how to visit the cathedral in Seville:
head straight to la Giralda, the belltower that used to be a minaret. begin walking up the ramps immediately, without really giving thought to the project you have undertaken. reach the 16th landing a little tired; think to yourself, "uh, just how high is this thing, exactly?". walk up 18 more ramps before you see the stairs to the top. stay on the platform for a very long time, taking pictures of the city (over the railings), and the bells (above your head). jump a little when the bells ring out the quarter hour. leave when a really annoying tour group shows up.

the view from the top of la Giralda is beautiful. on our way down from the top of the minaret, we noted some sort of rally taking place in an adjacent plaza. it turns out that we managed to be up there during the nearby public appearance of a soccer (or fútbol, as the locals would have it) player for the Seville team. we got to hear lots of cheering, and many rousing renditions some sort of Seville fight song (I know this because the chorus involved the lines, "Seviiiiiilla, Seviiiiiilla." I'm clever like that).

after the cathedral, we made an attempt to wander the streets of Seville and soak up some atmosphere, but were defeated by the heat, and retreated to FNAC (like Chapters, but with electronics thrown into the mix. it has air-conditioning and seating. we love it).

oddly enough, while it is very hot here, we are actually finding it cooler than Madrid. yesterday evening, after we'd settled into our hostel, we took a walk by the river, and it was actually a comfortable temperature! shocking, I know. also, on that walk we discovered a group of men playing Kat's new favourite sport. we don't know what it's called, but it appears to work like water polo, except with kayaks.

ps. a lot of buildings in downtown Seville have swimming pools on their roofs. the water looks very, very blue in the sunlight. also, the cathedral has a garden of orange trees.