the promised pictures...

the past few days in sevilla...

me, channeling my past life as a great matador! the cape i´m wearing is an authentic matador cape, and it weighs a TON! it´s made out of fuschia silk and the inside is canary-yellow courdoroy... quite flamboyant, if you ask me! the hat is also an authentic matador hat. these hats are extremely expensive--anywhere from 150-200 euros! yikes!

outside of the real alcázar--sevilla´s local palace. the palace is tucked away behind city hall (which you can see on the left).

inside one of the arabic courtyards in the alcázar. arabic architecture is beautiful and very ornate. the arabics also did all of their detailed work in plaster. they understood that plaster wasn´t necessarily a long-lasting material, but they preferred to work with it because God was the only true permanent thing, and try to to build something out of ´permanent´materials was out of the question...

a look inside the sala de embajadores (ambassador´s room). ambassadors came from all over europe to seek a meeting with the kings and queens of spain--especially king ferdinand and queen isabella. the room is filled with incredibly intricate and ornate details and has absolutely gorgeous coloring. i´m a little disappointed in my camera, because it definitely doesn´t do the room justice.

a more modern part of the alcázar. this part was constructed by carlos the V (i think...), and it definitely has a more gothic structure. the colors in adalucía are beautiful. buildings all over sevilla are painted white with bright yellow or orange trimming. it´s lovely!