Our journey that started from northern Spain finally reached the southern part of the country. Sevilla, capital of Andalusia, welcomed us with its glorious sunny day. We started out a bit late as we were enjoying too much of the rooftop terrace of our lovely accomodation. We had longer than usual breaksfast there. We took photos there. We rested and relaxed there. It was a lovely terrace.
First up to visit was the Royal Alcazar, also known as Alcazares Reales de Sevilla. Located in the old town of Sevilla, the Alcazar was a real surprise for me. Some parts of the palace had similarities with Granada's Alhambra eg. the carving on walls, the patios, etc, but this Alcazar had one of the most unforgettable garden that I've seen. The garden was a real joy for me. There was a spot near the fountain and surrounded by very tall palm trees where I just sat there doing nothing and enjoyed it. It was very pleasing. And apparently this palace was very famous with wedding couples. It was a Saturday and there were a number of couples and their photographers in action that day. It's not surprising at all as there were many photo spots to take in the palace as if they were from different places. It was a great palace and I had a good time there. I never expected that I would enjoy it better than the Alhambra.
We spent so much time in Alcazar that we had a late lunch. We were too hungry and had to go out from it although we didn't feel like it. After our lunch, we walked the city. Sevilla is a big city and we would have covered places faster if we ride a bike. There were bike rental spots everywhere but we had to register first to rent one and we didn't. So we had no choice but to walk. We only managed to walk up to the area of Torre Del Oro (Gold Tower). It was a very unique octagonal Moorish style tower located along Guadalquivil river. We walked along the river for a while and wanted to go to the other side of the river but gave up on it as we were too tired to walk.
At night, we were very excited because we booked ourselves to watch a flamenco dance. It was my first time watching this dance and probably the first time for everyone else watching there as well. There were two dancers, a singer, and a guitarist. Each of them played a part that made every aspect of this dance very interesting. The dance was very passionate and full of fire. I could see that the dancers took so much passion and energy for every little movement. It was an amazing experience for me to be there to watch it.
The next day, we only had about half a day for Sevilla as we had to go to our next stop, Rhonda. We planned to visit the famous Cathedral and its bell tower, La Giralda, but surprisingly enough the queue to get in was too long and we didn't have time for it. So we just roamed around the Cathedral, had a delicious tapas lunch and went souvenir shopping before taking a bus to Rhonda.
Although it was my second visit, I still think Sevilla is a very fascinating city. The influence of Moorish style on its buildings made Sevilla different from other cities in the northern Spain. I felt that I was transported to a different country. And the food...I can go on and on about the food. I love the Andalusia's speciality such as the gazpacho (cold tomato-based raw vegetable soup) and rabo de toro (Spanish oxtail stew) and I love the churos. I love everything about Sevilla. There's definitely no doubt about it.
Photos by me, HM and JK.
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