May 12, 2016, Thursday — Seville, Spain

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Cathedral of Saint Mary from Constitución Avenue

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Seville in the 16th century

Seville

Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos/Sevillanas. Located on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, Seville is fabled to have been settled by Hercules, and its wealth of magnificent monuments and buildings attest to its long and storied history. Founded by the Tartessians, the city was later settled by the Romans, and two of Rome’s great emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, were born here. Seville was occupied by the Moors from AD 711 until 1248, and many of its most fascinating monuments date to that period. Seville is also renowned as the birthplace of flamenco and Don Juan.

The Cathedral of Seville, the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, was begun in 1402, with construction continuing into the 16
th century. It is the largest of all Roman Catholic cathedrals (Saint Peter’s Basilica not being a cathedral) and also the largest Medieval Gothic religious building, in terms of both area and volume. Its main altarpiece is considered the largest in the Christian world. This cathedral was built to demonstrate Seville’s wealth, as it had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista.
This morning we went for a bus city tour where we saw an obelisk dedicated to Magellan and statues of El Cid and of Simon Bolivar. Many of the buildings that are now used to house museums and government offices were built for the 1929 World’s Fair. The bus tour ended at the Plaza de España, which was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain.
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Plaza de España

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Statue of El Cid

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Ann Lorenz

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Plaza de España

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Statue of El Cid

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Juanjo Perez pointing out the Guadalquivir River

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the Guadalquivir River

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obelisk

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Jacaranda tree and Ferris Wheel

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one of the entrances to the Plaza de España

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Plaza de España wall ceramic

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the curving colonnade

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ceramic

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the fountain in the middle of the Plaza de España

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Val Burgess

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Mike Barbano and Jim Crampton

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Pat Nagy, Elaine Hein, Nancy Fisher, Ingrid Yule, and JuanJo Perez

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Sonboon Higgs, Nancy Fisher, JuanJo Perez, and Sandy Barnes

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ceramic

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Ceramic mural for the State of Canarias

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Cadíz

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Caceres

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Burgos

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Baleares

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Badajoz

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Avila

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Almeria

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Alicante

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Albacete

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Ceramic mural for the
State of Alava

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Ceramic mural for the
host city of Seville

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Plaza de España, Seville

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bridge steps

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Plaza de España, Seville, Spain

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fountain

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Plaza de España panorama

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Plaza de España

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Plaza de España

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serenade

From the Plaza de España we walked through the Jewish quarter, past a plaque dedicated to Washington Irving and a plaque commemorating the place where Carmen met Don José and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, to the Santa María Cathedral.
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Juan-José points out the pipes buried in the walls to bring in fresh water

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plaque for Washington Irving

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plaque for the street where Carmen met Don José and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen

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we're on the Jewish Quarter

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Patio of Flags

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door

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Patio of Flags

May 12, 2016, Thursday — Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

After its completion in the early 16th century, the Santa Maria Cathedral (the Seville Cathedral) supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus.
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Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

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top of Holy door

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Holy door

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JuanJo Perez collects us with his ever-present maroon umbrella

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artifacts above the entrance include a crocodile and an elephant tusk

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Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

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Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

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half of the organ

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the Silver Door

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the main altar

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Mike Barbano, Terry Adams, Sue Novick, Gail Barbano, Judy Beck, Georgena Flynn-Stahl, Arthur Luehrmann, Jim Fisher, Bill Stahl, and Karen LeRoy listen to our local guide

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above and at left:
choir area

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Santa Maria Cathedral ceilings

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The tomb of Christopher Columbus, inside the Cathedral of Seville

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The tomb of Christopher Columbus, inside the Cathedral of Seville

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organ

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poster with detail of Christ child from the float on the right

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float that is carried on the streets in the Holy days

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Madonna and child

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Christ on the Cross

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view of the top of the main altar

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Christ

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painting by Murillo

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Santa Maria Cathedral

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painting by Murillo

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painting by Murillo

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The Giralda and the Cathedral of Seville at sunset

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template for a cross section of the pillars that had to be replaced because of cracks

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pigeon on the steps

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Cab Burgess, Judy Beck, Isabel Sandez, and Nancy Crampton at one of the doors

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Myrtha Saleme and Arthur Luehrmann enjoying the peace of the Moorish arches in the courtyard

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Ron Santina

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the Moorish minaret made into a bell tower

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Moorish door

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one of the doors undergoing renovation

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the Pope's door

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Post Office and Telegraph Office

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horse-drawn buggy

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Post Office and Telegraph Office

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After leaving from the cathedral’s Patio de los Naranjos (Patio of the Oranges), we went back to our hotel to find out that the building just across the street had been hit by lightning, which fried the building’s electrical circuits and knocked a number of tiles off the exterior. Luckily, no one was hurt.
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May 12, 2016, Thursday — Flamenco Experience in Seville

That evening we went past the Real Maestranza, the bullfighting ring, and were given a demonstration of flamenco costumes at the Patio Sevillano Flamenco, after which we had dinner and were treated to some wonderful flamenco dances.
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bougainvillea

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Torre del Oro (The Golden Tower) and the Guadalquivir River

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Torre de Oro (The Golden Tower)

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panoramic view of Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

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the front of Plaza de Toros
de la Real Maestranza

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statue of the Condesa de Barcelona in front of the Real Maestranza bullfighting ring

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statue of the Condesa de Barcelona in front of the Real Maestranza bullfighting ring

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Flamenco at the Patio Sevillano!

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ceramic depiction of a Flamenco dance

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Dancer and singer Eva demonstrating her craft and costumes

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Martha Luehrmann with one of the traditional male hats

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Judy Beck with one of the traditional male hats

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Howard Deckelbaum with one of the traditional male hats

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above the stage

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our male dancer is a Danny Kaye look-alike

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View of the Giralda from the Patio de Banderas (Courtyard of Flags), historic square with remains of Roman, Moorish and Castilian periods

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Courtyard of the Maidens in the Alcázar of Seville

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Interior of the Alcázar

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ceiling of the Hall of Ambassadors in the Alcázar of Seville

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The Alcázar Gardens

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Royal Tobacco Factory, today the rectorate of the University of Seville

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The Chapel of El Carmen,
next to the Triana bridge

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the Triana Bridge at night

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The "Fountain of Hispalis (Roman Seville)" and the Alfonso XIII Hotel, built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, in Puerta de Jerez

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Metropol Parasol, locally also known as Las Setas (the whales) by the German architect Jürgen Mayer

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Palace of San Telmo, seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government

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Museum of Fine Arts

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Pabellón Mudéjar — the Museum of Fine Arts and Traditions

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Pergola in María Luisa Park

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float of Jesus of the Great Power (Juan de Mesa, 1620), being carried in the streets in the Holy Week Madrugá

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Guadalquivir River, Schindler Tower and Sevilla Tower on the Isla de La Cartuja, designed by the architect César Pelli

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self portrait of
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

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painting of Isidoro de Sevilla, 7th century archbishop and doctor

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Casa de Pilatos garden

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Casa de Pilatos

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The 'Adriática' building (1914-1922) on the Avenida de la Constitución designed by José Espiau y Muñoz