Seductive Seville, Spain

Seville, the captivating capital of Andalusia will seduce you with its melancholic, gypsy guitar-strumming Flamenco singers, and it’s passionate people. Brimming with history, culture and stunning architecture, offering a mixture of styles such as Mudéjar, Renaissance and Gothic masterpieces.

A sunny, warm climate invites an outdoor lifestyle that is enjoyed by all in its beautiful plazas, green spaces, or along the riverbank promenade. We visited March/19 and found it to be a perfect time weather-wise since it can get VERY hot during the summer months. It was the busiest of all the cities we have visited so far on this trip, so I can’t imagine what it would be like in the high season. But don’t let that put you off, it is worth it.

We wandered through its vibrant streets accompanied by our walking tour guide, his passion for his birth city having us enthralled as we wandered from one landmark to another. Doing a walking tour on our very first day of exploring was a great choice and it set us up for the rest of the trip. The heart of the old city is where many of the main landmarks will be found, it is very pedestrian-friendly and fun to wander around.

The very walkable old town

Our guide took us through the maze-like streets of the old Jewish Quarter retracing Jewish history in Spain. During medieval times a wall was built to separate Jews from the rest of the city. It hides a dark history of persecution, deceit, and death when the entire Jewish community became persona non grata and many were killed with their synagogues being converted to churches. A stark contrast to today, when this area is quaint and a real pleasure to walk around or linger in the pretty little plazas and courtyards.

Our guided wanderings ended near the Royal Tobacco Factory where our guide explained that since the 1950’s this beautiful building has been the rectorate of the University of Seville. In fact, our guide himself had attended University here gaining a History degree.

We were very lucky to have such a great guide to ourselves; being a Monday morning there were not enough people to join the walking tour, so it was just us and him as our private guide. When it was over we tipped him well for his efforts and said our goodbyes, heading over to a place he recommended for our lunch. A very traditional, if a little rough around the edges place. We sat outside and ended up being serenaded by a drunk Flamenco singer who was sitting on a table near ours. It was hilarious and rather memorable.

Seville’s Plaza de España

After our meal we headed over to the Maria Luisa Park, the largest park in Seville where people were eating picnics, lying in the grass having a siesta or enjoying riding on some of those funny quadricycles that we often see in places like this.  Eventually, we came across the stunning Plaza De España…not really a plaza but a large complex of buildings.

Built for the Ibero-American Exposition in 1929, these fabulous buildings are arranged in a semi-circle set against a man-made little canal. The sprawling compound actually houses some government offices, which is a little amusing considering how gorgeous this place is – I thought the home of Royalty would be a more appropriate use for it.

Plaza De España

Plaza De España

A water fountain in the middle of the semi-circle building complex comes into action for a few minutes every so often. There is also a man-made little canal where people enjoy rowing small boats.

Real Alcázar De Seville

We booked our tickets online the day before our visit, via the official website choosing an afternoon time slot for our visit. Even with a ticket you still have to queue for a short time with all the others that have also been given the same scheduled time slot.

Built by Castilian Christians for King Peter of Castile, it is stunning.

Patio De Las Doncellas “The Courtyard of the Maidens”

The iconic “Courtyard of the Maidens”

Intricate carvings

The Hall of Ambassadors has a stunning golden dome

This Royal Palace is a must for anyone visiting Seville. A UNESCO listed building since 1987, the palace showcases the best of Moorish heritage with stunning Mudéjar architecture. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as their official residence in Seville.

Looking out over the beautiful gardens

Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance styles throughout the fabulous gardens

The gardens are a labyrinth of secret passages and courtyards, fragrant flowers, fruit trees and beautifully manicured gardens dotted with Renaissance statues. Water plays an important part in its many fountains and ponds.

Don’t miss the basement baths, or rather rainwater tanks, beneath the Patio del Crucero. These are called “Baths of Lady Maria de Padilha”, named after the mistress of Peter the Cruel.

“Baths of Lady Maria de Padilha”

We spent about 3 hours exploring the Palace and the gardens at leisure. Don’t expect to have it to yourself, it is extremely popular (with good reason). It actually surprised me at how busy it was even during the low season.

The Alcázar is free to visit on Mondays, although be prepared for huge crowds. We booked our tickets online the day before our visit via the official website.

Seville Cathedral and La Giralda Tower

Just opposite the Royal Palace, once our visit was over, we decided to also visit the Seville Cathedral and La Giralda Tower. Usually, another very popular place to visit with long queues. But there were no queues to contend with being already late afternoon, near closing time.

Seville Cathedral and Bell Tower

Built on the site of a large Mosque, the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede was completed in 1506. Lofty and huge, it is the largest Gothic church in the world. The tall minaret of the old Mosque was preserved and it still towers next to the Christian Cathedral. Now called La Giralda, it is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral, the Renaissance style top was a later addition by the Catholic church. The tower is 104.1 meters (342 feet) in height.

Views from the Bell Tower

We enjoyed walking up the bell tower, particularly because there are no winding, narrow staircases in this tower, like we usually find in such places. Here there are spacious ramps that lead to magnificent views over Seville. (We were told that when the tower was originally built by the Moors, they built ramps so that the muezzin could ride a donkey to the top to issue his five times daily call to prayer.)

The tomb of Christopher Columbus

Inside the Cathedral there are lots to see, including the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Although that is a controversial issue since there is still a great mystery surrounding his final resting place. It appears that his remains have traveled quite a few times from one location to another since his death.  The Dominican Republic claims that Mr. Columbus remains are actually buried in Santo Domingo and so the dispute goes on. I guess being more than 500 years since his death, this is a mystery that won’t be easily resolved.

Flamenco Show

No visit to Seville would be complete without enjoying a Flamenco show. There are many to choose from, some more touristic than others. We opted for the free show at La Carboneria, as recommended by our walking tour guide.

We arrived early and managed to grab a seat very close to the stage, a Brazilian group sitting next to us. They were great fun. Later an Australian couple shared our table and the place was packed full.

The place felt very authentic and intimate

A very humble place with long tables and benches. Perhaps not the most comfortable of places to sit down for a show, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The night was even more enjoyable due to us befriending a group of fun Brazilians who sat on the table next to us and a lovely Australian couple from Melbourne who sat opposite us on our table.

Known locally as a “tablao” these performances are acoustic and feel very intimate. We arrived early and got a seat very close to the stage. We could, in fact, see the musician’s expressions whilst belting out the raucous songs.  The music is haunting and emotionally charged. The dance hypnotic and incredibly passionate, it was wonderful to be so close to the artists. They asked that no photos were taken during the show, which is fair enough. I would recommend La Carboneria for some very authentic Flamenco, but do eat your dinner before going to the venue. They serve some snacks there, but not a proper meal. The drinks are excellent and not expensive.

I have already chosen my Flamenco dress for next time

It was well past our bedtime when we headed home in a taxi. We were staying at the Puerto Gelves motorhome Aire (GPS location N37.34004 W6.02324), costing 15 Euros per night,  with all facilities and EHU included. A really lovely and peaceful location within an easy 15 minutes bus ride into Seville.

We spent 3 days in Seville and we could have stayed a lot longer, there was lots more to see and do, but as always it is good to leave wanting more and having a good excuse to return.

Weird El Rocio and Doñana National Park.

From Seville we made our way to El Rocio, not far from the border with Portugal, where this town was our last stop in Spain. The weirdest place we have ever visited, El Rocio is not your typical town. The sandy streets have no road markings or signaling, the soft surface is more appropriate for horse-drawn carriages than for cars. There was a real wild west feel about this place.

We decided to stay for two nights to explore the town and most importantly to visit the Doñana National Park.

We stayed at a campsite on the edge of town and just as well since the roads were not very motorhome friendly…more appropriate for 4WD cars.

Sandy road into town

Horse drawn carriages are the normal here, although locals do use cars also.

El Rocio is very atmospheric at night

There are wooden hitching rails outside most buildings so people can tie up their horses. There was hardly anyone around when we first entered the town. We headed towards the church and the edge of the wetlands that surrounds the village. From there we walked along a boardwalk and spotted flamingos in the distance.

Flamingos at El Rocio wetlands

Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora de El Rocio.

This town takes center stage once a year for one of Spain’s biggest religious festivals. The annual pilgrimage and festivities bring about one million people into this small town which is usually only made up of one thousand inhabitants. It is hard to imagine such a dramatic difference.

The El Rocio Pilgrimage is on the second day of Pentecost in honour of the Virgin whose image was reported to have been found by a hunter in the fifteenth century.The pilgrims travel in groups known as brotherhoods or religious confraternities. Travelling on foot, on horseback or in horse-drawn carriages it is apparently quite a sight to behold.

But we are not here for the pilgrimage; the highlight of this area for us was to visit the Doñana National Park, a wetland characterized by marshes,  sand flats, small streams, and a wild-life and bird sanctuary. We took the official guided tour, which the only way to see this area since no private cars are allowed to enter the reserve.

Our robust tour bus

We were given binoculars after boarding the large green tour bus. Our guide would watch out for the wildlife and point them out to all of us. We saw wild boar, red deer and lots of amazing birds…too many to remember all their names. but unfortunately, we did not see Iberian lynx.

We booked the wildlife tour via our Campsite at a cost of 30 Euros each, and we had to stay an extra day to be able to do it since places are limited. It is also possible to book online. The tour takes about 4 hours.

I would recommend a visit to this weird and wonderful town and certainly don’t miss the tour to Doñana National Park.

So it is “hasta la vista” to Spain…at least for now.