Seville, Spain — RachiePie

We drove to Seville from Cádiz where we have been the last couple of days. Located on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, Seville used to be a prosperous port city which carried out trade with the Americas. It is a beautiful city with lots of palaces, churches, and winding narrow streets.

We arrived in Seville on Monday morning and our first stop was the Seville Cathedral & Giralda. It is the worlds largest Gothic cathedral (they even display their Guinness World Records Award!) and was built between 1434 and 1517. It is here where Christopher Columbus is buried and also where they have a very elaborate gold altarpiece. One of the reviews on Google asked why the Cathedral charges admission when they literally have a wall of gold?!?! That cracked me up!

We then walked to Parque de María Luisa where we saw the Plaza de España. The plaza was the most grandiose of the building projects completed for the 1929 Exposición Iberoamericana. It's very over-the-top with lots of beautiful Spanish tiles. We both felt like it was something we would see in Las Vegas...only REAL!!

Nearby was Torre del Oro, Seville's 13th-century riverside watchtower. It is a small tower and we were able to walk up a narrow staircase to get to the top where there is a viewing platform.

We also stopped by the beautiful red-brick church, Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador, which was built between 1674 and 1712. The church was actually built on the site of a former Muslim mosque.

The last stop for our first day in Seville was the Real Alcázar, a UNESCO-listed palace complete with beautiful architecture and gardens. The site, which was originally developed as a fort in 913, has been re-done many times during its eleven centuries. We were advised tickets should be purchased in advance and I'm glad we did as the line to get in without tickets was VERY long.

Day two in Seville started by visiting Basílica de La Macarena, home to Seville's most revered religious treasure, the Virgin de la Esperanza Macarena (Macarena Virgin of Hope). The statue stands behind the main altarpiece where you cannot miss it!

We then walked over to Monasterio De Santa Paula. The convent is located in the residential neighborhood of San Luis and is home to a small group of cloistered nuns. There is a small museum to walk through and we were able to buy preserves the nuns make themselves. The woman who sold us the jam (we chose raspberry) asked if we wanted to see the church to which we responded, "yes!". She took us to a locked door and allowed us to enter the secret garden and the 15th-century church. There was no one else back there and we had it entirely to ourselves!

We also walked across the river to see Iglesia de Santa Ana, a salmon-colored church, one of the oldest in Seville dating to around 1280.

Before dinner we walked over to the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza (bullfighting ring). The building is the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain being built in 1758.

Overall we enjoyed our time in Seville - it is a beautiful city with so many things to see! It's easy just to walk through the streets without a destination and stumble across some gorgeous building or plaza. Plus, most of the restaurants are tapas-style, so that will always be a win in my book!!