Surprised by Seville

When my parents finalized their November visit, we loosely assembled a wish list of destinations. From there, I researched what was feasible and worthwhile, and we made detailed plans and bookings from there! The one place my parents insisted we go? Seville. They cited some Rick Steves article or friend recommendation. I obliged, but Meadows and I set our expectations extremely low. We couldn’t have been more wrong!

We arrived from Portugal on Friday evening and reunited with Meadows at the hotel after his flight in from Madrid. Our hotel, the Adriano Hotel, was situated in the center of the city and was so nice! With such a great location, the four of us walked to a delicious dinner and ate tapas on the front patio.

On Saturday morning, we grabbed breakfast before our city tour. Knowing we would dive deeper into some of the attractions on our own, we booked a walking tour to get a broader sense of the city. We’ll start the same way our guide started… with a brief history lesson!

Over 2,000 years old, Seville presides as the capital of the Andalucía region. In 1248, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile conquered Andalucía. Seville was the last to surrender, but ultimately gave way. The rise of Christianity increased tensions, which led to the development of the Spanish Inquisition in 1478.

The late 15^th and 16^th centuries are considered the “Golden Age,” as exploration and trade routes benefitted the Seville port. But as boats grew in size and other ports arose in the 17^th century, Seville’s port monopoly ended and the economy fell into decline in the 18^th century. Beyond that, the city pursued other industries and continued to build and grow. Similar to what we learned in Barcelona, Seville gave the city a facelift in anticipation of hosting the Ibero-American Exposition in 1929. Again, they revamped when hosting the Expo in 1992.

As we walked around the city, we continued to notice a distinct logo that appeared to read “NODO.” We found it on manhole covers, streetlamps and flags. Most people believe that this stands for “No me ha dejado,” which means, “It [Seville] has not abandoned me.” When King Alfonso X’s first son died in 1275, his second son Sancho tried to overthrow him for the throne. Ultimately, they found peace and Alfonso X maintained the throne. Legend has it that he coined this phrase, as the people of Seville stood by him.

We eventually walked down to the Triana Bridge. This beautiful landmark connects central Seville to the vibrant neighborhood, Triana, which was previously the seat of the Spanish Inquisition. Over the years, it’s become a cultural hotspot, full of flamenco and artwork.

Also on the Guadalquivir River, Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) was built as a watchtower in the 13^th century. They would extend a chain across the river to the Triana side to prevent boats from entering as a method of defense. The tower was also used as a prison at some point and even was used to hold King Pedro I’s love interest captive. I believe the story ended with her attempting to escape, getting caught and, in a desperate measure to avoid the king, throwing hot oil on her face to make herself unattractive to him.

We also walked through the Royal Tobacco Factory. It’s now part of the University of Seville, but it’s a super cool piece of architecture.

Our tour concluded at Plaza de España, which was constructed in anticipation of the Ibero-American Exposition in 1929. The place is massive and beautiful. The mote even allows for boat rides around the square!

As if it weren’t spectacular enough, the painted tiles and pillars add depth to it.

We crossed the plaza and one of the bridges and climbed to the top for a panoramic view. Wow!

Once our tour ended, we worked our way back to the Seville Cathedral. Our guide covered it a bit, but we didn’t have the chance to go inside. First off, let me explain what a big deal this place is. It’s the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and the third largest church in the world.

The structure was previously a mosque. In 1401, it was decided that they would build over the 12^th century mosque to create a giant cathedral. They allowed the minaret to remain (only because it was one of the tallest towers at the time), but it was converted to a bell tower. Now called the Giralda, the bell tower serves as an icon of Seville.

If you plan to visit the Seville Cathedral, do not get the audio guide. It’s insanely long and exhausting in its description of each of the 80 chapels inside the cathedral. Rather than focus on the beauty, we found ourselves monopolized by a droning guide in our ear. We eventually gave up on the devices, but they made for a funny photo 🙂

In such a huge and historic cathedral, one could go into detail for days. The buttresses soar into the air, seemingly going on forever. Every wall is lathered in artwork and gorgeous architectural details.

Rather than ramble on, I’ll focus on my favorite features! First, the choir loft is incredible. The thought of someone hand carving all this wood simply blows my mind.

Organs flank the choir on either side! I love the sculpture of the angel with the horn on each of them.

Behind bars next to the choir loft stands a larger than life gilded altar depicting Christ’s life. I only wish my photo of the altar were clearer!

Then, there’s the ceiling. O-M-G. The cathedral has even installed a mirror so tourists can get a magnified look at the vaulted ceiling.

Oh, and one other thing: Christopher Columbus was buried here!! The tomb is so cool, featuring four men ushering in his casket. The “NODO” symbol can be found on the front of the pedestal.

We wrapped up our visit by climbing the Giralda. Rather than stairs, the tower contains 34 floors of ramps, which allowed horses to carry people to the top. It’s pretty genius when you consider that the Muslims had to get to the top five times each day!

The climb was totally worth it! You can perfectly see the cross-shaped cathedral below.

We loved getting to see the bells too …although they are terrifying when they ring. I almost dropped my camera over the edge I was so scared by the loud sound!

We departed the cathedral and headed for an afternoon snack. Naturally, Meadows had his favorite Spanish food, jamon Iberico (Spanish ham). Mom and I went for a bit of shopping!

At dinnertime, we dined at El Traga, which came highly recommended. Unfortunately, the restaurant recently updated the menu and, therefore, they did not offer an English version yet. We struggled to read the menu (with the help of Google Translate) and nervously placed our orders. Despite our reservations (pun intended!), the meal was dynamite!

Sunday morning, we picked up a quick breakfast on our way to Real Alcazar, the royal palace. It’s a stone’s throw away from Seville Cathedral! Today, the top floors of the palace are still used by the royal family.

Originally built by the Moorish Muslim kings, the palace continued to expand under the rule of the Christian monarchy. The expansive and eclectic buildings and gardens delight all the senses! And the audio guide was actually helpful (in case you want to visit).

I won’t go into too much detail on the specific rooms and areas because it will get boring and, frankly, the photos hardly compare to being there. But we entered and immediately encountered a patio facing the Palace of Peter of Castile with the house of trade.

I want a room with a gold pattern ceiling that looks like this!

We entered Peter’s palace and walked until we reached my favorite spot, the Courtyard of the Maidens.

I probably should have mentioned this first thing, but the Alcazar plays an important role in the hit show Game of Thrones. You can see the palace and gardens anytime a scene takes place in Dorne. As huge fans of the show, Meadows and I were completely geeking out. Bear with me as I relive the fun!

The Hall of Ambassadors sits on the other side of the courtyard and is extremely impressive. The gold dome ceiling takes the cake though! You can see that this room was used in Game of Thrones during one of the meetings with Jamie Lannister.

Everywhere we looked, colorful geometric patterns surrounded us.

Our final stop before going outside to the gardens was the Hall of Tapestries. It’s easy to tell from the design that this was clearly a newer part of the palace.

When we stepped outside, we got our first glimpse of the seven hectares of gardens. The Mercury Pond and the gardens also appear in Game of Thrones, but they’re somehow even more spectacular in person.

Accessible from the gardens, the Baths of Lady María de Padilla sit underneath the palace. They’re not only gorgeous, but they collect rainwater and provide a swimming area!

We walked around the immaculately manicured gardens for hours. Each area has a different feel conveyed by the structure, pond and plants.

At the end of our tour, we walked along the corridor overlooking the Mercury Pond and the gardens. Our time in Dorne was coming to a close.

We absolutely loved our weekend in Seville; and thankfully, our time with my parents wasn’t quite over yet! That evening, we flew back to Madrid for a couple more days of touring (and celebrating my mom’s birthday!). It will be a bit, but the end of this story will come in my Madrid wrap-up blog!