Royal Alcazar & Plaza de Espana

Previous: Seville Cathedral and Flamenco                                                                           Next: Ronda, Spain

Royal Alcazar

October 19

Roman Wall

Our final full day in Seville was a busy one. We did a lot of walking through the streets of the city, seeing cool stuff and enjoying some great weather.

The first target of the day was the Royal Alcazar. We had pre-purchased tickets for an 11:00 a.m. entry. We left the Airbnb around 9:30 a.m.  We took the scenic route and first visited, by accident, the Plaza de Cabildo.  These are the grounds of the primitive University of Seville from the 13th century, now  with a modern semi-circular collonade. Inside here is a 50 yard section of the wall that defended Seville since ancient Roman times…it’s cryptically called the “Roman Wall”. This was a cool place to stumble upon.

Making our way along we continued to see some magnificent old architecture.

Torre del Oro

Then we made our way toward the Guadalquivir river to the beautiful historic watchtower Torre del Oro, built in the 13th century. The sun was casting perfect shadows of palm trees on the tower.

This took us along the Guadalquivir river promenade where the scenery really opened up from the density of the historic area where we were staying. The Torre del Oro wasn’t open yet so we moved on, continuing walking around until we made our way to the Royal Alcazar.

Royal Alcazar

The Royal Alcazar is the historic royal palace from the 11th century. The current royal family actually stays here when in Seville, making this the oldest active palace in Europe. Like so much of southern Spain, the Alcazar is marked by both Islamic and Christian styles of architecture. We entered via the marvelous Puerta del Leon. The palace comprises many patios, courtyards, gardens, fountains and pools, and amazing tile throughout all the rooms from floor to ceiling.

The Royal Alcazar is as impressive as advertised, but I think the Alhambra in Granada was even more impressive (my humble opinion).  We explored the Royal Alcazar for about two hours. Then we headed for lunch.

We found Alfaro restaurant in a small square by accident as we were walking around. They had a lovely rooftop terrace for dining, with a nice view of the Seville cathedral spire. The food was excellent, as was the service…until it came time for the check. It took about 30 minutes from the time we asked for the check to when we left the restaurant. Service in Spain is never speedy, and we are perfectly fine with that, we even enjoy that slower pace…but this was slow for even Spain.

The one benefit of the delay in getting our check was that I needed to use the restroom, and so after that I waited outside for the others. It was here that I accidentally got some pics of a very picturesque balcony which was part of the hotel that the restaurant was in. Unbeknownst to me, my eye for beauty was right on…turns out this is the balcony rumored to be the inspiration for The Barber of Sevilla.

Plaza de Espana

When we finally all got back together after lunch we headed to the Plaza de Espana, about a 15-minute walk. Wow…this place is expansive…and just perfect for filming movies. In fact, one of the 73 Star Wars movies did filming here.  It is a hub of non-commercial activity, which was nice. The buildings are mostly governmental.  There were street flamenco dancers and horse carriage rides but no retail or restaurants…which added to its allure. There is a large fountain in the middle of the plaza, and a circular canal with the many cute bridges.  People can even rent a boat and row through the canals, as we saw them doing.

 

 

Of note at the plaza are 52 benches and mosaics of tiles located at the foot of the very long semi-circular building on the square. These 52 frescos colorfully depict each of the 52 Spanish provinces.

We tooled around here for about 45 minutes.

We walked back to the Airbnb to rest a bit before heading out to our 8:30 dinner reservation at the very small, upscale Vuela Tapas and Cocktail Bar. The food and service were outstanding here. Our final dinner with Chris and Deb in Spain did not disappoint.

As we awaited our food, the waiter came by to let us know that a celebration was beginning in the streets outside. It was a religious festival procession. There were two marching bands, religious idols being carried, and a horde of people surrounding and following the spectacle. Fun.

Then we finished our great dinner and slowly made our way back to the Airbnb.

Off to bed.

Next: Ronda, Spain