Día 3- Córdoba a Seville

We enjoyed the beautiful Art Deco while on our last walk in Córdoba, before heading west to Seville.  

Just reading the news about the weather, 110°F + today, again... yikes!

Guess where this was taken?

Ehhhh.  Too late.

The entrance to an underground parking garage.

La sinagoga (the synagogue) was founded in the early 1300s.  Jews were welcomed in Córdoba under Islamic rule, but when the Christians took over, it was bye-bye Jews, hello successful Jews pretending to be Christians.  

We ate breakfast at a cafe nearby the Almodóvar Gate.  These were the best cheesy scrambled eggs with patatas ever, and the best cheese croissant (not pictured).

Made it, not made it.

He totally hit the building.  

But in his defense, there may not have been an alternative route.

Scooters seem to be the most practical option.  

All this talk of cars makes me a little apprehensive about renting my FIRST car abroad tomorrow.

Wish us luck!

After a quick 45 min. train ride, we were in Seville.

We marveled at the Church of our Savoir before going to the famous Seville Cathedral, since the line is shorter for tickets, and a combo ticket can be purchased.  This is the second largest church in the city.  A larger church seems really unnecessary...

Rick Steves is right, this church is depressing.

Traditional Spanish paella looks appetizing...

Unfortunately for me it comes with sausage!

We walked up 35 ramps and 17 stairs to get to the bell tower of Seville's Cathedral.

It was totally worth it for the view and the welcomed breeze.

I screamed when the clock turned 16:00.  It is difficult to tell from the picture, but the bells are huge (probably 3 meters) and so loud/functional.

Seville Cathedral is not only the largest cathedral in Seville, but the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.

Not shockingly, the original religious structure on this site was a mosque (1184-1248). 

Christopher Columbus' tomb is located here, inside the Cathedral, which is ironic considering he was a Marrano, a Jew that converted to Christianity because of the Inquisition, but still practiced Judaism behind closed doors.  

"In 1492 America was discovered by a Jew"- Eric's chant, not mine.

Christopher Columbus' rendition would be, 'in 1492, China was discovered by a Jew.'

Drinks and tapas, outside, in the heat, with misters (that provide little relief) mixed with second hand smoke.  

Just another day in Spain.

Our last stop for the day was a Flamenco concert at Casa de la memoria.  Heeding Rick Steves' advice, we decided to watch an official Flamenco concert, instead seeing a Flamenco show while eating an overpriced dinner.  We stopped by earlier for tickets, which was necessary because the venue is small and sold out.  We returned thirty minutes before the 19:30 show, since it is open seating.

The concert was one hour long, just long enough.  

It was amazing to see the performers watch each other carefully, following each others lead as they egg the dancers on... "¡baila bien!"

  It was incredible; so powerful and passionate.

Thankfully they said no pictures, except the last few minutes of the show.  I could see it being a problem otherwise.  As it was, the performers looked irritated at any unwelcome noises, movement, talking, etc.  I couldn't even imagine what would have happened if the performers were blinded by flashes, and constant clicking of cameras.  Plus, it was more fun to not think about pictures and just enjoy the show.

Bravo, María José León, Felipe Mato, Javier Rivera y Pedro Sánchez.  Bravo.