Years back, when Debeli and I visited Madrid, I remember someone saying, must have been a friend of a friend, that we should visit Andalusia. He swore there was no better place in Spain when it came to architecture, art or food.
Years passed and that idea was just stuck in the back of my head, until finally, last year I managed to add this Spanish jewel into our trip itinerary.
Cutting our stay in Torino for a day only meant that we will have a day extra in Seville. Besides stressing a bit over an extra accommodation for a night we quickly figured that this 24h plus will only add to our already busy schedule. What that extra activity was, stay tuned.
Looking back now, scrolling through photos, it’s hard to pick just a few for this article. Seville is a beautiful city, rich with history and everything that fits into that package.
Land locked city greeted us with hot 35 degrees Celsius, quite unusual for early October, but so much needed after a rainy summer in Ireland and Norway.
Our accommodation was not the most exclusive one (the bed fell apart at one point and there was broken and dusty dishes) but it had the most beautiful inner courtyard and a terrace where we would chillax and drink wine after a long touristy day.
Our neighborhood Alfalfa was filled with tapas and wine bars. Glazed azulejo tiles and ancient Roman statues adorned the magical Renaissance palace Casa de Pilatos where M was impressed by the amount of naked bodies / sculptures.
This magnificent example of Italian Renaissance building with Mudéjar elements and decorations is actually considered the typical Andalusian palace.
Around 150 different azulejo tiles in Casa de Pilatos were made by brothers Diego and Juan Pulido in the 1530s.
On our way to the Setas we stopped by the birthplace of master painter Diego Velázquez, now a museum in his honor.
Inspired by the local ficus trees Las Setas de Sevilla is the largest wooden structure in the world. To construct this giant mushroom umbrella feature 3500 pieces of microlaminated Finnish pine wood have been used.
Joined by almost 3000 knots and 16 million! screws and nails the Setas are one of the main tourist attractions in the city. The complex offers daytime and night time entrance and it’s a great way to enjoy the beautiful view of the city.
Encouraged by the fantastic tour experiences in Torino and comfortable in our daily life-with-a-toddler routine we decided to embark on several city tours and complex visits.
One was a majestic one hour river cruise down the main artery of the city, the River Guadalquivir, that strolled bellow the busy bridges.
Over 600 km long river Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain, currently navigable from Seville to the Gulf of Cádiz, but in Roman times it was navigable all the way from Córdoba.
The modern name of the river Guadalquivir means “the big river’’ and here one is introduced to the strong Arabic heritage still felt all around this community.
Founded as the Roman city, Seville became the center of Arab kingdom after the Islamic conquest in early 8th century.
The Arabic influence can be seen everywhere; from architecture to the local food ingredients.
The historic royal palace, Real Alcázar de Sevilla, was formerly the site of the Islamic-era citadel in the 10th century.
Later was developed into a larger palace complex by several Arab dynasties but since it features Gothic and Renaissance elements it’s a stunning collage of architectural styles.
But for us, it was mostly a recreational park to exhaust our child it the beautiful royal gardens.
From October to March, between hours 16 and 17 on Mondays, the entrance is free. You still have to purchase a ticket (for the minor as well), but it’s definitely worth while saving a bit of money that one can spend later on a few glasses of tinto de Verano.
Speaking of free stuff, we started using the opportunities of a free walking tours. Again.
And although the one in Seville almost ended as a disaster project, we have heard (not learned, bcs everything evaporated in the heat) about this Andalusian jewel.
The tours starts in late morning from the magnificent Plaza de España built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition.
The Spanish square complex is a huge half-circle designed in an eclectic mix of 1920s Art Deco and Spanish Renaissance Revival, Spanish Baroque Revival and Neo-Mudéjar styles.
The tiled alcoves surrounding the square represent different province of Spain and they are frequent inspirations for visitors’ photos taken in their own home province.
Especially in the late afternoon when the sun shines the location with its magic. No wonder the afternoon opportunity for taking photos is called the magic hour.
Each alcove is flanked by a pair of covered bookshelves, now used by visitors in the manner of a Little Free Library for exchanging books or as a garage for toy cars if you’re a boy M 🙂
Anyway, the free walking tour was joined by around 30 curious persons like us, so we were split into several groups. By pure misfortune we got a tour guide that did not handle well nor historical facts nor English language. We were struggling to follow his pace but since all of the groups were kind of following each other, I noticed that the guide behind us was easier to understand so, with her approval, we joined her group.
We discovered a lot of interesting fact not just about history, but also about everyday life, that said that the Spanish economy is not as promising as the weather was. Our guide, as many other Sevillians are struggling with the house rent if they decide to live alone. It became not just desirable, but necessary to pair up to split the bills. But, that would be a completely other topic. I will leave it at here; if Andalusia was not on your list; you better make sure it becomes.
