A day in Seville.

Waking up early on a Sunday morning is the worst feeling in the world... 7:15AM is just NOT okay! 

Walking out on the streets in Madrid that early on a weekend, is unheard of. The streets are desolate because Sunday is their shabbos in which nothing is open.

So why were we up, you ask? Aliza and I were taking our very last Renfe trip to Seville. 

A two hour train ride was much needed after we woke up so early; we slept the entire time.

When we got to the train, we didn't expect to see anyone... but low and behold, when we got onto the train, sitting infront of us were the loonybins from Shul! Again, they asked us how Chabad was and again, we told them how great it was!

They were going to Cordoba - the stop before Seville.

On their way off the train, they took our number that way when they return to Madrid and have left over food, they will call us so we can pick it up.

...Because every day we're hustlin'...

In Seville, we met our tour guide, Moises, who was one of the few Jews left in Seville.

Born and bred in Seville, Spain, he was married to a convert but one of the 8 men in the shabbat minyan. He was great - even gave us a 'student' discount (again,...Because every day we're hustlin'...) and took us on a tour of all the hot spots of Seville.

We started off at the Plaza de Espana which happens to be in every city. Seville's was the nicest one we saw.

The architecture was amazing and the sight was really spectacular. There were gondolas in the water like in Venice, quadricycles, and horse and buggies all around. There were fountains all over and of course... the sun was out!

The coolest part: A few minutes of the Star Wars movie was filmed in the Plaza de Espana in Seville. (don't ask me where / who / which but that's what they say!!)

From there, we went into the old Jewish Quarter.

In the late 1800's when Jews were allowed back into Spain, this was the first city that they came back to. Before 1492, Seville was a thriving city. Jews lived near the King because the King protected them. Although they were not forced to live there, most Jews lived in an enclosed area to ensure their safety. Parts of the wall are still standing, which makes it easy to find the Jewish Quarter. Sadly, there isn't much left because of a tornado in the 1700's. Most of the shuls were transformed into Churches, but there is hebrew writing all over the place and many streets have Jewish names, like "Calle de Levies."

There are also Jewish legends and myths about a girl named Susana and there is a street called "Calle de Susana" after her.

Although we did not go in to see Christopher Columbus' grave, he pointed out to us that he (or part of him- the other half is in Santo Domingo) is buried in a church near Charles V. Let's just hope that Columbus really isn't Jewish, or else it could get awkward when Mashiach comes!

We went to the Alcazar, the home of King Peter I.

It was cool seeing all the artifacts from the beginning of the 15th century. 

Of course the walls and ceilings were redone, but there is A LOT of gold painted on the ceilings... what a waste of money!

Moises also pointed out that the Spanish royal family still stays there today when they go to Seville!

At the end of our tour, we stopped at the saddest part.

Moises brought us down to a parking lot and brought us to a corner, where he showed us the remainders of a cemetery that was from the 1400's. 

He explained to us that while plowing in the ground to make the parking lot, they came upon a Jewish grave sight.

Most of the graves were dug up and brought to the Museum of Seville, but this ONE was left to show that this was once a cemetery.

It's sad what the world has come to... but it definitely gave Aliza and me a good mindset while going into the 9 days... (even though when we got back we had meat!)