EZ Honeymoon: Sevilla

While we made good time to Sevilla, our arrival required two laps through another set of ancient, narrow streets in the the Barrio Santa Cruz.  We actually drove straight to the parking garage we were looking for, but it’s on a one way street and does not look like a parking garage from outside so we had to make a second harrowing lap around the neighborhood.

After parking, we walked a couple blocks to our delightful apartment, and our host met us with a map and loads of information.  With a tentative schedule for that night and the following day, EZ sneaked in a brief nap while I played photographer on the roof deck during sunset.

For our first meal, we chose a restaurant recommended in Maribel’s Sevilla guide, Casa Robles. Maybe it was an off night because our food was terribly salty, and we found Maribel’s Toledo recommendations to be solid.  If you are looking for a great, affordable dining option, check out Taberna Coloniales where we ate the second night. The food was delicious (EZ loved their pickled carrots), the service excellent, and it was surprisingly quick despite being incredibly busy. After a beautiful walk around the cathedral and barrio Santa Cruz, we went home to rest up for a full day of historic sites, shopping, food, and flamenco.

The day started with churros and coffee at a bodega/bar on our walk to the Real Alcázar.  The Alcázar is an old Moorish fort turned royal palace, and is full of incredible Spanish tile work that is said to be brighter than the larger Alhambra in Granada. Our Airbnb host suggested that we make a reservation for it and the cathedral because the lines are pretty long, but we were too late for the online system.  Fortunately, arriving at opening on a weekday only mandated a brief wait.

The entrance led to a large central courtyard with several smaller smaller ones on the perimeter. We passed through the one above and then went on to see the amazing tapestries on display.  The hand-woven detail is incredible, especially considering how long ago they were crafted.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Part of what makes the Alcázar so impressive is the surface area of all the detailed tiles and carvings. They cover almost every inch of the floors, ceilings, walls, and columns. I love this photo that EZ took, and I think it really captures the brilliance and magnificence of the royal estate.

The entire Alcázar is huge, and unfortunately, we did not have time to cover the grounds completely.  If possible, we recommend slotting an entire afternoon for your visit because there is more than enough to see, and it would have been nice to relax a bit in the gardens instead of rushing through to visit the cathedral.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After our lap around the gardens at the Alcázar, we went straight across the plaza to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the See. This is one of the largest churches in the world. Actually, Wikipedia has it listed as the “largest Gothic cathedral, and third-largest church in the world.” If we had planned better, it might have been a good idea for us to get lunch first. 🙂

Entering the church, magnitude and beauty of the cathedral hits you instantly.  Surrounded by the towering domes, arches, and stained glass windows, it is hard to know where to start. Although, they do have a free brochure guide with a numbered order and map. Over the main altar, the detailed stonework in the ceiling pulled me in immediately. After stopping for pictures, we continued on our way to the tower.

Having missed the tower in the Toledo cathedral, we figured we would start with the one in Sevilla.  As we walked up, the windows became progressively smaller until we reached the top of the tower, and along the way, they had displays positioned across from them. The glass window on one of the displays set this shot up nicely for EZ.

She also grabbed this one during our trip up the stairs, and while our apartment was off to the left, we were unable to locate it from the tower for a telephoto shot.

Along with the stunning views from atop of the tower, there were giant bells hanging along all of the walls.  Thankfully, we were only up there at a quarter past the hour because the ring of one bell still caused vibrations through our bodies.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We made our way back down the tower, and we found this chapel with red silk lining the walls and an interesting wainscoting on the curved ceiling.  EZ again proved her patience, and she was ready at just the right moment to capture the room in between visitors.

We have a lot of photos of people half walking in and out of the room before she took that one, but it was certainly worth it.  Here is a detail shot of the ceiling:

At this point the hunger set in, and all we have to show you is the jester smiling at us as we made our way through the courtyard outside, in search of lunch.

We managed to grab a small meal from a cafe that was closing down lunch service, before we roamed around the famous shopping district.  I prefer to purchase functional souvenirs when I travel so we stopped at O’Kean, which I can only describe as an independent Spanish Brooks Brothers.

After trying on a few different shirts, I selected the one I felt gave me the best shot of looking like a worthy date for a romantic evening in Sevilla with someone as beautiful as EZ. The evening began with an exciting flamenco show at the Museo del Baile Flamenco, and ended with a wonderful moonlit stroll through a magical Andalusian city.

EZ Honeymoon Series:
First Things First
Holy Toledo! Part 1
Holy Toledo! Part 2
Holy Toledo! Part 3
Cordoba