How Sweet you are, Sevilla

Granada was a beautiful city. So, as I boarded the three hour bus ride through the rolling countryside of Andalusia, my hopes were high that Sevilla, my next destination, and the capital of Andalusia, would be just as beautiful. I wasn’t too sure though, as I had especially enjoyed the stunning vistas and cozy feel of Granada. Sevilla, on the other hand, is a city that covers a sprawling 141 square kilometers (about 50 square miles) and contains nearly 1.5 million people in its general vicinity. It is also entirely flat, located on the plains of the Guadalquivir river. I quickly learned that Sevilla did not require hills to be breathtaking. Also, it definitely felt cozy. On top of the 1.5 million people that live in Sevilla, there were probably nearly 150 thousand tourists jamming the street for various reasons (holiday weekend, Green Day concert, MTV Europe Music Awards). Sevilla was a brilliant city: probably my favorite European city so far.

Oh How “Real” It Is

After checking into the hostel, Camille (my travel partner for this trip) and I took a tram into the historic cultural center of the city, home to the Plaza de España and its accompanying park, as well as the Real Alcázar, the former royal palace of Andalusia, and still the current residence of the royalty (who are figureheads at this point). Also there is the Catderal de Sevilla (yes, another Cathedral) this one the third largest in the entire world. But, our first stop was the Alcázar. It almost wasn’t, because a line of massive proportions snaked its way through the narrow alleyways around the Alcázar. Luckily, that line was for people who had not bought tickets in advance. Camille and I had learned from our mistake with the Alhambra, and had pre-purchased tickets. We felt like lottery winners, especially on this busy holiday weekend. As we walked through security, we were immediately greeted by silence. That’s an odd sentiment, considering how just outside the walls, thousands (yes, thousands) of people clamored to get inside the tall stone walls of the palace. But, those walls both kept out the people and the noise. We strolled casually through the grandeur of the palace grounds, filled with lavish gardens of palms and evergreens. Those trees provided solace for this weary traveler, as I sat watching ducks frolic in one of the many renaissance-style fountains scattered haphazardly throughout the gardens. The palace bastions were the perfect place to overview the chaos outside. Some clamber to get in line, some relax peacefully on one of the numerous benches in the outer garden. Inside, we remained protected from that indecision. I decided that I could have spent hours in these gardens, listening to the chirping of birds and enjoying the shade of the beautiful trees. It was quite the auspicious start to the afternoon. Alas, other architecture beckoned. Just outside the Alcázar is the Catedral de Sevilla, which is the massive building seen below. And yes, it truly is massive! As Camille and I tried to find the entrance, we ended up taking a 10 minute walk around its entire circumference. It’s huge. The inside is even more cavernous than the Catedral de Granada that I enjoyed so much. It’s ceilings were even farther overhead, the domes above likely peaking at 150 feet above the ground. However, this cathedral did not have the same feel as Granada’s. The main reason for this difference was the sheer number of people in the Catedral. You couldn’t get a moments worth of peace inside, and there were hordes of selfie-takers parading around getting in the way of any and every one. Also different was the humongous sets of iron bars that blocked off the various grand altars inside the Catedral. Not too convenient for seeing the altars, nevertheless taking photos of it. Also in one of the many chambers is the “highlight” (*cough* *cough*) of the Catedral: The grave of Christopher Columbus. I’m sorry if you don’t agree with me on this, but the way his grave was exalted in this famous Catedral (like he is worthy of any pomp and circumstance) made me nauseous (not exaggerating). It’s not like he really did anything special. I could get into a much longer anti-Columbus rant, but I’ll stop myself. The final “attraction” of the Catedral is the bell tower (La Giralda) which towers 105 meters (343 ft) above the ground. One can take a series of 35 ramps to the top of the tower for what are supposedly the best views of the whole city. Yes, the views were amazing. But, after I slogged through the 20 minutes of traffic to the top, I had to fight to even get a spot on one of the parapets, just to discover that all the parapets are blocked by bars, making it hard to take many good photos. You’ll have to abide with my memory here. To the left of my vantage, I saw the humble river. Beyond the river is the Torre de Sevilla, a tall golden cylinder in stark contrast to the rest of the surroundings. Directly in front of me was the city, resplendent with red roofs and low-lying buildings, with a labyrinth of streets weaving their way in between. A beautiful view! So, although the Catedral wasn’t as peaceful as the Alcázar, it was still worth it. These two foundational pillars of Andalusian architecture were good stewards of their city for my visit. I highly recommend both if you ever visit.

Las Calles

But, I think the highlight of my time in Sevilla was the chances I got to just casually walk around the city, taking everything in around me like a sponge. On our first night there, a stroll through the city led us to Alameda de Hércules, the place to be at night. A huge plaza (probably 200 feet across) is lined on both sides with bars and clubs of every manner. It is Sevilla’s Bairro Alto (Lisbon’s popping nightlife spot). But, the next morning was the definite highlight of my time there. It was a Sunday morning, around 9 am. Everyone was still in their apartments or hotels, many recovering from the Green Day concert that had happened the night before, or just generally sleeping in. Camille and I had las calles to ourselves. And it was an amazing experience. Views like the one in the photo above appeared out of oblivion, and the colors of the various buildings we walked by provided pizzazz to our walk. That is one complaint I have about the United States. Our houses and apartments are so cookie-cutter and BEIGE. All the buildings here have their own unique flavor, whether it be due to the tile work lining the doorway, a mural or graffiti filling the bland spaces, or just the color of the building in general. This whole 30 minute walk, I was entertained by every building, as we found our cafe to have a peaceful breakfast. After breakfast, we walked to the next highlight of the trip: The Metropol Parisol. That is the odd looking building in the photo above this paragraph. It claims to be the biggest free-standing structure made solely out of wood. I don’t know the validity of that claim, but it was a sight to behold anyhow. Or at least I think it was. It’s really hard to describe. It looks like a giant wood grid that was stepped on by a coterie of giants, and then kicked into its current place. I recommend Googling it to get the full spectrum of what we saw. That finished a peaceful walk, most definitely the best walk I took on this trip. It was a perfect ending to Sevilla, and to Spain, a country full of many wonders that beckon to me to return. Maybe someday I will.

Thanks for reading. This is post 2 of 3 about Spain. The next one I am super excited to share! It’s about the lovely “tapas” culture of Spain, something I experienced in both cities I visited. Expect to see that one Saturday or Sunday. And, as I said in the last post, that one will probably be the last one for a week or so until I get through midterms. I hope everyone reading is still enjoying my writing as much as I have enjoyed writing these. Until next time,

Jeremy Caldeira