Today March 4, was a great Day in Seville, Spain. We started by having a cuisine lecture on the cuisine of Spain by Luis. We learned about the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, Jews, Gypsies, Islam, and the Jews’ influence on the gastronomy of Spanish cuisine today. Around 11:15 am we began our journey by walking to the API center where we met Luis. Luis taught us about how the geography of Spain was a determining factor for many regions and cultures to move into Spain. Furthermore, all these cultures brought in different techniques of agriculture, spices, and food preparation.  For example, techniques for preserving fish in salt and olive tree cultivation that was influenced by the Phoenicians. Another example is the influence of Islam on “The Silk Road” where spices, silk, and paper were traded.

Moreover, we learned that Arabs brought new ways of cooking and lots of new produce and condiments which influenced the Andalucian cooking we see today.

Most importantly we were able to get a full taste of Spain’s cuisine in person. Today’s menu involved delicious plates like Alboronia, Garbanzos con Bacalao, and Torrijas.

     The Alboronia o pisto Andaluz, which is also known as ratatouille, is said to be a dish of Jewish-Muslim origin, which has a transcendental and multicultural aspect. The rich flavors give away the Moorish origin with red peppers, eggplant, onion, and celery.

 We also had, Potaje de Vigilia, de garbanzos with cod fish, spinach, and boiled eggs.

     Furthermore, we had a great and delicious desert very known and common in Spain; Torrijas (Spanish French toast), which consists of bread dipped in boiled milk with lemon peel and cinnamon stick. It was accompanied by cheese and jam paste.

In the same way, we didn’t only get a cuisine taste. But most importantly a taste of its most important culture and history, Catholicism. Today we visited the Cathedral of Seville. We explored and observed its complex, beautiful, and stunning structures. It’s one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, and the fourth-largest church. Its architecture is heavily Moorish, Christian, Catholic, and some Greek influence. The paintings, sculptures, woodcarvings, and architecture illustrated a mix of Gothic, renaissance, Basque, and Islamic styles.

Moreover, we observed how the cathedral retold Jesus and the Virgin Mary’s story through paintings.

This art shows the retailing of Jesus’s life from birth to crucifixion/resurrection.

While this picture shows the great art and detailing of the glass windows, which are found all over the cathedral.

Inside the cathedral, we could observe some tombs of important figures in history, for example, Christopher Columbus. The picture on the right shows where there are about 150 grams of Christopher Columbus’s bones.

This picture shows where the holy water for baptism is conserved. Baptism for Catholics is very important since symbolizes the sacrament of regeneration through holy water into a new life.

     Reflecting on the adventures and journeys we had today, it was remarkable to experience and learn physically more in-depth the history and culture of Seville, Spain. Starting the day with an exquisite cuisine, full of flavors and different techniques of cocking brought me back to home. My family is from Galicia, Spain, the foods are cooked in slightly different ways and there are different cuisines, but the flavors are still there. It all became a flashback. Moreover, seeing how everybody else enjoyed the food warmed my heart, and wished more people were able to experience such great cuisine. Equally important visiting the Cathedral raised questions as to how back then with the technology and little knowledge they had, something so glorious was made. It could have been manpower, or something else, but to that question, there’s not a clear answer. All that has to be done is to soak in the beautifulness and merge deep into its history. Overall, the day concluded, and everyone was able to enjoy and learn more about Spain’s culture and history and how it has impacted how we see things today. My day concluded with walking around Seville’s streets having delicious mint chocolate chip gelato with my friends and having a great conversation, getting to know each other more and more. In summary, I’m thrilled for it to be tomorrow already and see what the day brings!!