Sevilla

SEVILLA is my new favorite city in Spain. There was something about the old-town feel and architecture that made the visit pretty amazing. It was a short walk into the main part of town, but we were located right next to a HUGE cathedral (which are starting to all look the same to me) and REAL ALCAZAR. We didn't get to do much bc we came in from Cadiz around 3pm, but instead we went to a flamenco show. I left my camera  in Madrid (for security reasons), so I didn't get any pictures.. but I have some videos that I will try to post tomorrow. They put our high school sevillanas to shame.

Anyway, we didn't get to go inside la CATEDRAL DE SANTA LUISA bc Sunday was a religious holiday and the worse thing is I came home, re-read my guidebook, and learned that Christopher Columbus' tomb is inside. FAIL. but, at least we got into REAL ALCAZAR for free bc we're students. I think it was the prettiest castle I've seen so far. We stood in the chapel were Ferdinand and Isabel were married. pretty awesome. 

I didn't really feel like walking (after exploring Cadiz a little too much), but I'm glad we hit up the big landmarks. PLAZA ESPANA was beautiful. I expected a bronze statue or something, but it was really cool. There are ceramic tiles paintings of all the major cities/areas of Spain. I gave in and bought myself a flamenco fan.. and almost bought the castanuelas too... 

Last, but not least, we went to PLAZA DE TOROS A LA MAESTRANZA. Basically, the 2nd oldest bullring in Spain. The tour was in Spanish and then she repeated herself in English. I tried to understand her in Spanish first and then reconfirm what she said when she said it in English. The only time it didn't work when she was explaining how bull fights are judged. 

It's a pretty cruel sport. Each fight takes about 25 minutes. There's a bunch of different things they do to mess with and tease the bull for the first 20 and then the matador comes out to kill it. Depending on his style and precision, the crowd and president? decides what level of award he will receive. So, the matador can receive up the 3 TROFEOS (trophies). THREE, means a perfect show and the chance to walk out the "Puerta del Principe." It's so hard to win 3 that nobody received it last year. Anyway, it's a huge sign of honor and respect. 

The crazy part is the TROFEOS are:

1 trofeo - the matador will receive 1 ear

2 trofeos - the matador will recieve both ears

3 trofeos - the matador gets both ears and the tail

fun fact: the bull's tail (RABO DE TORO) is a delicacy and they serve it as a tapa!

Now you can see why i had no idea what she was saying in Spanish bc the whole sport literally doesn't make sense.