Seville – Spain
Early October 2019
Coming from the relatively quiet cities of Granada and Cordoba, Seville was comparatively chaotic when we arrived early Thursday afternoon. A true metropolis, it was both good to be back in a bustling city, but also somewhat confronting to be back amongst heaving traffic, crowds of tourists, and souvenir touts.
Seville was once the main port between Europe and the Americas. For several centuries almost all the wealth of the New World was channelled through Seville, making it extremely wealthy for a long period of time. Coupled with having spent several centuries as an important Mudejar city, Seville remains a sprawling, beautiful, and ornate city – now the capital of Andalucia.
After a quick and delicious lunch of tortilla de patatas, fried pork, salmorejo, and Iberian paella at Mercado Lonja del Barranco, we wandered south along the Guadalquivir, which was quite a sight – calm waters, boats and kayaks floating past quietly, and a beaming sun above. The river was well juxtaposed against the brash and bright terraced houses of La Triana, the suburb we were staying in. We passed the Torre del Oro, the municipal house, and walked through the ornate Seville university. Heading further south we walked through the Parque de María Luisa, stumbling on an international food festival – unfortunately, having already eaten, we couldn’t take part. Amusingly, the Australian stall was offering Cangaru burgers.
As the afternoon kept heating up, a thick haze set in as we arrived at the Plaza del la Espana, a decidedly beautiful monument to Seville’s past.
Walking north along the high street we had a sit down coffee at Confitería La Campana – a veritable institution. Blueberry cheesecake, the local “San Marco” cake, and café bonbons (strong coffee with condensed milk), were the orders of the day. As was a bit of people watching.
That evening we did as the Spanish do – had tapas. Trawling through La Triana, we went to a series of bars - wandering down streets and alleys until we found ones we liked the looks of. Well-aged cheeses, finely cured meats, tiny gourmand sandwiches, and lightly toasted bread – exactly what you expect from tapas – delicious. I continued to be pleasantly surprised at the local wine on offer; dry and straw-like Manzanilla, auburn Amontillados, luscious Muscatels, and bold and sweet Pedro Ximenez – the variety and quality of the wine was phenomenal. As was the price – often less than 2 euros a glass. Wine just seemed to be a fact of life here, no-one would dare over-price it. Works for me.
The following day began with a fruit breakfast from a nearby grocer, which we enjoyed the novelty of going to, since it’s all just Tesco and the like in Scotland.
Having booked a tour of Seville’s 3 main attractions in the afternoon, we had a few hours to spend in the Santa Cruz barrio. Unfortunately, Amy was feeling rather poorly, but she managed to shake it off and drag herself along with me to the Hospital los Venerables, an old hospital and cloister – now an odd little museum. Part church, part art gallery, part museum – it was nonetheless an interesting look in to Spain’s catholic past and modern history.
Stopping at a hole-in-the-wall boccateria, we had lunch on the banks of the Guadalquivir. Filled rolls – tortilla patatas for Amy, crumbed chicken tenderloin for me. Hand-cut potato chips completed the simple meal.
The main attractions of the day were to be the Seville Cathedral and the Real Alcazar – bombastic and gaudy monuments both.
The Seville cathedral is yet another beautiful cultural hodgepodge. Built upon a Visigothic church, as well as a Mudejar Mosque, the Seville Cathedral is largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Grand, gaudy, and spectacular outside an in – complete with a golden altar, ornate reliquaries, spectacular vaulted ceilings, and cluttered chapels. It also has the striking tomb of Cristopher Columbus, held aloft by amalgams of the 4 kingdoms of Spain.
That is not to even mention the Giralda – the church’s bell tower. Once the minaret of the previous mosque, the town historically couldn’t bear to see it torn down, so it was adapted with catholic iconography to sate the king and clergy. A reflection of the town eclectic cultural history of the town itself, it remains a nice icon of the city of Seville.
Moving on to the Real Alcazar, or royal palace, we were actually disappointed. Now, there is actually nothing wrong the the Real Alcazar, in fact it is quite beautiful with its combination of Gothic, Mudejar and renaissance architecture. The only problem was that we had just come from the Alhambra – quite simply one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Since both buildings are done in the same style, it was impossible not to compare and contrast. We had a nice enough time hearing the history of everything and wandering the surrounds, but the effect was lost.
We grabbed ice cream before heading home for a siesta.
That evening we wanted to avoid another tapas meal and instead chose to have Moroccan – a simple, yet delicious, spread of hummus, bread, aubergine salad, and an apricot chicken tajine. Wandering towards home, we stopped at a few well-known tapas bars along the bustling Calle Mateos. I made sure to try the local Vino de Naranj, or orange wine, a bitter, yet somewhat sweet digestif. After another Pedro Ximenez, we headed home. Being a Friday night in Spain, the streets were heaving at still heaving at midnight – clearly the night had just begun for the Sevillanos.
Unfortunately, our last day in Seville was short and uninteresting, having to catch a bus at 11am, we only managed to take in a local breakfast – churros and coffee. To be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan. Deep fried dough and heavy chocolate sauce is a tough ask at 9am.
From there, we snuck in a quick walk through La Triana to watch the suburb wake up. Old folk were all dressed up and on their way to mass. Kids we’re shouting churro churro churro! On the way to breakfast. Grocers were setting up for the day. Although Seville is a large city, it still had a strong neighbourhood feel, which I quite liked.
But alas, that’s all she wrote. We then made way along the river to the bus station, soon to be in Malaga. Although I’m almost Spain-ed out, I think we could’ve used one more day in Seville to explore the outer suburbs a bit more.
JC
“I’m telling you that India is that way, now set my course.”
Christopher Columbus
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