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Published: November 21st 2006
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A New Country Creates All New Challenges
Cathedrals in Europe are Amazing We woke up and went out for breakfast but were surprised to find that everything we had learned about breakfast in Portugal was worthless in Spain. Basically this was our wake up call that we had to rethink everything we thought we knew. We basically sat in a restaurant and when the waiter came by, we asked him to bring us his recommendation for breakfast - which turned out to be toast, butter, jam and coffee. Good enough!
We headed from there immediately to the Cathedral which is the main sight in Sevilla. Some quick history…in the 1400s the Spanish pushed the Moors out of Spain. Upon coming back to Sevilla they found a large mosque and decided it was time to show the world that the Christians were back! Thus, we have the third largest cathedral in the world (behind the Vatican and St. Paul’s in London). They actually have the Guinness Book of World Records certificate to prove it on display in the church. The Cathedral took 120 years to build and is an absolutely amazing spectacle.
The inside
of the Cathedral is easily 4 stories tall. The pictures can’t really do it credit. Like I’ve said in early entries, the Catholics really do know how to make you feel small in the presence of God. On the other hand, Catholics (at least in this part of the world) are big into the creepy parts of the Bible. Early on in the church was a statue that was created to look like the severed head of John the Baptist, complete with backbone and fleshy bloody parts. Pretty gross!
I was really impressed with the church organ which I’m sure is LOUD when it’s being played. It’s absolutely enormous…which makes sense in a church this big. In the back of the church are some separate rooms that contained the treasury and a few other random rooms such as the formidable circular room which is the Bishop’s receiving room. I’m sure you’d enter this room feeling like you were in the presence of greatness! (KT: Most likely also keeps ideas of rocking the boat to a minimum as well)
Kel Will Not Be Quiet Until We Get a Carriage Ride As the title to this section
suggests, Kel has been vocal for a while about wanting a Carriage ride. I’ve been holding off for the right opportunity (which in my mind might have been Germany) but I could hold out no longer. We, therefore, hopped a carriage ride from in front of the Cathedral and took about a 40 minute ride around town. It was pretty fun despite the fact that our guide/driver spoke zero English. We got some great pics so hopefully they will give you an idea of the time we had. (KT: Mike’s not exaggerating - I love carriage rides and all outdoor transportation in general. From pedi-cabs in NYC and Austin to carriage rides here and everywhere, they’re my favorite! I can’t wait for the tuk-tuks in Thailand =)
The Santa Cruz District for a Walking Afternoon We spent the rest of our afternoon walking around the Jewish quarter which is called Santa Cruz. These quaint alley ways and boutiques provided a great place for us to spend an hour or two while eating lunch and walking away the afternoon. This section of town is what you think of when you think of old Spain. We stopped in
a few shops and looked at some of the cool Spanish tiles and of course stopped into a few souvenir shops and looked at the more stupid objects being sold.
After sitting in a park for a while we decided to head back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. In the hotel lobby we met a couple and their two kids who were traveling Spain for a month. Andy, the husband, had worked for Capital One and then worked for a small student loan company which was recently purchased. Thus between jobs, Andy and family decided to get some traveling in, -Spain now and New Zealand in a month or two. It was nice to talk to some other Americans who were in a similar place as us. We find that the student backpackers don’t have much in common with us so we are a little isolated from the world. Thank God we have each other and that we can spend every day together without getting sick of each other. Our relationship truly is a blessing because many people would already be killing each other…we just get closer every day!
Well, enough for now. Hope everyone
is having as good a day as we are.
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Bruce / Daddy
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Carriage Ride in Sevilla
Mike and Kel, It was fascinating to hear how much you guys enjoyed the carriage ride, especially Kel. I thought of three possibilities when you get back. 1. Spend your vacations with the Amish people. You could ride in their carriages all day long. 2. You guys have been looking for a business opportunity. Carriage rides around Richmond could be a big money maker. 3. You could go all out and do what bikers and runners and walkers sometimes do. Carriage ride from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It may be a first. No matter what, carriage riding would certainly give you plenty of time to ‘horse around’.