The Road East to Seville

Five days back from America (Los Angeles) and I am over my jet lag – thank goodness!  Mel has kept himself busy with lots of beach walks, looking at places we will head to next, and DIY jobs for Adam and Melissa around the house - including finishing a cork board for them that we started mid January!

Mel has itchy feet now and after 2 months at Adam’s he’s ready to move on.  I guess I am too and excited for all the places we are going to see but it’s tinged with sadness as we are leaving Adam.  Can’t complain though as we have had a fantastic time with him and Melissa over the last 2 months!  Before we left they gave us a lovely hamper – so we won’t go hungry!

So, we move on to Seville – capital and largest city of Andalusa.  It’s about one hour 15 minutes from Punta Umbría and although we have visited it before we couldn’t resist stopping off again, as it is an attractive city.  Sonny (the motorhome) is parked up for the day/night overlooking the river and just a short walk from the centre of Seville. Basically it is a car park (Puente de Los Remedios)  - 10 euros for 24 hours plus water or with electric 15 euros (N37°22’20” W5°59’41”).

Sonny (the motorhome) is parked up just to the right of the picture

A short walk along the River Guadalquivir and you come to the Torre del Ora (Tower of Gold).  A 13th century Moorish dodecahedron watchtower, once used as a warehouse for the gold coming in from the New World during Seville’s heyday.  It is now a small maritime museum.

Then along to the Cathedral de Sevilla and Giralda Tower. A large gothic-style structure, the 3^rd largest church in the world and Unesco site.  There are lots of horse and carts to take you around the city, hop on and off buses or bikes for hire.  But us being us we walked!

We then headed up to the north-eastern district,  Marcarena and old Moorish city walls.

A walk around Seville’s former Jewish quarter in the medieval old city, a picturesque and quaint area where you can wander the narrow lanes for a bite to eat, shop in artisan stores or lovely bars. Plus take in some fantastic architecture.

Casa de Pilatos

Seville Town Hall (Ayuntamiento), which has been used as such since the 16th century.

Seville Town Hall

However, we stumbled across this in the old quarter - The Metropol Parasol, the world’s largest wooden structure that is made up of a sequence of parasols.  A bit of an eyesore!

Street theatre is in abundance in the city and not least is Flamingo dancing, which was great to sit and watch for a while.

We laughed when we came across this 'slow food' restaurant – obviously taking a stand against ‘fast food’ places.  We didn't eat in it, so can't say how slow it is!

The Alcázar - Seville’s royal palace complex is an architectural wonder made up of Mudejar and gothic syles.  Having already been in a couple of years ago we gave it a miss this time.

Plaza de España - This semi-circular plaza near the entrance to Maria Luisa Park was constructed as the centre piece for the 1929 Ibero-American World Fair Expo.  During the Expo there was a structure built to represent each of the visiting nations and Plaza de Espana was the Spanish site. The work began in 1914 and took over 1000 workers to complete,the construction concept was to recreate the feel of a 10^th century Moorish Structure and the Spanish connection to America.  The fountains, trees, plants canal and ornate buildings represent a Moorish Paradise.

So we head back to our motorhome for wine and food; it's just turned 7pm and is still 24 degrees – perfect!  Next stop Jerez.

Sally x