Epilogue: Sevilla

On Monday, July 30th, we boarded a bus and, after a short ride, arrived in Sevilla.  It was crazy to think that we only had Monday and Tuesday left in Spain, and then we would be back in the States.  We wanted to see as much as we could during these last two days, so we started with a stroll around the city once we arrived.

Rachel, Minn, and me trying not to look like tourists

City street

 Beautiful park right in the city

The city was full of beautiful old buildings like this one 

A strange, yet well-known sculpture in the middle of the city

After exploring for awhile, we returned to the hotel and relaxed for awhile until dinner.  After dinner, we spent time with the rest of our group and went to bed so we would be ready to go for our last full day in Spain.

The next day, our entire group embarked on a guided tour of Sevilla and saw none other than the Plaza de España.  This beautiful example of the Renaissance Revival style in Spanish architecture was built in the 1920s for the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929.  We really had fun taking photos at this landmark:

Rachel and me - our idea of being artsy 

Plaza de España  

Reminded me a little bit of Disney 

Look what we found! 

That's me! 

So many beautiful buildings 

And did I mention lots of fountains? 

Breathtaking gardens 

Interesting colors 

 Extremely narrow streets 

Just as in Cádiz, street names in Sevilla are posted on the sides of buildings, making it extremely difficult for directionally-challenged tourists like me to find my way around 

Pretty view of a statue 

We then went on to see Alcázar - a royal palace in Sevilla that was originally a Moorish fort.  It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Outside view of the palace

Palace walls

Beautiful detail 

Inside view 

Courtyard 

Look at that artwork! 

A prime example of the huge religious influence in Spain  

Beautiful tapestries like this one covered the inside walls of the palace

Palace gardens  

Looks like some more Arabic influence  

 Love those palm trees

More of Sevilla's gorgeous architecture 

 Last shot in Sevilla

Our tour comprised most of our final day.  We had the rest of the day to ourselves, so our group spent time together and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon.  Just like our hotel in Granada, our hotel in Sevilla had a rooftop pool, so we spent some quality time soaking up our last Spanish rays.  After our last dinner at the hotel with the group and some packing and time with the group, we called it a night and went to bed for the last time in Spain.