Seville Cathedral in Spain

On February 28, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Spain10 Comments

When visiting Seville in Spain, the Catredal de Santa Maria de la Sede, better known as the Seville Cathedral, will certainly be one of the top locations on your itinerary. It is certainly a beautiful, gothic cathedral and is one of the largest churches in the world. Just walking around and through the church is certainly worth spending an hour or two at the cathedral, but going to the top of the Giralda, or bell tower, should absolutely be part of your visit. The views of the city of Seville from the cathedral’s bell tower are absolutely stunning.

As you approach the cathedral, you will likely be approached by gypsy women offering you bundles of herbs or flowers. If you accept them, you will immediately be expected to give them money and they can be quite aggressive, so we avoided them. We have also heard that their can be a lot of pickpockets in the area, but we didn’t have any issues during our visit to Seville. Because it such a popular tourist location, another thing that you will find are horse-drawn carriages that will take you on tours of the city. We did take one tour at the end of our first day and it was interesting for many different reasons.

Standing at the viewing platform of the Giralda, the views of Seville are amazing. You get wonderful views of the Alcázar Palace, which is next to the cathedral, and is also a place that you should visit after spending time at the cathedral. The winding, narrow streets of Seville spread out before you from the height of the bell tower. The Guadalquivir river can also be seen off in the distance.

It is hard to miss the cathedral and the bell tower as you enter Seville. As with most gothic cathedrals, the façades around the doors are quite impressive and beautiful. After spending time at the Seville Cathedral, be sure to head into the Old Jewish Quarter, wandering the narrow streets, and shopping at the many local stores that are located there. Seville is certainly a wonderful city and seeing the cathedral will surely be one of the highlights of any visit.

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg, France

On February 21, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn France8 Comments

The Strasbourg Cathedral, officially the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, is a gothic cathedral that is just as wonderful as its sister in Paris. With its tower that is 466 feet tall, it was once the tallest building in the world until 1874 and it is still one of the top ten tallest churches in the world. As with many cathedrals, the main entrance is stunning with all of the figures surrounding the doors. Also, the Rose stained glass window is quite impressive as the light streams in from the outside.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral Tower in Strasbourg

Rose Window from the Inside of the Cathedral

Not only can the cathedral tower be seen throughout Strasbourg, it can be seen from across the countryside. In a city that still maintains much of its medieval charm, the Notre-Dame cathedral is certainly a highlight of any visit to the Strasbourg. We happened to visit during the holidays, so we were greeted to a Christmas market outside of the church and there was a wonderful nativity scene inside of the cathedral as well.

Standing in Line to See the Astronomical Clock

Looking up at the front of the Notre-Dame Cathedral is quite impressive, especially when viewed on a clear day with bright blue skies. You can certainly expect plenty of crowds as Strasbourg is a popular destination and the cathedral is on almost everyone’s itinerary, as it should be. Among the features inside of the cathedral are the ornate pulpit, pipe organ, medieval tapestries, and most importantly the astronomical clock. The astronomical clock was built in the early 1800’s and is considered to be especially accurate as it indicates leap years, equinoxes, and most importantly Easter.

We have visited both the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris as well as Strasbourg and they are both beautiful and unique in their own ways. There are so many features to see, both inside and outside, when visiting the cathedral, but unfortunately you may have to follow a line as you work through the inside of the cathedral. Cathedrals are centerpieces to almost every city in Europe and the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg is no exception. There are many places to see when visiting the Alsace region, in which Strasbourg resides, such as the Wine Road, Strasbourg’s Old Town, smaller towns such as Riquewihr, and there are plenty of options for tasting food and wine.

So Many Stained Glass Windows and High Ceilings

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy

On February 7, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Italy14 Comments

Florence was the cradle of renaissance art for several centuries, so it is no surprise that it hosts one of the most famous museums in the world for renaissance art, the Uffizi Gallery. The Medici family was renowned for their patronage of the arts and commissioned many great works of art from artists such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Machiavelli. After the family died out, a deal was made to give all of their art to the city of Florence and the Uffizi Gallery is home to many of those works.

One of the most famous paintings in the Uffizi Gallery is the Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. Painted sometime in the 1480’s, the painting of the goddess Venus coming to shore after her birth. Other important works in the museum include Michelangelo’s The Holy Family, Leonardo da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi, and Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait as a Young Man. With so many wonderful works of art, you should certainly plan on several hours when visiting the Uffizi Gallery. You should also expect plenty of crowds as it is one of the most visited museums in all of Italy.

One of the Many Rooms with Famous Statues

Although the paintings are certainly the focal point of the Uffizi Gallery, there are plenty of historic sculptures as well. Seemingly every inch of the museum is covered with beautiful works of art and it can be quite overwhelming. As with many other famous museums with so many different works of art to see, a single visit will never truly do it justice, but since we were only in Florence for a week, it would have to do. In addition to the Uffizi Gallery, visiting the Accademia Gallery in Florence to see Michelangelo’s David as well as many other incredible pieces should also be on your agenda.