La Giralda, Seville

With the Cathedral being moments from where we have been staying and visible from our apartment window we were looking forward to seeing inside this impressive and massive structure.

Before we even started exploring the Cathedral and its many rooms and chapel we did the tower climb first. The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville and is 105 metres high. It is the former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule, and was built in 1184. It was converted into a bell tower for the cathedral and the statue on its top, called "El Giraldillo", was installed in 1568 to represent the triumph of the Christian faith.

I was dreading climbing stairs all the way to the top and was praying for an elevator (knowing that would not be the case). Surprisingly it was a ramp that spiralled all the way up the high tower. With views out the windows on the way we could glimpse how high we were getting. Given my phobia of stairs I loved the ramp and it was so much easier on my old knees.

Unfortunately getting to the top was a bit disappointing with only two of the four sides accessible due to work being done. We actually saw more out the windows on the way up and back down. Although it is always cool seeing a city from above.Read more