The view from the end of our street
I was in class during the cathedral visit, so I stopped by La Giralda after class. Not everything was open, but I went through the one door that was. The interior was like the other churches and cathedrals we´ve been to in Spain – goregous. I got a few weird looks for genuflecting. I am unsure if that is because genuflecting isn´t done in Europe, or if the host was not present, or if the tourists were non-Catholic and didn´t know what I was doing, but either way, I´d rather be safe than sorry.
This morning I returned to the cathedral on my way to class, and this time a different door was open. I stepped up and over through the doorway, and was greeted by cool air and organ music. The set up allowed people to mill around the cathedral without distrubing the morning mass that was taking place. Among the intricate details of the architecture was a giant clock which took up the space of an entire wall, and went all the way up to the high ceiling. La Giralda has many arches, sculptures and paintings, and is the third biggest cathedral the world. There were a few hallways stemming off the sides of the big room. I hope to go back and explore those.
Our first week in Spain, throughout the day and into the evening, La Giralda had long lines of people that wrapped around the building. After the feast day, the traffic slowed down exponentially, and people have been able to come and go as they please. I´ve seen evidence of one wedding there so far, with guests milling in front of the cathedral in formal evening gowns, and a few hours later, rose petals scattered across the steps. My host mom says that it is very hard to get married at La Giralda, because everyone wants to get married there. In fact, it´s hard to reserve a church for a wedding in Sevilla in general – she said that many people end up getting married on weekdays because there is no other time available.
La Giralda is very interesting and I would love to explore it some more. Maybe I´ll even see where Chistopher Columbus is rumored to be burried!