PACE YOURSELF
Travel should not be a
sprint, not even a marathon. There is no reason to go helter-skelter, higgledy-piggledy
from place to place to see EVERYTHING. There’s no need to squeeze in
destinations just so you can boast that you’ve been there. What’s the fun in
seeing 5 cities in a week? That’s not travel. That’s collecting snapshots.
We spent a week in
Seville, but if you’re of the other mindset you can do it in a day and a half. Get
in, see this, run over there and see that, grab a drink, and move on to the
next “thing” to see. Siesta? Ha.
SLOW DOWN YOU MOVE TOO
FAST
Except for two
consecutive days where we made side trips to Cordoba and Ronda, we stayed in
Seville. Now, it was worth the hassle of getting a train to Cordoba and renting a
car to Ronda, for those two cities offer history and views and great
opportunities for snapshots, but for the limited time we allowed ourselves at
these two places, that’s about all we got, snapshots.
Thankfully at “home” in
Seville we had plenty of leisure time and our time in this historic city was
much more rewarding because we “paced” ourselves.
YOU’VE GOT TO MAKE THE
MORNING LAST
1-Coffee
Our first full day in
Seville is a perfect example of making the day last and it started out
lingering over coffee in our apartment on the Plaza Alfaro. It is a philosophy that
was instilled in our travel by Janet, that the day must start with a cup of
coffee. Begrudgingly at first and now accepted as gospel by me, coffee starts
out the day right.
In Seville there
are a multitude of cafes all within a stone’s throw of our apartment, but we
basked in the bright morning sun in our spacious airy apartment that overlooked
the gardens of the Alcazar Palace. Any impatience with starting the day
dissipated quickly. We nibbled on sheep cheese, Jamon and toast.
2-Tour
Our first event of the
day was a three-hour walking tour of the massive Seville Cathedral and the
Alcazar Palace. Both are UNESCO World heritage sites, and they are located just
500 meters from our apartment (.31 miles), but we met at the tour company Naturanda
Turismo Ambiental on Calle Francos, 19, at, gasp, 750 meters from our Plaza
Alfaro apartment.
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| The Giralda |
We opted for a group
tour and the cost included entry fees to both the cathedral and the palace and
we were able to bypass the long entry lines. The guide gave us headsets so we
could hear him from a reasonable distance and not have to stand that close to
hear him.
The Cathedral
Here’s a quick synopsis
of our tour: The Cathedral is the largest in the world, and the main altar is
considered the largest in all of Christendom at 30 meters high and 20 meters
wide. The ornate tomb of Christopher Columbus is located here, although our guide,
Ismael, threw a lot of shade on the whole Columbus mythology as he hinted that
were several versions of the Columbus story, including where he was born, and where
he is buried.
Set in stone though is the
Cathedral. It was once the Almoshad Mosque, but after the Reconquista in 1247
where the Muslims were “ushered” out of Spain, the Cathedral took shape and was
finally completed in 1519.
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| Tomb of Columbus |
Part of the Cathedral
complex is the Giralda, the bell tower that was the minaret for the mosque.
Atop the bell tower is a 4-foot statue of a woman representing triumph over the
Muslims. Called the Giraldillo, it is also a weathervane. We had the option to
climb the Giralda to see all of Seville, although our guide stayed below and
fanned himself as he waited for us to descend.
The Alcazar Palace
Our tour with Naturanda
Turismo Ambiental ended at the Real Alcazar (or palace). It is the oldest royal
palace in Europe and the upper floors are still used by the royal family
whenever they visit Seville. There were guards stationed throughout the grounds
and we were cautioned not to sit anywhere or to touch any of the ornate Islamic
tiles that decorated the walls.
Again, our tour had us
bypass the long entry lines although we needed to have our bags scanned.
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| Alcazar Palace |
Dating from the 13th
Century, the palace is not only decorated with Islamic tiles but Muqarnas, an
Islamic style of arching. Many of the buildings are decorated in the Mudejar style
which applies Islamic motifs like calligraphy and geometric patterns to Christian
styles of architecture. At the Patio de las Doncellas there is a long
reflecting pool surrounded by such Mudejar decorated buildings with loggias
overlooking this serene place.
As part of our tour, we
saw the bedroom of Queen Isabella and the incredibly ornate Hall of
Ambassadors, meant to instill angst in any visiting dignitaries.
After our tour we strolled
the gardens, dodging peacocks and gazing up at our apartment located at the
Plaza Alfaro.
3-Las Teresas
After the Alcazar we
headed over to Las Teresas for tapas. Hot from our tour we cooled our heels at
this wonderful bar / café. Located in the center of the heavily touristed Santa
Cruz section of Seville, it was quiet in the mid-afternoon. Several legs of
Iberico Jamon hung above the curved bar and tiled floors. Pictures decorated
the walls and the area behind the bar was filled with eye-catching memorabilia
and there was a display of retired Jamon knives with pertinent details about
the times they were used. We sat across from this display near the side
entrance. 
Walking into Las
Teresas was like stepping into another world. Very few other tapas bars that we would visit over the next week had the same charming ambience.
Drinks
I had cerveza and Janet
made the mistake of ordering Sangria.
Only tourists drink
that.
The drink of choice in
the summer months is Tinto con Limon, red wine with lemon. We soon learned
Sangria is a no-no and throughout our travels, whether in Seville or Cordoba or
Ronda, we would get appreciative nods from the waiters whenever we ordered
Tinto con Limon and not go full tourist. Although, if you want to REALLY
impress the locals order a Tinto de Verano. It’s the same drink…equal parts red
wine and lemonade, but it means Summer Red.
You can thank me later…
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| Jamon at Las Teresas |
Tapas
For tapas we ordered Iberico
bellota Jamon which is from pigs that have been fed acorns exclusively and regarded
as the highest quality. We had grilled tuna, sheep cheese and Iberian chorizo
and bacalao pavi, salted cod. We ordered tapas (saucer-sized) portions, but we
could have ordered portions at racion or dinner-plate size or media (half-racion).
We stuck with the tapas portions. Afterall we were going out to dinner later
that evening.
By the way, never leave
your soiled napkins on the bar. There is usually a little receptacle on the
floor near the bar to deposit your napkins. It’s considered rude otherwise.
We didn’t just happen
upon Las Teresas, but our tapas tour guide from the next day recommended the
place to us. Whether it was serendipity or planned, Las Teresas was a glorious
find and we went there several times during our stay in Seville. Besides it was
just down the alley from our apartment on Plaza Alfaro.
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| Styling Seista |
4-Siesta
Pacing ourselves on
this first full day in Seville we returned to the apartment for a two-hour
siesta. We lounged on the couches and enjoyed the cool air conditioning,
reading and dozing a bit before showering for the evening’s dinner.
If we were on a
slap-dash approach to travel this siesta would have us packing for travel the next
day, instead of relaxing.
5-Dinner
They eat late in Spain.
La Cena, the evening meal, is typically served after 9 pm, and we did not emerge
from our apartment until half past 8.
San Marco Santa Cruz
Janet picked out San
Marco, an Italian restaurant that is in a renovated Arab bathhouse and just
around the corner from the Giralda belltower, and by the way, was just a 3-minute
walk from Plaza Alfaro. It took us longer to walk through our courtyard and struggle
with the heavy wooden door that led to the plaza!
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| San Marco Santa Cruz Seville |
San Marco was elegant
and a splurge for a budget traveler, but the food was high quality. I had
carpaccio and pork medallions, and Janet had a goat cheese salad and a leg of
lamb. With wine, dessert and tip it came out to around €90.
We sat upstairs in a modern
area they call the “abstract living room”, but the lower areas of San Marco still
retain the Arab stylings with tables nestled beneath arches and vaults.
Throughout our meal a Spanish
guitarist quietly played.
It was a leisurely end
to a fulfilling first day in Seville.
The best part was we
didn’t have to prepare to run out the door in the morning.
Pace yourself. Enjoy
where you are. Experience. Sigh.
Sorry, this was such a
long entry, but it was a long day.
Thanks for reading!
Love Janet and greg
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| Las Teresas |
© 2023 by Gregory Dunaj
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