Spectacular Sevilla…

After years (no, really) of waiting, I finally made it–which is to say, I’ve finally visited Sevilla, the capital of Andalucía and the last major city here in the Dirty South…With more than 700,000 residents, it’s the 4th-most populous city in Spain, and it’s tourism sector is one of the most important in Spain…

Our first main stop was the Plaza de España…Unlike most other plazas in Spain (or Europe, period), this one was buil in the 20th century…Completed in 1929, it was built as part of the Exposición Iberoamericana held that year as a way to present Sevilla and the rest of Spain to the foreigners in attendance…One of its distinctive features are the bancos along the wall–one for each province in Spain (in alphabetical order) with the crest, map, and an image of an important historical event for each province…This way, foreigners can get to know all of Spain without leaving Sevilla!!…

Then we hit up the Reales Alcázares (Royal Alcázares), a conjunction of palaces surrounded by a muralla (wall) that was initiated in the 8th century…I personally prefer this place to the Alhambra, because there’s a lot more color…The gardens aren’t anything to sniff at either, with loads of exotic plants from all over the world…

And I can’t talk about Sevilla without mentioning its Catedral…Constructed from 1401-1507 (ridiculous), this Gothic cathedral is the largest in the world…It’s known for many things, like being the resting place of Colón (Colombus for us native English speakers) and the Giralda, its belltower…

Now, with today being Sunday, most of the places I would have loved to have visited today were either not open period today or closed by the time I was ready to step out, :-/…

But hey, I still enjoyed myself walking around and observing…I went to the mall behind my hotel–not as big as the one I’m used to perusing, but still good enough for adequate window-shopping…

And dinner wasn’t too shabby, either–I went to this cozy little tapas joint, where I got some stuffed mushrooms and croquetas (delish)…

And for dessert, I went to this helado place…Oh, and here’s a tid-bit: When people refer to helado here, they’re referring to what most people think of as gelato–it’s essentially the same thing (high-quality ice cream)…

While I wish we could have stayed here a day longer (I want to see more), I can’t complain: Sevilla is a beautiful city, and I consider myself blessed to have been able to at least have seen some of it, :-)…