish wonders are soon to come. Stay tuned...