Exchange Adventures: Seville!

I was beginning to worry that for living in Spain, I wasn't experiencing many Spanish cities.  Luckily Taline came to visit and agreed to visit Seville with me. Thanks Taline! First things first: Why do I call it Seville instead of Sevilla? Ask Joe, but it basically comes down to the fact that I am not Spanish, so I don't try not to say cities as if I lived there. Take Porto or Roma for instance.  Anyway, on to Seville.

For some reason I thought it'd be a good idea to book a 6:00am flight.  T & I used to run at 5:30am, so I must have assumed this made sense. For the record, it did not.  After only about two hours of sleep, we made our way to the airport and proceeded to still not rest thanks to the pure comfort of RyanAir. We managed to figure out the bus system and made our way to the hotel by about 9am. Even though we couldn't check in for a while, we were able to load up on coffee. Thanks B&B Naranjo!

Given that it was raining on Tuesday, T & I decided to hit the Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, which was luckily only a few steps from our hotel.  This museum is supposed to be second to the Prado in terms of importance, and given the number of Murillos and Zurbarans, I see why. It was a beautiful collection and an equally beautiful space.  I was really sad that the 18th-20th century sections were closed, but the temporary exhibition on Garcia Ramos made up for it.

Next we found a little restaurant nearby and mapped out our next adventure, the Casa de Pilatos. This palace was billed as being one of the most stunning in Andalusia, and it was also supposed to be free that afternoon.  Turns out it was not free, but it was stunning.  We opted for audio guides and took about two hours exploring the place.  It reminded me of the palace I saw in Marrakesh, except it was filled with Roman statues and a second floor of impressive art.  Seville clearly has a heavy Moorish influence, which makes for a surprising mix of architecture and art.

Upon finishing, we decided to try our luck at the Cathedral, only to find it closed.  It was really starting to pour at this point, so we found a little "fast food tapas" place called Tapeaje, enjoyed some Tinto Naranja, and called it a night by 9pm.  Party girls we are, right? In all seriousness, we were both exhausted and not fully with it, so I think it was the right move.

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Wednesday morning was the complete opposite of Tuesday evening.   Taline and I were very well rested (um, 11 hours worth!) and it was a gorgeous sunny morning.  So, we opted to go for a run.  If I'm being honest, Taline opted to go for a run and I didn't want to feel guilty for not joining her, so I went too. She was supposed to do 30 minutes easy, but somehow I convinced her to do her hour run. This afforded us the chance to run along the river, though some government-building lined streets, and into the park to end up at Plaza Espanya.  And, I didn't die running! This was definitely a trip highlight and a fun way to see the city.

After cleaning up, we headed to the Cathedral. First we stopped at an outdoor cafe with a view of the Giralda and enjoyed some relatively healthy veggie-friendly tapas.

Then we went to the Cathedral, which ranks as the third largest in the world.  As one would imagine, it took us quite a bit of time to see everything.  Some of the highlights included the tomb of Christopher Columbus, the blind Madonna, and the second largest pearl in the world resting atop a crown for the Virgin.  Armed with audio guides, we explored almost every nook of the building before climbing up to the top of the Giralda.  The views, as expected, were incredible. 

 

 From there we hung out in the orange tree courtyard before going to another restaurant to refuel. At this point we decided we wanted to see a flamenco show, so we made our way through the Jewish quarter to buy tickets at the Juderia de Sevilla for a show at the Casa de la Memoria.

Here is where I admit my skepticism.  I thought a flamenco show was doing to be incredibly cheesy, but something I might as well see in Seville.  And now I admit how wrong I was.  The show, composed only of a guitarist, a vocalist, and a dancer was one of the most breathtaking shows I have ever seen. It was so intimate and expressive and emotional... and I can't even begin to express how stunning the dancer was.  Taline and I both agreed it was a (if not the) highlight of our trip.

From there, we went to a tapas bar called Choco y Late and scored with a delicious dinner.  It was nearing midnight, and we were feeling pretty proud of our late-night selves. Which meant it was time to go to sleep.

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For our final morning in Seville, I opted to have a long breakfast at the hotel while Taline went for her run.  Fully loaded up on cappuccinos, we made our way to the Alcazar Palace and gardens.  We decided to forgo the audio guides and just explore on our own.  I was once again blown away with the extravagance of this palace. It reminded me again of the palace in Marrakesh, but was nearly a thousand times more intricate and beautiful.  The best part was walking out to the massive gardens, which went on for acres and acres.  One day, when I am mighty rich, something like these will surround my summer home.

After the Alcazar, we stopped in to the Archivo General de Indias, which is home to Spain's historical archives documenting both its history and its explorations to the new world.  Much of the collection was donated by Christopher Columbus's son.  While T & I didn't understand the exhibition thanks to the lack of English subtitles, we did learn a lot about about the city during a short film about the archives.  I'm glad we stopped.

After that, we walked back to the water, enjoyed a leisurely lunch, and then grabbed our stuff before heading back to the airport.

I am so thankful I was able to explore this city, and even better with Taline. It seemed most like Madrid, and nothing like Barcelona. I feel like it was a good opportunity to see Spain from a different perspective, and also learn how powerful the city was before its river essentially dried up. I also enjoyed our slower pace and the opportunity to really explore the places we visited. Overall, another great trip and one more reason why I love Spain.  Lastly, if anyone can teach me how to flamenco, I'm ready to learn!