Seville, Spain

Seville is the fourth largest city in Spain and it is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalucia.  Spain has 17 autonomous communities, of which Andalucia is the second largest in area and most populous of all.  The autonomous community of Andalucia is situated in the south of Spain.

Seville's history can be traced back 3000 years and while there is a strong medieval, renaissance and baroque heritage, there is also a great arabic influence from the Moors (Muslims who originated from North Africa) who once ruled Andalucia.  This arabic influence can be seen in some of the beautiful Moorish architecture and sights.  

We spent three days in Seville and during that time, used it as a base to visit other places of interest in Andalucia like Ronda, Granada and Cordoba.  Seville was very laid back compared to Madrid and we found the people a little friendlier in this region.  

Train to Seville

We caught the RENFE high-speed train from Madrid to Seville.  It was a very comfortable 2 1/2 hour train ride, with most of us taking a much needed nap.   

Cathedral of Seville
After we arrived and checked into our hotel in Seville, we made our way to the Cathedral of Seville.  The Cathedral of Seville is the largest gothic cathedral in the world and it is where the remains of Christopher Columbus lies.  The Cathedral was built on the site of a 12th century mosque and it is the world's third largest cathedral after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.  It is a beautiful cathedral, both on the inside and outside.

The Giralda

The Giralda is the Cathedral of Seville's ornate bell tower and it is one of the city's famous landmarks.  The tower is adapted from the minaret of the mosque it replaced.  

Although the bell tower is 300 feet high, it is a relatively easy climb to the top, as there are no stairs, just a series of 34 gentle ramps.  We all walked to the top, where we got amazing views of the cathedral and also the city.   

Santa Cruz
After our visit to the Cathedral, we met up with our friend Maria and her daughters Marina and Clara.  Maria and David used to work together in London and she and her husband Stuart attended our wedding in Vancouver.  It was so good to see her again and to meet her and Stuart's daughters.
We had a drink with Maria and then she briefly showed us around Santa Cruz.  The Santa Cruz neighbourhood is the old Jewish Quarter that is very popular with tourists.  It is a lovely area with a labyrinth of narrow streets, cobbled squares and great shops.  We visited Santa Cruz again on our last day in Seville and got to spend more time exploring the area.  

Plaza de Espana

After our leisurely stroll through Santa Cruz with Maria, we continued on to the Plaza de Espana.  The Plaza de Espana was built for the 1929 Iberoamerican Expo and it is situated in the Maria Luisa Park.  Seville's most famous 20th century architect Anibal Gonales, got his inspiration for this building from Mudejar architecture (symbiosis of Moorish and Christian styles) and the Renaissance styles of earlier centuries, and it is an impressive building.  It is also a unique building with a spectacular colonnaded crescent.  Each region of Spain is depicted with a tiled panel along the walls of the colonnades.  Today the Plaza de Espana houses government buildings and the Seville Town Hall.  

 Flamenco Show
One of the things that we really wanted to do while in Spain, was see a Flamenco show.  With Seville being a major centre in the development of Flamenco, we had read that it would thus be preferable to see a show in Seville rather than in Madrid.  We had seen a few advertisements for Flamenco shows, but these seemed geared towards tourists.  We wanted a more traditional and authentic experience, so we asked Maria if she could recommend a show.  Maria asked her friends and they recommended Auditorio Alvarez Quintero.  This one hour Flamenco show featured one guitar player, one singer and one dancer.  Set in a small intimate venue, the Flamenco show was charged with emotion and rhythm.   The only downside is that we sat towards the back and could not see the dancer's feet, so while we could see the dancer moving around with intensity, we couldn't get a sense of the full dance.  While not everyone's cup of tea, most of us enjoyed the experience.

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza
Seville is often regarded as the birthplace of modern bullfighting.  While the city's 14,000 seater bullring isn't the biggest in Spain, it is said to be the most atmospheric by aficionados.   While some of us were open to seeing and experiencing a bullfight, other weren't, so we didn't make an effort to fit this into our schedule.  That said, had we had extra time, it would have been interesting to take the guided tour of the arena and museum.

 Alcazar

This Royal Palace was built in the 14th century by Pedro I, the King of Castile.  Pedro I, commissioned Moorish craftsmen from Granada to build this palace, which is the ultimate homage to Moorish architecture.  Coupled with Pedro I's Catholic background, the result was a palace with an exquisite blend of Moorish and Christian influence known as the Mudejar style. 

When Seville was reconquered by the Christians in 1248, the defeated Moorish leaders left the city, but many of the locals remained and converted to Christianity.  They were known as Mudejar, literally meaning "those allowed to remain".  Their architecture, gardens and food were ideally suited to the climate and many elements of their culture were adopted by the Christians.  Moorish craftsmen were employed to build churches and civic buildings, and the Mudejar style can be seen all over Seville. 

We visited the Alcazar on our last day in Seville and it did not disappoint.  The architecture and level of intricate detail is amazing and the palace is beautiful.  We also had a very enjoyable time exploring the immaculate gardens of the Alcazar.  On the day we visited, we encountered a few wedding couples having there photographs taken around the grounds.  A gorgeous setting for wedding photos!

 Triana
On our last afternoon in Seville, we walked to the neighbourhood of Triana.  Triana is situated across the Guadalquivir River and it is the centre of the city's ceramics trade.  We went to Triana to look at the ceramics shops, but unfortunately we had limited time because when we arrived, most of the shops were preparing to close for siesta (the culture of the siesta remains embedded in local life here).  Fortunately we manage to quickly browse around some of the ceramics shops before they closed for the afternoon.
We had planned to have a late lunch in Triana, so we walked back to Calle Betis, the riverfront area that is lined with bars and restaurants.  We settled on a restaurant called Faro de Triana, just off the Puente de Isabel II bridge.  This restaurant serves simple and fresh Andalusian food and it was one of the best meals we had while in Spain.  We sat on the restaurant's rooftop and got great views of the Guadalquivir River and the city.  It was our last afternoon with our friends, because after lunch we headed back to the hotel, where our friends collected their bags and then headed off to the airport to catch their flight back to Barcelona and then home.  We left to go home the following day.

Stuart and Maria

After seeing our friends off at the hotel, we headed back to the Santa Cruz area as we had plans to meet Stuart and Maria for dinner.  The last time we saw both of them together, was when we visited London in 2006.  At that time they were still living in London, but were just about to move to Spain (and Maria was pregnant with their first child).  It was great to see both of them again and spend some time catching up.  We met up with them near the Cathedral, had a drink at a local bar and then walked to Centro (Central Seville).  Along the way, Stuart and Maria pointed out some of the places of interest like the Ayuntamiento (Seville's City Hall), which is an interesting building that is almost two buildings in one.  Part of this building dates from 1891 and has a neoclassical design, while the other part is older and far more ornamental and dates to the 16th century.  Maria and Stuart also took us to La Magdalena, one of Seville's most spectacular churches.  It was in this church that Maria's brother got married.  The inside of this church is gorgeous, with extravagant frescoes and an immensely ornate alterpiece.  Unfortunately we could not take any photographs, as mass was just beginning.  After our visit to La Magdalena, we walked to the Metropol Parasol.

The Metropol Parasol
The Metropol Parasol was designed by German architect Jurgen Mayer-Hermann and it is said to be the world's largest wooden structure.  It took six years to build and was completed in April 2011. It is located in the old quarter of Seville, which creates a vast contrast, as this very modern structure stands out amidst the old medieval buildings of the surrounding area.  

Concrete columns form the bases, with a series of wooden parasols making up the rest of the structure.  Metropol Parasol houses a museum, a community centre, an elevated plaza and a restaurant.  The elevated rooftop promenade, with its many walkways located on top of the parasols offers amazing views of Seville.  After our visit to the Metropol Parasol, Stuart and Maria treated us to dinner at a local restaurant.  The food at this restaurant was delicious and this meal was one of the best meals we had in Spain.  By the time we were done with dinner, it was close to midnight, so we made our way back to the tram station, bid Stuart and Maria goodbye and then headed back to our hotel  It was a wonderful evening spent with good friends.  

The next morning we went to the airport to catch our flight home.  We had a great time in Spain and we are so glad we got to experience it with our friends.