We started with the Alcazar, since it closed for lunch and we didn't want to get shut out of it.
You start out in the Mudéjar portions of the place, and wander around looking at the mixes of architectural styles.
This is the Patio de la Montería, and is where the richie riches would meet before going hunting.
And is now home to some ducks hoping for handouts.
They just hang out next to the tour groups waiting to be fed. Cute, but kinda sad.
Oooh, ancient Moorish bench.
They still spend a tonne of time and money keeping this place looking nice.
When the ducks aren't begging for food, they're hanging out in their little duck pond.
The horseshoe arches characteristic of Moorish architecture aren't very strong, so there tend to be many more of them in buildings.
This was the single busiest place we've been to yet on our trip.
We spent the next little while waking around the gardens out back. They're absolutely huge.
Oranges. We never did grab one to see if it was edible or not. They're all over the country however.
There were groups of artists all over the place paiting various aspects of the buildings. They're pretty good too!
This was a little maze-garden thing.
We climbed up the stairs to one other part of the castle, where you could walk above the gardens for a while.
Girl!
These ducks were following people into the castle café, hoping for more snacks.
This is the Gothic part of the castle. Not as much black as I expected.
This was some naked lady hanging around. Weird.
We next paid the admission to go in and check out all of the main cathedral. Cool.
It's monstrous. The first major dome collapsed some 3 years after it was done.
Somebody put a lot of time and energy into this.
There are various side rooms with treasures and religious goonk of varying importance.
We next entered La Giralda, the huge tower (named after Faith), which had these cool plaques in Spanish...
...and arabic.
Instead of stairs, you climb up ramps, which used to be used to move horses up and down the tower.
You get some pretty good views of the city on the way up.
At the top, you're right in the thick of teh bells, and see a lot of the city.
There are 30 turns in the ramps, and it only takes about 5 minutes to get up and down them. Quite easy.
This is the Patio de los Naranjos. The wash basin in the middle is where people used to wash their hands and feet before praying in muuuch older times.
Nice city. We spent the rest of the day wandering around shopping districts, drinking café and wine, and munching on tapas. Tough life.