Sevilla Welcomes Us - June 12, 2014

We said good-bye to our Palace in the Algarve and a sad farewell to Portugal and boarded our coach with Jose Antonio expertly navigating the narrow streets. On to our next destination.... Sevilla, Spain.

Farewell to our Palace in the Algarve

After a few hours on the coach we arrived Sevilla, Spain and a whopping 42 degrees Celsius greeted us. Our first order of business was a very "tame" boat trip over the Guadalqauivir River. Sevilla's habour is the only river port in Spain and is approximately 80 kms from the Atlantic Ocean. On board our river boat and after much prompting from our Tour Guide Manager, Adriana, the captain of the boat played The Macarena and we showed Adriana how the dance went. "Praise His Holy Name" it was a private cruise for the choir.

River Boat

                                              

Teaching the Macarena











After our boat trip we had some free time where we had lunch and of course we managed to squeeze in "Retail Therapy". We were then treated to a tour of the third largest cathedral in the world (a UNESCO Heritage site), The Cathedral of St. Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral and also known as the largest Gothic cathedral.



Pipe Organ

Stain Glass

Inside this magnificent cathedral we visited the tomb where it is believed Christopher Columbus is buried. In this cathedral we were treated to seeing a spectacular pipe organ that required 40 people to play and operate. The organ was crafted out of mahogany that was shipped from Cuba. Other features of the cathedral were the breathtaking stained glass that are under constant restoration.

                                              



Christoper Columbus Tomb

      



We then checked into our hotel for a one night stay in Sevilla where we were treated to a dip in the roof top pool. A nice way to end our hot day.