CÁDIZ (SEVILLE), SPAIN (Port No. 35, 4/18/12)

SEVILLE CATHEDRAL AND ARCHIVO DE INDIAS

∙ GEOGRAPHY 101
          ∙ Land Mass/ Continent: Southernmost part of Europe
          ∙ About Cadiz (Seville): Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain; Seville is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia
          ∙ Estimated Population: 127,200 in Cadiz; 704,198 in the City of Seville (the 4th largest city in Spain); 1.5 million in the metropolitan area
          ∙ Distance From Home (San Diego, CA): 5,893 miles
          ∙ The Water That Got Us Here: Mediterranean Sea

∙ ITS PLACE IN HISTORY/INTERESTING FACTS
          ∙ Currency: Euro
          ∙ Local time: 
          ∙ Cadiz has been a principal home port of the Spanish Navy since the 18th Century
          ∙ Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural and financial capital of southern Spain
          ∙ It is more than 2,000 years old; in mythology, Hercules was its founder

SPANISH INQUISITION

          ∙ The Spanish Inquisition was a tribunal, existing from 1,480-1,834, to maintain Catholicism in the kingdom; jews and muslims were forced to convert, or be burned at the stake as heretics
          ∙ After Christopher Columbus’ expedition to the New World in 1,492, Seville flourished as it was the only port allowed to trade with the growing Spanish colonies of the Americas; other European countries had to go through Spain to acquire New World trade goods
          ∙ The monopoly was broken, with the port of Cadiz also authorized as a part of trade
          ∙ The Great Plague of Seville in 1,649 reduced the population by almost half
          ∙ Today, the people go from one bar to another, enjoying small dishes called tapas; they spend most of their spare time outdoors, drinking and having tapas
          ∙ Their night life continues into the late hours of the morning: nightsclubs don’t get full until 2 a.m.
          ∙ “NO 8 DO" is the official motto and banner/flag, and one of the many legends of Seville - it can be seen on bike racks, utilities, sidewalks, busses, taxis, monuments, etc. - even Christopher Colombus’ tomb
                    ∙ It means Seville has not abandoned me (a response by King Alfonso X to the people’s loyalty when his son tried to usurp the thrown from him)
          ∙ They have a neighborhood - and we have a dance - named “La Macarena”

AUDREY HEPBURN IN "MY FAIR LADY"

          ∙ Movie scenes were shot here for Star Wars Episode II, Lawrence of Arabia, Kingdom of Heaven and Knight and Day
          ∙ The Spanish translation of “My Fair Lady’s” “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” is “La lluvia en Sevilla es una pura maravilla” (the rain in Seville is a pure marvel)
          ∙ Travel video:  http://www.youtube.com/user/THEWORLDOFTRAVEL#p/search/0/PHbsj6e4jn8

∙ CLIMATE
          ∙ Seville has a hot summer Mediterranean climate - the warmest summers on the European continent, in fact
          ∙ Average low for April: 50.2
          ∙ Average high for April: 72.9

∙ HIGHLIGHTS/THINGS TO SEE
          ∙ Time in port: 15 hours
          ∙ The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Sea (“Seville Cathedral”), is a Roman-Catholic cathedral; it’s the largest Gothic cathedral and 3rd largest church in the world, and the burial site of Christopher Columbus – a UNESCO World Heritage Site
          ∙ The Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace, and the Archivo General de Indias an abutting depository of valuable documents – a UNESCO World Heritage Site; birth place of Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain (Marie Antoinette)

TORRE DEL ORO

          ∙ The Torre del Oro (watchtower)
          ∙ The Metropol Parasol - an umbrella-like building, finished in 2011
          ∙ Plaza de España

METROPOL PARASOL