Hey everyone. I want to apoligize again for taking so long to post a blog. I got all my homework and projects done last week so I have a little more free time this week. I am going to start off talking about Cordoba, which we visited about 2 weeks ago.
Cordoba was just overflowing with history. I won't be able to recall everything that our professor told us, but I will do my best to give you a semi-accurate description. When the Muslims occupied Cordoba they built an unbelievabe mosque. There are over 900 columns throughout. If you think that's huge, think about this. When the Christians conquered the Moors they decided not to destory the mosque, but instead built a cathedral and dropped it right in the middle of the mosque. We also spent a few hours walking around the city and vistied the Jewish quarters. Even in the 8th and 9th centuries Jews were discriminated against. They were forced to live in tiny neighborhoods and their synagogue wasn't a fraction of the size of the mosque. We were hoping to spend more time in Cordoba, but the heat was unbearable so we called it an early day and returned to Seville.
The next day we stayed in Seville to visit the cathedral and royal palace. The cathedral in Seville is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and the 3rd largest in the world. The second you walk in you head automatically looks up. The detail of every little wall and alter is so extravegant, it is unbelievable. I can barely put it into words what we saw. If that wasn't enough we walk up to this tomb and our professor says, "This is the tomb of Christopher Columbus' son." I was thinking, "Oh my goodness! How insane that I am standing right here!" Then he says, "Oh and over there....that's Christopher Columbus." .........I was speechless. I was 2 feet from Christopher Columbus!!!!!! I came to Seville thinking I was just going to learn Spanish. I never imagined that I would learn all of this important history, and see it with my own eyes! Seville's cathedral is also famous for the Giralda, which is a tower that extends 34 stories up. We were able to climb to the top and see the best view of the city. It was extraordinary. The royal palace was another site to behold. When the King and Queen of Spain visit Seville, they actually stay in this palace. We weren't able to see where they actually stay, but we saw many rooms that were once occupied by the royals. The palace also has the most beautiful gardens. The gardens were used for courting. There is a maze inside, and the couple would try to lose their chaperone in the maze so that they could have alone time. Students get in free to the gardens, so I am going to take advantage of that and spend an afternoon relaxing and doing homework in there.
Then on that Sunday we went to a bullfight. I was very nervous at first because I knew that I would be the person that would cry when the bull died. One of our professors gave us a little info session so that we would better understand the fight. One way to look at it is art. If you really start to disect everything they do, then it is easier to understand. One thing that I kept telling myself was that when they kill the bull they either give the meat to an orphanage, or they sell it and give it to a charity. So they aren't just killing the bull for fun. As it happens, I really enjoyed the bull fight. We were lucky and saw a varied show. One guy got mauled but walked away with no broken bones or blood. One guy got an ear after his kill. The better you do, the more appendages you get. The best you can get is 2 ears and a tail. So this guy did a very good job. I wanted to go again, but the season ends at the end of the month and we have trips planned up until then. But I am glad I experienced it, and suggest that all of you at least try it, because you may end up enjoying it!
I am going to post a few pictures of each of the sites, so that you will be able to see what I did. Thanks for being patient with me!!
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