Seville
Taking a ferry across the Straight of Gibraltar from the chaos that is Tangier to the quaint seaside town of Tarifa, Spain was like coming up for a fresh of breath air after way too long under water. Morocco was great but it was nice to be back in more familiar land where I could at least get by with some Spanish versus my extremely limited Arabic. After indulging in some great seafood and Spanish wine (best part about not being in a Muslim country) I headed across the countryside of southern Spain, also known as Andalusia. It was filled with field after field of olive trees and grape vines producing some of Spain’s best known products. After a few hours with this pretty scenery and a few too many smoke break stops for the bus driver, I arrived in the capital of Andalusia just in time for the biggest heatwave of the summer. Seville is an incredibly charming and beautiful city with arguably more history than any other city in Spain (Columbus and Magellan both took off from Seville on their history-altering explorations, who knew?).
Throughout the centuries, Seville has been under the rule of many different masters; each leaving its mark on the city giving Seville such a unique identity. The royal palace of Seville seems to be exhibit A of this multicultural identity. Throughout its sprawling rooms, gardens, and halls, you will find clearly Arab architecture mixed in with Renaissance architecture and paintings.
Not too far from this you’ll find Plaza de España, again mixing architectures from different times. Even in the searing heat, I could have spent many hours just walking about the plaza people watching and taking in this beautiful sight.
Similar to other cities I have visited in Spain, the food in Seville is nothing less than amazing. Throw a rock in any direction and you will find some little tapas restaurant serving up some amazing patatas bravas or grilled prawns with a nice glass of sangria. Pretty sure I ate lunch about 5 times each day I was there. I’m confident there is still much to discover in the city and only spending two days here was definitely not enough.
