SEVILLE

23 Spetember 2017 – 28 September 2017

Highlights

  • It is a MUST – SEE town.
  • Capital of Andulasia Region (South Spain).
  • Talented Flamenco dancers.
  • You will want to stay here forever if you enjoy old-world charm.
  • We stayed here for 5 days and lived here to our hearts content.

How to reach Seville

Airport at Seville is called San Pablo Airport. Road connectivity is good here. Two major bus stations – Plaza de Armas and Prado de San Sebastian. (Plaza de Armas is the bus station from where we take the bus to Lisbon, Portugal.) Seville’s main train station is Santa Justa. There is an AVE high speed rail system which has to and fro train services from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Cordoba, Granada etc. (We take the train to visit Cordoba and Granada)

Our Seville Experience

We reach Seville at mid night after a long delay of Ryan airlines flight. Our apartment is at the Pl. de la Encarnación (Encarnacion Square), in the old quarter of Seville: with a direct view of the beautiful Las Setas de Sevilla or Metropol Parasol. Las Setas means mushrooms – these are large mushroom shaped wooden structures; maybe one of the few modern structure in Seville. – and the largest wooden structure in the world. It is 9.1 kms away from the airport. Its amazing how Seville has retained its ethnicity and also proud of its history.

In Seville, we do a lot of walking, and visit the places as mentioned below. Ensure to carry comfortable shoes or better still – wear sneakers or sports shoes. We explore several food joints. Vegetarian food is difficult to locate but Google comes to our aid – we even happened to locate a vegan restaurant with amazing food.

Our travel plan in Seville

SEVILLE SIGHT SEEING

Iglesia Colegeial de El Salvador

This is a small church, beautiful, makes me feel that I am in previous century. Its just 15 mins walk from Pl. de la Encarnación (Encarnacion Square). Its not as huge as Cathedral de Seville, but it sure is peaceful. Being a non-catholic I obviously do not understand the paintings, the statues and the stories associated with it, nevertheless its beautiful.

Traveller Tip – Buy a combo pass for Iglesia and the cathedral at the El Salvodor itself, will save waiting time.

Cathedral De Sevilla

It is a Roman Catholic Cathedral and is a Unesco heritage site. Of course you would enjoy more if you are a Catholic and could comprehend the meaning of the paintings, artefacts, statues. For us, it is just a historic site to visit and walk around. The cathedral bears Moorish interiors as well as catholic interiors. The basilica was originally a mosque built in the 12th century by Almohads (Moorish dynasty). The interior of this magnificent cathedral is simply marvelous. I especially fell in love the beautiful choir. Of course the carved walls, ceilings, paintings, glass windows are all beautiful and have a story to tell. There is a huge courtyard, also there is a patio where there was a mosque originally. Lots of orange and pomegranate trees here.

La Giralda

Its now a bell tower, originally a minaret and a part of the mosque. We climb upto the top of the tower for a pretty view of the Andulacian city. Its quite a climb, a lot of steps, so disabled, senior citizens ask around if it is safe for you and only then venture the climb.

The Tomb of Cristopher Columbus

This is one of the main attractions of visiting the cathedral for us. The tomb has four bearers representing four Spanish kingdoms –  Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarra. Apparently our famous explorer died in poverty in Valladolid. There is still controversy around the tomb, as other countries also claim to possess the remains of Christopher Columbus.

Alcazar

Originally an Abbadin Muslim Residential Fortress, it was destroyed after Catholic kings took over and a castle built in its place by the Christian king Peter of Castille. Its a big queue to get into the castle, so I stand in the entry queue while Hiren goes to buy entry tickets. Its 12 noon and very hot, sun is so strong and my head is aching but the visit to the palace brings me back to normal. We first snack in the cafe within the palace and then relax in the gardens and then roam about the castle.

Parasol – Las Setas

We take a tour up the Las Setas to catch a good view of Seville. There is a mercado – farmers market right below the Parasol. We buy our daily supplies of fresh fruits, Salmorejo (bottled tomato drink – yummy beyond words), Paella spice mix, olives, mixed herbs, oregano all from here. We have even bought our daily supplies from Carrefour, which is behind our apartment. Its a small one but fruits, vegetables, beverages, bread, butter, cheese all available here.

  • CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
  • PLAZA DE ESPANYA
  • on the streets of seville
  • studio of flamenco performance
  • flamenco dancers
  • bull fighting matador

Triana

Its a vibrant old quarter, once housed the gypsy community (who later became popular as flamenco performers) on the west side of Guadalquivir River. There are lots of shops selling ceramics – andulacian style pots and plates and pans. I buy a pair of ceramic soup bowls as a momento. Triana is historically the center of glazed ceramic tile production. Its half an hour walk from our apartment, and I enjoy peeking into all shops and buying a few things as well.

Plaza De Espana

A beautiful place to spend an evening after a busy day of sight seeing. There are horse rides and men selling their wares like bubbles making to kids. We see a beautiful bride with her troupe of bridesmaids who are here for a photo-op, all very beautifully dressed – loved their gowns. Once done, they hastily get into their limo and ride back to the wedding venue. We see a lot of kids playing with each other, grand parents entertaining their offsprings, parents coming for a stroll with their babies or playing with them. It is just so peaceful to watch everyone, me and Hiren hardly speak to each other for the 1 hour that we are here, we let the silence do the talking and let the experience seep in.

Flamenco Dance

Must-see when you are Seville – a city known for Flamenco dance and its dancers. There would be several places where there is Flamenco performance. The one which we attended is shown in the picture gallery above.

Bull Fight

Even though bull fight ban is sought around the world, Spanish people are very possessive about this cultural activity of theirs and even now the practice of bull fight is popular. There is a bull-fight ring named Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla. You can find the bull-fighting schedule online or tourists help centers. We do not want to attend one, as I feel it is unethical to kill a bull for purpose of entertainment or earning money. You may refer to our selfie pic above with the bull fight matador.

Again, just like Barcelona, there are several tourist centers spread around Seville and we plan our 5 days stay itinerary as per suggestions from these friendly people. Also do try and spend some time around the promenade or take a walk along the Guadalquivir river separating Seville and Triana. Its beautiful.

Food

Food will never be an issue around Pl. de la Encarnación (Encarnacion Square). Most of the cafes in this area, open early at 7 am and close early at 8 pm, some even at 9 pm. Restaurants and Tapas bars are of course open till mid night.

The coffee at any cafe is mind blowing – almost the same as South Indian famous filter coffee and we loved it. We would prefer this coffee to American coffee anytime. If you pefer non-vegetarian be sure to try Spanish Paella Rice, very similar to Mughlai biryani – with spices like turmeric and chilli powder also a part of the Paella spice mix.

Olives are grown here everywhere. Even on the streets you could find olive trees with beautiful green olives hanging from the branches.

Life style

Spanish people are always very well dressed and updated with the latest trends, unlike the Americans (Having lived in USA for quite a few years was sufficient to realize that Americans dress up for comfort more so than fashion. I was the only old-fashioned one when I shifted my base back to India). Dress up well when travelling here.

Shopping hints-

  • People here are very fond of footwear – called “zapatos”. More people here have big feet, so I could find size 9/10 fashionable footwear for me very easily and I definitely buy a lot of them.
  • Sun glasses is an accessory without which no Spanish would step out on sunny days. A good variety is sold here. I buy 2 pairs of glares.
  • A very good collection of Jewelery and other accessories are also found here, and be sure to add them to your collection.
  • Spices – Paella spice mix, oregano dried, and other dried herbs. Buy olive oil and olives also.
  • As for clothes, I buy a few things but I feel Mumbai is equally fashion conscious and updated with the latest trends. Indians are also very fashion conscious like their European counterparts. Considering this, a number of European designers have set up their stores in India. So one can find a Marks n Spencer, Debenhams, H&M, Zara, Vero moda, Promod, Mango and many more in Mumbai with pretty much the same collection.

Apartment Review –

  • HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (booked from Airbnb).
  • Located at Pl. de la Encarnación (Encarnacion Square).
  • Bang opposite Metropol Parasol, with a direct view of the monument.
  • 2 mins walking from bus lines.
  • 2 mins walk from the Mercado (farmers market) – we have bought fresh fruits and vegetables from here.
  • Shopping area right behind the building.
  • Lots of cafes and restaurants around, we found a very popular churros cafe – simply out of the world.

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