Sweet Home Sevilla

Adios, coche! Hola, Sevilla! Upon our arrival in Sevilla, the first order of business was to return the rental car to Hertz at the Train Station. Oh, happy day! We loved the freedom of our car, and our road trip through rural Spain was unbelievable. However, now that we will be spending the rest of our time in larger cities, we have opted to travel by foot/bus/train. JCB and I can go back to being our normal selves. (Meaning, no more arguing over how the other one is driving!)

After returning the car, we made our way back to Barrio Santa Cruz, one of the liveliest neighborhoods of the city. At the recommendation of our taxi driver, we made our first stop in Bar Alfalfa for cerveza and tostada con queso y salmorenjo. Toasty, cheesy, delicious. We decided to continue our bar hopping while heading back to the hotel – it was time for siesta!

After a long afternoon / evening nap – I think we woke up at 9:30 PM – we showered, dressed, and headed out onto the town. JCB had planned several tapas bars for us to visit, and they were all fabulous. By midnight, we were stuffed, but we had a couple more drinks before heading home for good. We really wanted to stay out and see some of the club scene, but the clubs weren’t really going to pick up until 2AM, and there was no way I was going to make it that late. We will make it out super late once. I promise!

Our Sunday was busy, starting with breakfast at a cute, cheap tapas place called La Companara. We then ventured over to El Alcazar, which put all of the other castles we have seen to date to total shame. This castle was gigantic. Elaborate tiling, a beautiful garden, and so much space. I think we wandered throughout for over an hour. And I’m pretty sure we took over one hundred pictures…

After the castle, more tapas. It is so fun to eat in Sevilla – lots of great food, but in small portions. It is fun to be hungry every two hours again! We continued to wander around, next to La Plaza Espana, and just hung out for a while. Watched Spanish toddlers get into trouble, mostly. We’re both intrigued when we hear little Spanish voices. It is frustrating that they can speak better than us!

Last on our agenda, was La Catedral de Sevilla. Another cathedral. I have had my share of cathedrals by now, but this one was pretty cool. It boasts being the largest of the worlds Gothic cathedrals, and also the third largest of all the world’s cathedrals (regardless of architecture). In addition, the cathedral houses two paintings by Goya, as well as the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It also has one of the most elaborate altars I ever seen, with a backdrop of 40+ gold statues and religious scenes telling stories both of Christ and Sevilla. I have never seen anything like it, before.

After a quick climb to the top of the cathedral tower, we realized that 4PM was quickly approaching: time for another round of small plates. We chose a spot not too far from the cathedral, next to some locals, and had gambas a la plancha (grilled shrimp – with heads) and a fried fish of sorts. Very good. During dinner I checked my pedometer and saw that we had walked 14 KM that day. No wonder we were so tired! So we headed back to the hotel for our favorite time of day, siesta.

We loved Sevilla. So much so that we thought we could actually live here. And we think we will probably return again, and hopefully soon. But for now, it is time to get ready for Granada!