Sevilla
My opinion of Sevilla is probably lower than it should be as I’m growing weary of visiting highly touristed sites. Julie ranks Sevilla in her top 2 Spanish cities.
Plaza de España
The city was crowded with tourists even though this is likely the low season. That’s not Sevilla’s fault and for some reason despite Madrid always being crowded I count it as a favorite. Maybe it is because the crowds in Madrid seem to be mostly Spaniards. Sevilla is popular for a reason: it is beautiful, old, and tidy.
Flamenco in Sevilla
Our first night in town I had another Flamenco show booked, a risk as I was going on about two hours of sleep after staying up most of the night for the Super Bowl. The venue was La Casa de Flamenco, a no-frills no-dinner no-drinks spot focused on the music and dancing. It was all excellent, especially the guitar and lead singer. The style was different than shows we’ve seen – this is a feel more than an educated opinion. We’ve seen seven different shows so far.
The Sevilla bullfighting ring
Sevilla still loves and embraces bullfighting and the local ring is worth a visit, though not as gratifying as the ring and museum in Ronda.
Julie on her Lime bike
What I certainly did enjoy greatly in Sevilla was wandering the neighborhoods, parks, and hitting some spots that appeared to be populated primarily by locals. We did two different five mile runs: one down to Plaza de España (first photo above) and the wonderful Parque de Maria Luisa, and another up the river to Parque de Alamillo. The latter was a long ways away, so we hit five miles while in the park. Lime had bike rentals near the park which we rode back near our home.
The Sevilla gothic cathedral
The two big sites to visit are the huge Gothic cathedral (largest Gothic cathedral in the world) and yet another Real Alcázar Muslim-turned-Catholic palace. The cathedral is prettier from the outside, while the Alcázar was incredible. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Alhambra in Granada (literally and figuratively) but has beautiful gardens and a few spectacular interior rooms.
Also, got another haircut (barber of Sevilla 😂) and new soles put on my leather boots. I’m ready for the final stages of our Spanish adventure.