Written By: Lindsay Hult ’25 (Session 2)
On July 14th we arrived in Seville, Spain from Malaga. The bus ride from Malaga was about 3 hours and many of us used that time to catch up on some sleep in order to prepare for the rest of our excursions this week. Once we arrived in Seville we checked into our hotel room and went to find lunch. We ended up at a place conveniently located right across from our hostel. After lunch the entire group came back together to walk to the Cathedral of Seville. This specific cathedral was the third largest in the world, which was amazing to experience and even more incredible to see with my own eyes.
The cathedral was beautiful inside and out. Throughout the trip so far, we have seen multiple cathedrals and my favorite aspect of the cathedrals we have seen this trip so far has been the stained glass windows and the main altars. Specifically in the Cathedral of Seville, the stained glass windows and main altar were breathtaking. Below is a photo of the group walking towards the Cathedral of Seville for our tour!
One unique thing that the Cathedral of Seville had that the other cathedrals we have seen have not had was a “La Giralda ” which is a bell tower. We walked as a group all the way to the top, the way to the top consisted of ramps at a steady incline. There were no stairs to the top as when it was originally built, the creators made it possible for horse drawn carriages to make it to the top. When we got to the top, approximately 37 levels up the view was amazing. When you looked out at the view you could see forever, one of my favorite things I saw was the bullring in Seville where bull fights take place. I was intrigued by this because I have always known about bull fighting and matadors, however I have never seen it outside of fictional movies or television. I wish I had the opportunity to see it in real life. However, a lot of other students were just as interested as I was so we made sure to ask Juan and Professor Lokos plenty of questions. However even though I could not see a bullfight in person I was still glad I was able to get a good view of the stadium itself. As we were wrapping up and getting ready to make the trek back down to the cathedral from “La Giralda” some of the bells actually rang right over our heads. It was incredibly loud and scary at first until we realized what was happening, but after that we quickly made our descent down before any more bells rang.
During our second day in Seville we went to Reales Alcázares which was originally a mosque but was destroyed and remodeled into a Christain palace. The palace was filled with colorful tiles and many archways that are a staple in Spanish architecture. Along with seeing the interior of the palace, we also were able to see the Royal Alcázares gardens. The flowers and all the water fountains were gorgeous and so picturesque that no matter the angle or the lighting that you took a photo from it did not do the gardens justice. Again as we saw in the cathedral, there were also many arches in the garden. One of my favorites that I saw was a bright orange one, which you can see in the photo. From this visit I truly was shocked at how vibrant the colors were throughout all the architecture and I was fascinated with how many different shades of blue and greens there were. Which then got me thinking about how elaborate and extensive the building process for this palace must have been. This day in Seville it was extremely hot, but that did not hinder our experience when it came to seeing and experiencing the amazing views throughout both days.
One of my friends and I’s favorite things to do in any city we are in is find a new gelato place. As we were strolling through the streets of Seville one day we came across a gelato place that immediately caught our eyes, it was called “La Abuela ”. I always tend to lean towards the more fruity flavors such as strawberry and mango, which were the two that I got from “La Abuela ” and it was in my opinion the best gelato we had tried on the trip so far. The mango tasted so fresh and the strawberry was very creamy and smooth. Gelato has been the perfect midday pick me up treat in between meals or right before or after siesta.
