Sevilla in January Day 6 Cathedral and Plaza de Toros

After a day feeling a little better, Andrea develops a temperature and sore throat during the night so he sleeps little and me, less then normal. Still, it’s better weather this morning, mild and a glimpse of sun.

I study my route and then make my way to the Cathedral without going wrong, going in the entrance at the back, near the entrance to Capilla Real. It’s about 9.20 and the Mass should be at 9.30. A lady asks me where I’m going and I say to the Mass, but she looks rather forbidding so I don’t stop much to look around until I reach the Altar Mayor where another forbidding lady tells me to sit down and not take photos, also that the Mass is at 10 o’clock. I obey. At 9.30 there’s some singing and readings. It’s really cold in the Cathedral compared to outside. I listen to the singing and the readings, much easier to understand than the Spanish TV, and look at the Altar Mayor, the spectacular ceiling of the Cathedral, the carvings of the wood choir behind me and an enormous Cristobal Colon. More people arrive, only a few look local, some from where I entered, some from the right, in the opposite direction.

My intention was to stay for Mass. But I feel really cold, and am worried I might succumb to whatever virus Andrea has got. When intimidating lady number 2 is busy chatting I get up and head to the right, but there are some railings which block that area so I stop and start looking at the side chapels, Intimidating lady approaches and indicates to continue out and a nice young man opens the railings so I can go through. In this area there are several people wandering, perhaps a dozen, also taking photos, so, well out of sight of the intimidating lady, I do the same. The Cathedral is Gothic and I like Gothic Cathedrals, the roof carvings are spectacular and the side chapels host some beautiful works of art. After about 10 minutes of looking and admiring, the cold takes hold of me again and I leave from the ‘front’ of the building.

Still cold, I head for the Corte Ingles supermarket, which is warm and with clean bathrooms. After that I wander a little more, Calle Sierpes and then Cuna before going to Mas for shopping for lunch and then home.

In the afternoon we had booked a visit to Plaza de Toros for 3.30. Andrea is no better so I go, by a torturous route which ends up making me nearly late. Nevertheless, I’m in the queue for 3.20. There’s a short queue for people who booked free entry and a longer and subsequent queue for those who didn’t. We’re allowed in on time. There’s a museum with posters and a couple of bulls, photos and paintings, including one showing bull acrobatics which we discovered is a cruelty-free way of daring the bull but obviously already existed in the 19th century.

A little further along are the stables and the chapel, with the prayers of the toreros. The next step is out into the bullring, a spectacular view. It isn’t raining and a little weak sun comes out, so I linger a while and take plenty of photos, before taking a roundabout route back home.