Arrival in Seville

After Córdoba, we had a 2 hour bus ride to Seville where we met our host families picked us up. The picture to the left was taken on my roommate Tom's birthday. On the right hand side of the photo is Gracia, or as I called her abuela. She is the owner of the apartment that we stayed at, and has been hosting exchange students for nearly 17 years. To Gracia's left is her daughter Teresa, who would do a majority of the cooking and cleaning around the house. They are both extremely caring and nice, along with the rest of their family. They made us feel very welcomed, and part of the family.









I took this photo, on the right, while walking across the San Telmo Bridge to the city center. The building in the center is called Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold). There are many stories and rumors that it used to be a storehouse for all the gold and treasures brought back from the Americas, or used as a toll station for boats to pay in order to continue up the river. However, those are untrue and was actually an old Muslim 13th Century defense tower, part of the city's wall defense. I was lucky enough to see this almost everyday while taking a storll down the river walk, or crossing this bridge near daily.

Here on the left, is a photo taken on my trip to the Royal Gardens of The Alcazar. The Alcazar was a Muslim palace located in the center of the city centuries ago. Today it is a popular tourist destination because it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the setting for the Palace of Dorne in Game of Thrones.