Spain 2023 Part Two: Seville (Day One)

If you've found your way here by happenstance, this is part 2 (day one) in a series of posts that chronicle our trip to Spain in 2023. You can start from the beginning here.

After two solid days in Madrid, it was time to depart the fair City of the Bear and Strawberry Tree and head South to Andalusia. Our first destination was Seville, the capital and largest city in Andalusia, which is also the fourth largest city in the country. It's well over 2200 years old, with a well-preserved central core containing several UNESCO world heritage sites. Right up our alley!

We caught the high-speed train from Puerta de Atocha in Madrid to Santa Justa station in Seville...the entire journey was roughly 2 hours and 40 minutes with only one brief stop in Cordoba. This was our first glimpse of the Spanish countryside and it did not disappoint! Our journey took us through the Montes de Toledo and Sierra Morena mountain ranges, as well as rolling countryside very reminiscent of Tuscany. Olive groves and vineyards as far as the eye can see gradually gave way to tree crops, like almonds and apricots...and eventually, citrus. Scattered along the way were some quaint whitewashed hilltop villages and the occasional castle. Traveling by train is absolutely the best way to get around Europe!

Arriving in Seville, the first order of business was to get to our hotel, Hotel Palacio Alcázar, which was literally steps from the Real Alcázar Palace in Barrio de Santa Cruz, the old Jewish Quarter and tourist heart of the city. For the middle-of-the-road price point (not a Hostel and not the Ritz), this place was amazing and the location could not be beat. The icing on the cake was the roof deck cafe; it had a great view of the cathedral and Giralda bell tower and was especially brilliant at night.

By now it was around lunch time, so after checking into the hotel we fueled up on beer and tapas at El Librero Tapas Y Quesos, which was just outstanding in every way....food, service, and ambiance. It had a vibe like an old library or reading room and there were vintage books, furniture and knick-knacks throughout. Definitely our kind of place!

Next up: Another Rick Steves walking audio tour as our introduction to the city. We headed to the base of the Giralda bell tower in Plaza Virgen to start the tour, which routes you around the Cathedral, across Alemanes (German) Street to Avenida de la Constitución, past the Alcázar, and into the heart of Barrio Santa Cruz.

The exterior of the Giralda tower was particularly interesting; layers of stone, brick, and it's façade are each telltale signs of Seville's history. Starting from the bottom...roman stone - some with latin inscription - then Moorish brick from the river and more elaborate, Islamic slender windows with lobed arches - reveal that the tower was actually the minaret from the old mosque. Finally, the bell tower was added to the top by Christians. It was always used for call to prayer, just in different eras and for different religions. Fascinating.

We also passed the Pueta del Perdón (literally: Door of Forgiveness) - which, other than the tower - is one of the rare remnants of the grand mosque that once stood here.

The tour continued around the exterior of the cathedral, past the equally impressive main entrance door (rarely used today), through Plaza del Triunfo, and into Plaza de Bandaras, which was the main parade ground for the Alcázar fortress. From there an almost hidden passageway took us into the heart of Barrio de Santa Cruz.

Barrio de Santa Cruz, with it's narrow, pedestrian only streets, whitewashed façades, cozy plazas, and marvelous flower-adorned patio homes was probably a good 2 degrees cooler (Celsius!) than the rest of the city. We stopped for a drink in one of the plaza cafes and it was delightful.

After we concluded our walking tour it was time to see the inside of the Cathedral and climb the tower for a drone's eye view of the city. The interior of the Cathedral is enormous; it's the third largest Cathedral in Europe (after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London) and the largest gothic cathedral in the world. Here we also got a look at Christopher Columbus' tomb, which is held aloft by four allegorical figures representing the four kingdoms of Spain during Columbus’ life: Castille, Aragon, Navarre, and Leon.

We climbed the 34 levels of the Giralda tower for this amazing view of the city. No steps to climb; there were ramps, as in Moorish times - for centuries - the muezzin would ride a donkey to the top of the minuret five times a day for the Muslim call to prayer.

After checking out the city from aloft, we walked along the Guadalquivir River during sunset, toward Plaza de Espana, but we couldn't get close to the Plaza due to it being closed for a concert associated with the Latin Grammy's. So we headed back to the hotel for a pre-dinner drink at our rooftop bar, then had the most amazing alfresco dinner at El Beso Gastro Restaurante in the heart of Barrio de Santa Cruz.

During dinner, this gentleman stopped by and performed a lovely serenade for Michele. It was a lovely way to end our first day in Seville!

Stay tuned for day two and the conclusion of our visit to Seville, coming soon!