I fell in love

I fell in love with Sevilla. Absolutely in love.

Now, this is a strange statement for a couple reasons. When I tell people this they give me weird looks because I also follow with the fact that I left the city earlier than anticipated and I had the worst weather while I was there.

It was actually the worst weather. I was told in Barcelona that Sevilla was beautiful, Sunny Sevilla, lovely weather in Sevilla. Now I get to Sevilla and it was POURING - as in, the streets began to flood. Naturally this was the first day I was there and also the day in which I decided (somewhat foolishly) to go exploring. I find it ironic that out of England, Scotland and Spain, I didn't find it necessary to purchase an umbrella until I got to Spain. And even with this umbrella, I still got soaked! I should also mention that I got absolutely lost, so there were hours of me roaming the streets in the pouring rain asking lovely Spanish people where I was. Check out my jeans after that..

But the hostel I stayed at was amazing. It had free sangria for an hour every evening, a breakfast crepe station and hammocks in the garden! I wish I had been there for nicer weather!

Also, where else are you going to see a horse-and-buggy in a roundabout?

I was only there for 2 days, but I managed to do quite a lot. I saw La Giralda and its church which is really interesting. Sevilla is a really interesting mix of Arabic and European architecture and the church's tower is actually the remains of an old mosque! In Sevilla's history, it was conquered by the Venetians, then by the Moors and finally by the Romans. In the end, the history of Sevilla is made up of stories of how Jews, Muslims, and Christians all interacted and got along - going into the Golden Age and the Spanish Inquisition! For just one city, it's absolutely fascinating!

If you climb to the top of the tower, the view is amazing!

About half way up the tower

 

Side note: this is the third largest cathedral in Europe and the final resting place of Christopher Columbus!

I also saw Real Alcazar, which is the palace in Sevilla modeled after Alhambra in Granada. I haven't been to Granada (very unfortunately) but if this is indication, it must be incredible! What made this extra cool was that the day I went to these two attractions was actually International Tourism Day so entrance was free! Yay!

the gardens were incredible! and it was raining so everything was sooo green!

I also managed to do a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter of Sevilla and I learned SO MUCH. I had a fabulous tour guide named Alice (with panchotours.com if you are ever interested) who showed us around and gave us a lot of stories and information. For example, every street in Sevilla (and there are hundreds... believe me I learned the hard way) has a story or reason behind it's name.

So now I will leave you with pictures of this amazing city and urge you all to go! I would go back in an instant if I could.

Plaza España

Plaza España

This is the tower I climbed!

Barrios of Santa Cruz

 

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