Seville

It’s a ten minute walk to the bus station in Antequera for our 10:20 departure to Seville, picking up some breakfast supplies from a supermarket en route. Unlike Malaga bus station, there are no information boards telling you which bay your bus departs from. I spot Sevilla on the scrolling display on the front of a bus and confirm with the driver that we should be on it. The driver is in no hurry to leave, and we set off 15 minutes behind schedule

The journey is fairly dull and uneventful. We eat a little breakfast, then Vera manages to sleep across two seats while I manage to write up most of the blog for the past week. Despite the late start we arrive on time in Seville.

Seville feels hot. So rather than trudge through the 30° streets we take a taxi to our apartment

We knock on the heavy door and it opens to reveal a beautiful central courtyard

Our suite is on the ground floor, and it is quite incredible. The huge ceiling beams are high above our heads, at least 20 feet, giving a palatial feel to the place. During the hottest days, 38°C while we were there, the room stays at a cool constant temperature

There is a very basic kitchen, with a minimalist selection of crockery and glassware

The highlight though is this small courtyard garden, open to the sky four floors above. The tiles look ancient, and feature rural scenes. Another great place to escape the searing heat

We also have access to a rooftop terrace, which is a great place to sit in the warm evenings. Looking across to the floodlit cathedral tower we see birds taking off, circling and soaring in the night sky. These, our research tells us, are lesser kestrels. There is a colony living amongst the cathedral rooftops and they have learnt to hunt moths illuminated by the floodlights

When we went to look round the cathedral we were hoping to see the kestrels, but instead saw a group of five Spanish Imperial Eagles, lazily circling above the cathedral complex. Quite incredible 

Next door to our apartment is Casa Fabiola, another grand house with central courtyard, housing an art collection

It’s a great setting to view the pictures,

the house on its own with its ceramic walls and carved wood features is worthy of a visit

Next door on the other side is what used to be the stables for our house. It now houses a tiny theatre, only 35 seats or so, used to host guitar and flamenco shows. We are signed up when we poke our noses inside to see what’s there, and because we are neighbours we are sold tickets at the child’s price

for which we get front row seats, a glass of wine, some intense guitar playing and singing, plus flamenco dances

Venturing further afield we find that the old heart of Seville is a beautiful city, with many fine old buildings

fine new buildings

grand public piazzas. The guy with the lanyard and badge is Nico, our guide for a historical walking tour around some of the old city. He is a history graduate and nerd, but full of information and stories about Seville

Also small squares with outdoor tables for food and drink

tree lined streets for eating, drinking, and watching the world go by. The bearded guy in the foreground turned out to be from Oakville, Torronto, with wife and mother-in-law from Hamilton next to Stoney Creek. We seem to be meeting a lot of Canadians on this trip. They were very impressed with our lightweight backpacking approach to travel, and wanting to do something similar

They kindly took this photo of us

It almost goes without saying that the food is excellent, although it’s a gamble as to the portion size and whether it will be accompanied by bread, chips, or simply small bread sticks

Our first meal in the city was a very random choice: we had to dive under the nearest umbrella as the heavens opened and we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm

We also made bookings to visit the cathedral and the palace of the Alcazar

I had booked the earliest slot for our Alcazar visit to make the most of the relatively cooler mornings. We arrive to find a long queue has already formed, growing ever longer as we wait for the gates to open

There are huge formal rooms, with marble floors and ceramic tiled walls. It’s difficult to imagine how these vast rooms might have been furnished or used

Courtyards, both large and small, with water being a central feature. In such a dry and hot climate having abundant cool water must have been a demonstration of power and control in itself

The private rooms in the palace were richly decorated, the Moorish influence being very evident

The gardens were a delight to stroll round,

water also being a strong feature here

ducks and ducklings

a peahen with her chick:

everyone else being too distracted by the showy Peacocks to notice

The Cathedral, the third largest Christian church in the world, was a bit overwhelming

It’s built on the foundations of the previous mosque, so retains a large rectangular floor plan, with the height of a massive cathedral

It’s very richly decorated, though the audio guide is a bit useless – telling you lots about the pictures, people, and objects but without directing your attention to them first

It houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus, who’s opening up South America for exploitation generated much of the wealth of the city. He’s a somewhat controversial figure today, and was apparently little liked at the time

Baby Jesus figures are everywhere, not sure what’s going on here with the walking on heads, but by the end we both feel that we have seen enough baby Jesus’s to last several lifetimes

The day of our departure we venture to the La Triana district on the other side of the river Guadalquivir. It was this river, giving access to the sea but away from the dangers of coastal raids, that made the city the gateway to Spain’s overseas empire and centre for the Spanish Armada – simply their word for navy. The tower in the picture hosts an exhibition by the Spanish Armada on the history of the navy

It’s small but quite fascinating

And so our visit and wider journey comes to an end. There is so much more to see in Seville, which is now one of our favourite places, and we will return. After so long on the road, it feels strange to be going home, but despite the low temperatures promised in Manchester I am also looking forward to home comforts, such as a long soak in the bath

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