We slept in a bit this morning - which was really nice - but were still awakened by the church bells. Our hotel is right across from the cathedral square. And it's a really big bell tower.
In fact, the whole cathedral is big...like the third biggest in the world...but we'll get there in a minute. Our first stop today was the Alcazar, the Royal Palace built primarily in the 1300s. It's still in use! When the King of Spain visits, he stays here.
The palace is a great example of the Moorish/Muslim architecture style of Mudejar. More crazy beautiful tile work. More amazing carved plaster designs. Every room has an amazing ceiling...I'm not kidding.
Outside the palace, after a hard day of governing, judging, and ruling, the sultans and kings would have headed to the gardens for a beer and a tapa.
My favorite story of the day is that of Peter the Just (or Cruel, depending on who you ask). Peter's beautiful wife liked to take baths here.
One night, not too long after her bath, Peter and some of his friends were taking a stroll around the gardens, and Peter stopped them at the bath. He said, "We should drink some of this water. My wife just bathed, and I promise you it will taste of heaven." All but one of his friends took a drink of the water. The one man who abstained flatly told Peter, "I won't drink that water. If I like the sauce, I might want to taste the partridge."
After the tour through the Alcazar, we headed for the cathedral. It is giant! Huge! And lovely. It was built in 80 years - which is really fast. Because it didn't take that long, it's all built in one style - Gothic.
And the inside is beautiful.
But the coolest thing inside is this tomb.
Four Kings carrying a coffin. Any guesses?
Okay, I'll tell you. Christopher Columbus. For reelz.
After leaving the cathedral, we had a bit of lunch and then went back to our hotel for our siesta. Dinner later...as in the rest of Spain...much later!
Tomorrow, Cordoba!
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