This first picture is the view through our first hotel room window. I say "first" because there was a slight problem with the room reservation in that we explicitly requested a room with three beds (being as there were three of us guys rooming together) and they gave us a room with a double and a single. We temporarily worked that out by getting Sander into his own single and Chris and I roomed together the first night. By this time I was beginning to understand that hotel rooms in Europe are smaller than what I have become used to in the States. And yes, based on my exposure to two hotel rooms I am judging all the hotel rooms in Europe. When we eventually did get our three person room it was still quite tiny. In fact, I would say with some confidence that my own bedroom is larger than this room in which we were squeezing three men together. Almost literally given the bed configuration. The hotel itself was actually quite small by the standards I am accustomed to; more of a villa than a real hotel in the traditional sense. It was basically just one of the buildings in this alley, maybe three or four stories, built around a sort of enclosed atrium with an enclosed garden in the back. It was pretty. I know Sander's favorite feature was the massive shower head, but mine was this curious feature whereby a light outside the room door would go on to let you know the room is occupied. This is because, in order to turn the lights on in the room you have to insert your keycard into a slot above the lightswitch. Clever.
On our first morning out we wandered through the twisting, narrow, and completely incomprehensible maze of alleys to a central square in which lived the Alcazar. We only walked around the courtyard for a few minutes, so we didn't see anything represented by the pictures in that Wikipedia article, but it was still quite impressive. The Alcazar was originally a Moorish fort, and you can see that in the progression of the stonework to brickwork. I always find it fascinating when you can distinguish the age and shape of the various modifications and enhancements to a structure through careful or even simple observation. Another note I found fascinating while walking about Seville is the number of orange trees that line the streets. There were also small orange groves (orchards?) in the building insides, like the trees pictured here inside the Alcazar courtyard.
Like many things, this Cathedral has many names, I suppose the most common of which is the Seville Cathedral. I didn't know until just now, but this is considered to be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Impressive! It's also really big. I loved walking around it and gazing at the intricate stonework and carvings and the brickwork and all those buttresses and towers and the dome and that really big tower (called the Giralda) that seems to be prominent in all the pictures. It's a beautiful thing. Even for a church.
I took a lot of pictures while strolling around the cavernous interior of the cathedral, so the pictures I'm showing here are only a couple I found really interesting. First is the pope-looking figure. If you look closely in his right hand you'll notice what appears to be a large kitchen knife being brandished in a possibly threatening manner. In his left hand you'll notice a distinct lack of fingers. I'm just saying... The second picture is an attempt to capture a very large pipe organ. Glancing over the little pamphlet he got when he walked in... Oh look, the tomb of Christopher Columbus is here. Yeah, maybe I should have paid attention to that while I was there. Damn. Also of note, there is a "Chapel of Sorrows," that's pretty cool, and something called "The Lizard" which I photographed (badly), but have not posted because it is bad (terrible). It's basically a peculiar wooden alligator hanging from the ceiling just inside the courtyard. It really wasn't nearly as interesting as a name like "The Lizard" would lead you to believe.
Alright, just a few more quick notes for this first installment. There were some really cool gargoyles around the cathedral, this little guy with the hairy back is probably one of my favorites. Second, there were lots of mopeds in Seville. And this is something that should be noted about Europe in general (because I love insane generalizations), they know how to get around. They drive small cars, and mopeds, occasionally motorcycles, and bikes. Other than the occasional larger luxury SUV, I could not find any vehicles I would consider large by American standards. Most of the cars were tiny and European or Japanese. Oh yes, and they all drive/bike/scooter like complete nutjobs. I was ascared.
