Seville - an unexpected gem

This city came as a complete happy surprise.  It was a stopover of one day to again break up the trip to Madrid from Portugal.  This is a very walkable city which I think probably appealed to us, but make sure you have plenty of charge on your phone for google maps as this is a labyrinth of small streets that some cars probably can’t fit down.

It’s approx. 30 degrees but as the buildings are quite high, there is plenty of shade, and in the open areas, loads of park grounds with massive old trees.  We picked a couple of areas to wander to starting with the bullring - Plaza del Toros where the kids were not impressed with the treatment of animals in this sport.  Should be very interesting when we do the colosseum. You can go into the bullring itself and sit in the stands as a spectator and get up and personal with the dents and ruts in the wooden boards surrounding the ring.

We wandered past Torre del Oro, the 13th century military watchtower, on the way to find the Plaza de Espana.  However, as there are so many historical sites around this area, every time we thought we had reached the plaza, we were just one block closer.  But when you get to the plaza - you know you have arrived.  I asked the kids how successful a game of hide and seek would be - we had to consider adding the rules of Marco Polo into it just to know if you are in the right wing area.  Best thing about this - it's completely free, you can wander around and again, plenty of shade as you navigate one side to the other.  Also the flamenco dancer was a nice touch.

Finally we made our way to the Real Alcazar and waited in line for tickets - realised it was better to buy them online and although most of the palace was closed for an official function, what we did see was worth it.  All through this city you can see the cultural changes as it was invaded and different religions took control.  The palace has muslim architecture infused with the later arrival of other religions that seized power.  Highlight for the kids - the baby peacocks wandering around the grounds.

With no actual plan or idea about Seville, this was an unexpected but very pleasant surprise.