First full day in Seville was spent exploring two amazing catherdrals, some Roman and Moorish ruins, at least one tapas restaurant (because as I write this we have not yet had the evening meal, which beings no earlier than 8:30 or so when the restaurants reopen), and a gelato bar. Much walking, getting lost, and finding ourselves. We discovered several wonderful ceramic shops in the area which produce ceramics in traditional Arabic fashion and will definitely be going back as soon as we find a way to ship fragile items back to Montana.

Seville’s Cathedral–apparently they had run out of saints in the 1400s for cathedral namesakes–is THE cathedral to visit in Seville, so we started the day at the much smaller, and to my mind more beautiful, Iglesia del Salvador which is a block or two away. In addition to much smaller crowds, going there first allows you to buy a ticket that also grants you admission to the Seville Cathedral without having to stand and wait for hours at the gate.

Salvador is described as a Baroque cathedral. If you took all of the Baroque cathedrals in the world and put them side by side, Salvador would likely stand out as the most Baroque. It is smaller and more intimate than Seville’s Cathedral and the altar carvings and statuary are incredible in their detail and…ummm…Baroqueness. The photos may not do that justice.

And now on to Seville’s Cathedral, begun in the 1400s.

Seville’s Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. It’s listed in Guinness as “Santa Maria de la Sede in Seville,” but nowhere else is that evident. Similarly to Salvador, if you lined up all the world’s Gothic cathedrals, you notice that Seville’s was really, really Gothic. The scale can only be described as monumental, both inside and out. The photos will not come close to conveying that, but they may give you a sense of the various elements of the structure.

Attached to the cathedral is the Giralda Bell Tower, a former Moorish minaret built on a Roman foundation. The views of from the tower are wonderful, especially of the cathedral itself.

Oh, and Christopher Columbus is buried here.