Statue or Person?

People in Europe like to dress up like statues.

Viva Espana!

We ended our trip full circle, back in Madrid for the final afternoon/night, and it was quite the experience! Spain was playing Germany in the final round of the Eurocup. We all went out and bought Espana soccer jerseys so we could celebrate like true Spaniards. We started out watching the game at a sports bar, but when Spain was winning at half-time we decided to migrate over to Plaza de Colon in the center of Madrid to watch the second half! It was crazy! The whole square was packed and we had to go through security to get in. People were singing and chanting, and purple smoke/fire shot off into the sky. There were two giant TV screens to watch the game on. I’ve never been a huge sports fan, but I got so into the game feeding off the energy from the crowd! When Spain finally won, the whole city went crazy. Everyone jumped into the fountains to celebrate!

Flamenco!

Tonight we went to a Flamenco show, and ate dinner while we watched the show. I loved the dancers’ dresses. At times it seemed like the dresses were dancing on their own.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Catedral de Sevilla

Next we visited la Cetadral de Seville. It was HUGE! It’s actually the largest gothic cathedral in the world! The view from the top of the Cathedral tower was incredible. We could see out over all of Seville, and the city seemed to stretch on forever!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Alcazar

Next up we toured the Alcazar, a royal palace that was originally a Moorish fort. I loved the archways in the center!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Plaza de Espana

First stop on the tour today was the Plaza de Espana. It was built in the early 1900s and it’s home to some of Spain’s government buildings.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hola, Sevilla!

We left Cordoba and continued on our way to Sevilla. The city is slightly larger than Cordoba, but not as modern or as vast as Madrid. We had lots of time today to walk around and shop. We tried to check out la Plaza de Torros, the Bull-Fighting ring, but it was closed today 😦

 

 

Goal!!

Tonight Spain won the semifinal of the euro-cup. The entire city went crazy! Everyone was running around the streets singing and celebrating Spain’s victory. They all congregated in a square in the middle of Cordoba, singing and cheering. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before! This sort of thing would never happen at home, especially not over a sporting event!

La Mezquita

And the first part of the trip comes to a close 😦

Today we moved on from Madrid to Cordoba. Cordoba is much more old-fashioned than Madrid, and I’m completely loving all the old Spanish architecture! We spent most of the day at a cathedral called La Mezquita.

Toledo

Today we took a day trip to Toledo, a small historical city to the south of Madrid.