Hello, Seville

Seville was a last minute decision. It was a, “Do I have enough money? Do I have enough energy?” trip that I took what felt like ages to decide on until the Wednesday before I was supposed to leave, I found myself walking up to the bus kiosk and asking for a one way ticket to Seville, which was then carefully tucked into my wallet. It was the last city on my ‘to visit in Spain’ list and I’m glad I went, even with my aching back and tired feet and heart already set on a course for home, there was still just enough left in me for one more trip and Seville, you did not disappoint.

I think, out of all the cities I visited, Seville had the nicest, boldest, cleanest paintings on their business doors. This is a very limited example of what I saw, but that car one? Fabulous. How has it been over a month already since I was there? Where did that time go? When the sun was so warm overhead that I fell into my hostel bed intending ‘just to rest’ and passed out in the heat, only to wake up as I felt the air get cooler around me? But, apparently it has been a month and so I’ll do my best to go back in time.

Everyone leaves Seville the way they leave Granada and Madrid in the summer, especially August. When the sun is so hot overhead that the streets turn into ghosts of themselves, not just during siesta, but the entire month. The tourists are the easiest to catch sight of because they’re the only people in the city. I stayed at Feeling Seville Hostel, which was inexpensive  as they come and yet probably one of my favourite hostels. Close to the train station but further from the city centre. But I had my map and my feet and so I went out and walked. And walked. And walked.

Fortunately, I am a keeper of souvenirs and managed to dig out my map of the city, ripped and shredded as it might be. (El Corte Inglés might be fancy but oh boy, their maps do not hold up.) I stuck to the main, central part of Seville for various reasons including: walking distance/proximity, heat and time. I didn’t cross the river and I didn’t head to the more northern part, which: maybe next time! Instead, I wandered down La Avenida de las Delicias which passes by El Torre del Oro, La Plaza de toros de la Real Maestrana de Caballería de Seville and takes you to Seville’s Plaza de España. It’s a lovely walk and I’d recommend it, though there are also buses that pass by fairly regularly and will pass by the entire length of the avenida.

While I was wandering through la Plaza de España, I spotted a man selling ceramic tiles, something Seville is known for and something I thought would make a good souvenir for family back home. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough cash on me for the 2€/piece tiles and wandered away, poking my head into various shops along the way. Most of the tiles I found to be either too large or else just way too tacky for my tastes. Finally, I found Ceramica Artistica Colon, where tiles were .70€/piece with a pattern I quite liked. I got C10 for my parents with a half border piece along each side. (I might have also bought myself a square ceramic tile featuring a purple version of the Real Madrid crest because I have absolutely no will power.)

I also wandered through (and got lost in the midst of) the Real Alcázar, which is large and imposing and absolutely stunning in the sunset. There were singers and dancers scattered throughout, the sounds of Spanish guitar floating alongside families out walking to restaurants and couples holding hands. I tried to make my way up to the oldest tapas bar in Seville, El Rinconcillo, and ended up walking south when I thought I was walking north and by the time I would have gotten there, it would have been fairly late, even by Spanish standards and while I generally don’t have many qualms about walking at night in Spain as a lone female, I was just feeling too tired to want to put in the effort.

Seville was hot and I say this as someone who got used to 30˚C+ during my time in Spain. It felt like the heat was pressed right up against my skin and the sun was almost too bright, but it was beautiful and I’m glad I went, even if it was on the last dregs of gas in my energy tank. Just wandering through the streets of another new city before heading back to Madrid was exactly what I needed and felt like the right way to say goodbye to Spain, and Europe.

 

Things I’m Loving:

+ This apple blackberry crumble – All of the crumbles!
+ This art – It’d look great on a feature wall.
+ This DIY clutch – If I were a clutch girl.
+ This pizza – Is everything that’s good in life.