My next escapade takes me to the beautiful city of Seville in Spain, or when I want to sound properly cultured, Sevilla, Espana.
Seville was one of those decisions that occurred to us as a result of sheer desperation at not having a holiday lined up in the near future, but that’s not to discredit Seville as a destination at all.
As soon as the aeroporto bus dropped us off by Prado De San Sebastian, the style and grandeur of the Andalucian capital was evident. Architecture, culture and a wonderfully relaxed lifestyle full of wine, tapas and sunny Al Fresco dining. If I had to pick three words to describe Seville, I’d pick colour, culture, and swagger.
The more I walked through the city, the more i’d give myself mental high-fives for finding a city that was a) not too far from London b) warm pretty much all year round and c) culturally and aesthetically interesting. A combination of these three conditions make it an excellent Plan B destination that I can flee to if ever am in need of a familiar getaway, or if anyone asks me for tips so that I may sound learn-ed.
So, since i’m so ridiculously behind on holiday catch ups and I have the memory of an aged peanut, i’ll skip through the sights of Seville as briefly as I can. Which means nothing at all, because every silly blog i write seems to takes me at least six hours. But before we get started, lets grab ourselves a refreshing glass of Cruzcampo first.
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| Yes I am old enough to drink, pimpled Tesco checkout boy! |
OK I’m good now. let’s roll.
The dominant centrepiece in the heart of the city centre was the Cathedral and alongside its Giralda Tower, are the centrepieces of Seville. Whether its spires cast shadows against the sunset, or if the street lanterns cast a golden glow against an evening sky, it was a grand sight to behold. We spent quite a bit of time in and around the Cathedral, be it for a casual cafe lunch, or a hugely overpriced Mojito at the Hotel EME rooftop bar and suffice to say it makes for a beautiful backdrop either way.
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| Seville Cathedral – purrdy all day long. |
A little off centre, was the magnificent Plaza De Espana. Built in the style of what my good friend Wikipedia tells me is Renaissance Art Deco, its an immensely majestic structure, almost ostentatious in its style, full of pomp, flair, and gaping tourists like ourselves. Its dozens of tiled alcoves house intricate mosaics which each represent a province of Spain. (One thing you quickly notice about Seville is that it loves its ceramics).
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| Barcelona. Always showing off, pfft. |
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| Plaza De Espana – Spanish for ‘swagger’. |
The plaza itself is a huge semi-circle, surrounded by a moat with numerous bridges, which if you don’t feel like spending your hard earned/worthless euros on a boat ride, sure paints a pretty picture. If the whole thing looks familar, you’ve probably noticed it in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, in which case I judge you hideously.
The last stand out spectacle of Seville is Alcazar. The Royal Palace, still used as an official residence by Spain’s Royal Family, consists of huge sweeping garden courtyards, fountains and pools, statues and patios. One of its most iconic features are the Baths of Lady Maria De Padilla, which although are actually just rainwater tanks, take advantage of clever architecture to exploit the light, giving a gorgeous radiance and tranquillity to its settings.
Many online reviews rave about this place, (even if descriptions do make it sound like just a very attractive state residence) but I could understand why when I walked through the courtyards and soaked in the sumptuous surroundings.
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| Alcazar – Bet its nicer than YOUR house. |
Finally, the grandeur and elegance of the Cathedral, Plaza De Espana and Alcazar would catch a tourist’s attention, but it would be the underlying charm of Seville’s many Barrios which would sustain them. The most picturesque being Barrio Santa Cruz, the many windy, narrow streets in Seville are crammed full of character, with old fashioned lanterns, colourful licks of paint and overhanging foilage sprawled throughout. Its a cliche to say, go and get hopelessly lost in the Barrios, but it really is advice worth following for the sheer romance and wonder of it all.
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| In and out of the Barrios |
A quick word about the food
Food for the most part in Seville was tasty and cheap, with tapas galore, but our gastronomic experiences would have been that much more pleasant had it not been a perpetual struggle to find someplace which would a) feed us and b) comprehend our wild gesturing. I personally never had such problems in Barcelona or Madrid – but maybe it is the Sevillano way for its restaurants to close randomly throughout the day and to look blank when faced with a couple of hungry tourists prodding indeterminate items on a laminated menu. More often than not, as a result of desperation and exasperation, brought on by primal hunger, we ended up with a lump of meat resting on a bed of potato chips on our plate. To add insult to injury, they were ready salted.
In any case, we did manage to eat at every appropriate meal time, evidence shown thus:
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| Things that managed to end up in my belly |
Now I know the climax has been building to one thing: Oranges. Unfortunately, although the streets were literally teeming with orange trees, they were not in season, and I’m told they’re also sprayed with pesticides, so unfortunately there will be no account of Sevillan oranges, but I can prove the whole teeming thing:
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| Orange trees by the Giralda |
And so, because I’m exhausted, and still a little bit hungry from foraging desperately for food in Seville, I end our tour of the Andalucian capital and leave you with these wonderful things.
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| Giving a whole new meaning to a set of baps |
Some of you may think I’m being immature, but you’re just being a big stupid head.
KJK 
