Sevilla, a taste of Andalucia!

One of the good thing about living in Barcelona is that you can get cheaps flights within Europe. And as winter is here, we've got to do our best to still enjoy it and chase the warmth where it is... actually, it was quite mild in Sevilla.

The week end began with the plane being 45 mn late at take off causing us to rush to get to the hotel before 12pm, but it was just to test our nerves... we had a ball!
We, ie Isa, my friend and I.

We stayed in a really nice hotel, very well located in the heart of the old town and had a very convenient size hotel room. You open the door and almost land on the bed, handy isnt' it? Then, the bathroom has been conceived for dwarves. Even small girls like us could not pee normally, as the space in front of the toilet was too small for our knees. Quite a new adventure to pee sideways, comfy bro!
Don't get me wrong, the room was really nice, just not very well designed! The hotel was brand new and very quiet and a really good deal; so all good in the hood!

We dropped our suitcases and had a little tour by night, admiring the buildings and having a glimpse of the cathedral.





The day after, after a nice breakfast in a local spanish bar, we began our visit of the town. Isa insisted on having a tour on this stuff pulled by horses, can't remember the name in english. I felt so stupid being in there at the start but finished liking it. It gave us a good idea of where to come back later on for a more complete visit.




Isa was just raving of seeing all these orange trees! It's true that it was really awesome, they are everywhere and loaded with fruits! Of course you cannot eat them as they are bitter but can still use them for making marmelade, yum yum!

So we played the little princesses for an hour, having a look around and particularly enjoying la plaza de Espana where we decided to come back the day after with a local, Pablo.





Time was come for the big deal... El Alcazar... honestly, I have been really amazed by its beauty, and should I compare it to L'Alhambra in Granada, I think I would vote for el Alcazar for the artwork of the Mauresque part and for l'Alhambra for the gardens. Unbelievable how refined, precise and complicated but so regularly shaped this Arab palace is... the nighth wonder! The more we would discover, the more stunned we were, mouth wide open, just staring at the ceilings, the plaster work, the wooden parts, just B E A U T I F U L !!!

Ok, the pictures are so great (thanks Lumix!) that I decided to go crazy and put heaps of them. I know it's always hard for pics to really give a good idea of reality but I am sure you can appreciate all the details, the architecture, the art displayed in them! Whereas it is doors, windows, ceilings, archs, walls, patios, everything has been thought of and executed in a beautiful way. Just enjoy!!!
















After the inside, the gardens... fountains, ceramic everywhere, trees, orange trees, colors... marvellous again! From any angle, it was amazing, we went upstairs, got lost within the gardens as the trees are cut in shapes of a labyrinth, so funny!
We would have stayed hours to contemplate this great place but Sophie was getting really hungry as always!!!








While Isa, already excited by the perspective of the rubgy game France vs Ireland went straight to the pub to get a good seat and watch the other game on, I had a little tour around the cathedral to take some pics while the sun was outside, the sky blue and the colors absolutely perfect for taking some awesome pictures...
As you can see, the cathedral is not bad either... The tower you can see which is the only part of arabic influence on the outside is called la Giralda.




A little bit disappointed by the result of the game, we still went out to taste some local food and thanks to the good advices of a work mate, found the perfect place!
it is called 'Las Golondrinas', and it is a very local pub/restaurant with really a nice decoration: lots of ceramic again, with all the Spanish provinces represented, amongt which I finally found our beloved Barcelona!
They served us a delicious food such as 'sepia', a kind of a squid, cooked with just garlic and parsley... yummy!!!





There, we met some really nice locals who recommended us to go the pub next block, where local people perform flamenco. It was brilliant! Not at all the type of flamenco my mind pictured out, no typical dress, a crowded place with lots of local people and some tourists too, most of them standing up, and a few guys with guitars and other instruments playing while one of them sings. Laugh is everywhere as from what I understood, they are quite joking about the whole thing. Then couples dance 'la sevillana', in 4 parts, each of them having to be danced a certain way. Each part is very short and lasts around 1mn, not even. Some couples are really good and it's a real pleasure to watch them. Even the waitress is part of it, and the bar owner too, a real character of a lady!

On Sunday, it is a fantastic sun which waits for us! We catch up with Pablo, a local part of the couch surfing network for those who know it.I had contacted him on internet to host us, he could not but was keen to meet us. We spend a fantastic day together and he is far better than a guide! He tells us all kinds of stories about the town, the buildings. We walk to the 'plaza de Espana' which Isa and I loved on the horse tour and stay quite a long time to admire the bridges, one for each king of Spain, 'Aragon', 'Navarra', 'Leon' 'Castilla'.
Again, all Spanish provinces are represented on ceramics and Barcelona has our favour... half of the ceramics are damaged and in the process of being restored. It is a splendid work, as the balcony is with all the colours you can see on the pic!
A guys plays flamenco on a guitar, down the stairs and the place is so beautiful and pleasant that I feel like staying there for hours, just listening to him and enjoying the sun!












But is is time to go 'la Giralda' and go all the way to the top. Lots of tourists there of course! There are 36 levels if my memory is good, no stairs as the muezzin (the guy ringing the bell for calling people to pray) used to ride his donkey up there so it is a wide ramp with square turns that takes you to heaven!
The view is splendid, over the roofs of Sevilla, and is really worth the effort! Comment of Pablo : if this was in Barcelona, they would have put a lift and you would have to pay to go up the tower!!! Not so wrong... when you think of la Sagrada Familia... but let's just enjoy the pictures. One of the interesting stories Pablo told us is that the statue which is on top of the tower is only a reproduction of the one you can see on the ground on one of my pics. They brought it down to restore it but could not manage to bring it up again!!! Unbelievable when you think of all the techniques and tools we have now and they did not have centuries ago!






The inside of the cathedral is also stunning, lovely wood work, big archs and in addition of what they estimate to be 15% of the human rests of Christophe Colomb (some are in the Dominican Republic too, and where else???), there is a splendid treasure with crowns which must be worth a fortune, orned with precious stones, diamonds, rubis, saphirs, emeralds and all sorts, gold everywhere...

It must be almost 4pm and time for lunch, spanish time! Pablo then goes back home and our last night is a success thanks to his advice. We go to another local place called 'la carboneria', really bigger than the other one and very different: more tourists and a totally different atmosphere. The group, made up of the dancer, a woman dressed in the flamenco costume, a guitar player, a singer and another guy clapping asks us to remain silent during the show... The dancer is amazing, and beats the floor with her shoes so fast and loud it is really unbelievable. You can see she really lives the music and loves it. Magical moment, 1 hour of passion of flamenco we share with them...





What a week end again! It feels so good to discover a new place, new people, new culture and traditions. To get richer of a new experience and have new beautiful pictures in our minds! We get up on monday at 5am to take the plane back to Barcelona... only a few hours of sleep and Isa is really worn out! But it was worth, even if the rest of the day is hard for both of us at work!!! TO BE VISITED WITH NO DOUBT!!!