A day in Sevilla

After a three hour bus ride, I was officially in my second Spanish city ever. Misae and I sat next to each other, and couldn’t help but be in awe of the millions of olive trees we saw. Literally millions, covering each mountain and hillside in perfect grids. No wonder the olives and olive oil here is so fresh and tasty. I would eat olive oil flavored ice cream if I could!

There were about 50 students on our bus from various schools in Granada. The majority were Americans, but as I hopped off the bus, I followed Misae to a smaller bunch. Our tour guide Juan was so funny and animated, I knew I would have a great day. Until he asked me what part of France I was from. I said, in Spanish of course, that I was from Florida, not France. He gave me a look and promptly asked why I wasn’t with the other Americans. Well of course I asked why all of the Americans needed to be together, and then told him I simply followed my friend. This satisfied him.

First it was off to the Real Alcazar, which was a maze of fountains, gardens with Moorish and Christian architecture. The palace was originally built in the tenth century, and every Arabic ruler and following Christian king added their own flair. Arabic influences with the curved doorways, plaster work and mosaic tile, Christian style with enormous tapestries and gilded rotundas. Amazing. My favorite part was the Arabic baths, which glowed an amber color deep under the palace. Shallow water glimmered in front of us, and I could just imagine the scene hundreds of years ago. Royalty in all of its decadence lived here, and walking the same hallways and plazas that they did. There were also five newlywed couples in gowns and tuxedoes having their photos taken, surrounded by tourists….

The Cathedral of Sevilla was equally jaw dropping, and it took us an hour to see the entire church. In the 1100s, the site was originally a mosque with la Giralda, an immense tower that took us about 35 flights of steps to climb…Not really steps, but ramps. The muezzin would climb the tower on horseback to start the call of prayer every day. The view from the top was amazing, but I nearly fainted on the way up. Over the years, just like much of the history of Andalusia, the Moorish influence was soon overwhelmed by the Christian, and the mosque or mezquita was transformed beginning in 1402. Today it is considered the largest cathedral in Europe, they don’t count St. Peter’s Basilica in Italy because it’s not a cathedral.

Even with hundreds of students and tourists inside, the place was hushed. Reverent. Each capilla, or a small room where the architecture resembles a pope’s hat-or capilla- housed various artifacts that were of course, centuries old. Cushioned chairs, goblets, texts paintings, bones of saints and more. Just looking at the hundreds of carved wooden choir seats gave me chills. The organ was so huge, that I’m sure God really did hear the people when they were chanting. Dripping in gold and iconography, I was really enjoying this tour. And then I saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Over the centuries, it has been moved around, but it now rests in Sevilla, in the same church that Columbus’ son is buried. Talk about reverence. I really stood in front of the statues-four Spanish kings of Aragon, Castile, Leon and Navarre- carrying an urn-and stared. It was pretty hard to get me to move out of that spot.

And then there was the test. My tour guy came over, scoffed a bit, and then asked if I even knew the year Columbus discovered the new world. In Spanish, I said Por Supuesto. Mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos. “Of course, 1492.” And what day? he asked. Oct. 12-with his ships the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Good enough?

He thought so, and walked away while I thanked my stars that I went to catholic school and dad made me memorize a little ditty about Mr. Columbus. Whew!

Last was the Plaza de Espana, built in the 1920s. Each province is represented by tiled alcoves, and I could resist having my photo taken next to Granada….Interesting note-scenes from both Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars 11, Attack of the Clones were filmed there….

Three hours bumping back on the bus, and I looked through my photos and fell asleep. As we approached the city lights of Granada at dusk, I felt strange. I felt glad to be….back. It felt familiar as any foreign city can, and Misae shared my sentiments. We had loved Sevilla, but noted that Granada was more friendly, easily walkable and just plain beautiful. Whenever I get a bad dose of homesickness, I flip through my photos and realize just how lucky I am.