¿Cómo se dice “blog” en español? Blog from Seville: Sunday March 30

Today we took a series of trolleys out to Castelo São Jorge, which is suuuuper high up on a hill (Lisbon is a really, really hilly city, especially compared to ultra-flat Sevilla). Built by the Muslims during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, the castle fell to Christian control in 1147 during the Siege of Lisbon. Lisbon became the capital of the new Christain Kingdom, and so it was also the seat of the royal court. The castle was not dedicated to Saint George until the 14^th century by King João I. Between the 14^th and 16^th centuries one of the castle towers was used as an archives building for the Kingdom. The castle was the setting of the reception of Vasco da Gama (who discovered a water route to India) by King Manuel I in 1498. The castle HUGE, with drawbridges, turrets, Roman artifacts scattered throughout and sweeping ocean views. Entrance gate/doorway thing.

Amazing view of the coast. To the left of the bridge is a giant statue of Cristo Rei (Christ the King), similar to the HUGE one in Rio de Janeiro of Cristo Redentor. Lisbon's version, Cristo Rei, was a gift from Francisco Franco.

A view of the courtyard area from which the views are quite nice. Roman artifacts scattered throughout.

A peacock was there, just for good measure and aesthetic enhancement.

Awesome bridge and a small corner of the castle.

Shot of the steep, tall castle walls.

A shot showing where you can walk - all up along the castle walls. Very few hand rails, combined with very strong wind and stupid tourists, make Mom sort of nervous.

A shot looking out of the windows of one of the many turrets.

After seeing the castle, we headed just a couple kilometers away to see the Sé Cathedral. The oldest church in the entire city, construction began on the cathedral in 1147 – same year Castelo São Jorge fell to the Christians. The first building, finished during the 13^th century, is in the Romanesque style. At the end of the 13^th century King Dinis I had a Gothic cloister added, and his successor Alfonso IV had the main chapel converted into a royal pantheon in Gothic style for him and his family. The earthquake of 1755 destroyed the main Gothic chapel, the pantheon and the cloister. The cathedral was not fully renovated until the 20^th century. The cathedral is quite dark and has little decoration but is really beautiful nonetheless. Its floorplan slants oddly to the left as though to accommodate a structure to its right that no longer exists – but we never figured out if that was true or not.

For some reason I didn't take a photo of the exterior of the cathedral from up close. I took this one, looking across town at it, from the top of the elevator...read on.

Beautiful Portuguese-style altar.

Requisite stained glass photo.

Honey-colored ceiling of the main nave.

To end the day we headed back into the center of town and rode the Elevator of Santa Justa. The elevator was built by Raoul de Mesnier du Ponsard (an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, which explains the structure's similarities to Paris' Eiffel Tower), to provide a link between the downtown area and Bairro Alto (the lowest and highest points of the city, respectively). Built in 1902 and originally powered by steam, the elevator is 45 meters (147 feet) high and is built in the Neo-Gothic style – it’s covered with filigree. Tiny winding staircases up at the very top provide beautiful views of the city.

The lift itself.

This is actually a really eerie image. This is the Convento da Carmo (Carmo church), built between 1389 and 1423 in the Gothic style. The church was a victim of the earthquake of 1755, and only its Gothic arches and walls survived. The empty arches used to support stone ceilings which fell during the earthquake, killing then entire congregation, which was in the church because it was All Saint's Day. Today, the former main altar is home to a small archeological museum with treasures of Portuguese monasteries.