Saturday was my only full day in Espana, so we wanted to see everything! Even though we got back at 2am the night before, we were up early to go see the sites. We met up with Libby's friend Alyssa and went to the gypsy market. I love outdoor markets and this one was no exception! Everything was really cheap so I figured if I wanted a souvenir, this was the place to get it. In the end, we all ended up buying something. Alyssa got bright green flats, Libby got sunglasses and I got a scarf. We almost went in together and bought a box of strawberries for 3 euro. We ended up deciding not to, but they looked so good! We also found a box of escargot... alive. Those were not so appealing. In fact, they looked down right disgusting. That is one delicacy I will never understand.
After the market we walked back the city and headed toward the cathedral. But on the way, we came across some Catholic evangelists. We got into a really interesting discussion with one of the nuns who was actually from the states and a few of her students who wanted to practice their English. I learned a lot about her perspective on why they pray to the saints instead of straight to God. And while I still don't agree with idea, I definitely understand it better. She said it's like when you want to go ask your dad something, but you don't know what he'll say. So you go ask your mom to put in a good word for you and kind of broach the idea with him. That's why they would pray to Mary..... really interesting. But in the end, the nun had all the important stuff right. God. Jesus. Death on a cross. Acknowledgment of personal sin. Saved by grace. Living out your faith. It was so interesting. We agree on what matters, there are just a few doctrinal differences. I look forward to seeing that nun in heaven someday and talking to her some more.
We continued walking and ended up at the cathedral. The guy who designed it said, "Let us build a cathedral so large, that future generations will look back and call us crazy!" Ironically, that was the first word out of my mouth when I saw it. It was ginormous! It is currently the third largest cathedral in the world and has the largest altar in the world! It was magnificent. Once again, having my own personal tour guide came in really handy. Interestingly, this cathedral is built on top of/next to a mosque. So the minaret where the Muslims did their call to prayer, now has a bell tower and cross on top. We climbed to the top and had an amazing view of the city!
By this point it was 1 or 2 so we sat down and ate the lunch senora had packed for us. It had a salami and cheese sandwich, orange, apple, juice box, and entire sleeve of biscuits/cookies. Yummy! After lunch, we walked around some more. I think we were looking for somewhere in particular, but we never found it. Instead, I got a great tour of the city. No complaints here! I just loved being out. Although, by the end of the day, my feet killed! The streets there have a lot of cobblestone so it is really hard walking. It's not like we're on smooth sidewalks the whole time. But it was worth it to experience all of Sevilla in a day and a half.
After walking for awhile, we stopped and got gelato. So good! And chatted about life. It was so great to catch up, swap stories, and have great deep conversations that always happen when we're together! What did we talk about? Sorry, you had to be there!
The senora made us another fantastic dinner and then we stayed in for the night. We were both so tired after walking all over Sevilla! Plus, we had to get up early to get to the bus stop, so I could catch my flight back to Dublin.
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