See part 1 here.
Day 3
Probably my favourite attraction in Seville was the Reales Alcázare, and not just because Game of Thrones was shot here. In case the 'Real' part didn't tip you off, the Alcazar (as we anglo-speakers say), the Alcazar is a royal palace (that's still in use by the royals today by the way. Yes, that's right, Spain still has a royal family.) built in the mudejar style. Supposedly, the same architect that designed the Alhambra in Granada designed the Alcazar.
Tip: Get your tickets online (for a euro more) to skip the long lines. If you're too cheap to pay a euro more, apparently if you go around 16:00 to 17:00, the lines get much shorter. Also, if you're a student under 25, you get reduced tickets for 2 euros, so don't forget to bring your student card!
Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Inner courtyards. SO GoT.
I was a little bit obsessed with taking photos of arches. Couldn't help myself, they're so intricate and lovely to look at!
Completely unstyled here because I lost a contact lens and I was like, oh well, why bother with anything else then. I did buy more lenses after this though. Oh, the price of vanity.
I was going for a "I'm a scheming GoT character plotting something" look, but ended up with more of a "I'm a shortsighted nerd"
Our guide insists the Muslims introduced the habit of daily showers to Spain and before that Spain was just full of pungent Christians waiting for their annual shower. My S.O. is skeptical.
Right about here is where we started exploring the gardens. Probably my favourite area of the grounds tbh.
Regardless of whether they were the first to introduce daily washing or not, I love the element of water that's always incorporated into Islamic architecture.
What is it with gardens and peacocks? Every garden I've been to in the world has at least one peacock roaming around, making strange noises.
Pomegranates from Granada. Fun fact: pomegranate in German is "Granatapfel".
This...is just so beautiful. Makes my heart cry. Called the Mercury Pond, it's raised higher than the gardens as it's built on a platform.
The mazes were closed off for some reason. WHY ALCAZAR WHY? Too many people getting lost in there?
After this, we met a lady selling beautiful paintings and works inspired by the designs of the Alcazar and Alhambra. I told her I would come back after lunch to buy something but I never did, and I kind of still feel bad about it.
Headed to the Seville Cathedral because I thought it would be nice to see the inside, but I didn't anticipate the crowds. My friend tried to get around paying the full adult ticket (since she's over 25) by positioning her student card behind me to hide her date of birth but it didn't work, the cashier checked it pretty thoroughly and told her to pay the full price 😂😂😂
Christopher Columbus' tomb! The only reason I wanted to go into the cathedral to be honest, and I was a little disappointed. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe a glass coffin to look at his bones and what not but oh well.
Took this using a mirror on the floor. I don't know who that girl with the phone is. GIRL Y U NO GIVE ME SPACE FOR SELFIE WAIT YOUR TURN
The courtyard of the cathedral, which somehow seemed a lot prettier from the outside. Talk about a serious case of "the grass is greener on the other side".
Yes! I managed to find bubble tea in Seville, of all places!! Can you imagine?? And it was pretty legit too, there was taro milk tea and everything. Unfortunately, I started having a coughing attack the minute I sat down to wait for my drink and had to step out because everyone was staring at me like I had the Spanish flu.
My jasmine milk tea.
In the last post, I said I liked Ovejas Negras so much that I actually came here twice, this time for lunch. Pretty crazy, they literally opened for half an hour and the restaurant was already packed, with seats available only at the bar.
This time, my travelling buddy had the freshly caught sardines, the special of the day.
And I ordered the Iberian Pork (again). Every bite was a delight. Because I'm lazy, I'm quoting my Tripadvisor review here:
The rest of the day was mostly walking around Triana (the city across the river, if you use the Isabel II bridge), which, although nice, was not very entertaining because the market was closed. If you've got time to kill, go ahead. Then we sat down at a restaurant near the river and just relaxed with some drinks, and also eavesdropping on the American boys at the table beside telling tall tales about their exploits with the other sex. All in all, very relaxing and satisfying day. The only nasty blip was when the driver of a horse-drawn carriage forced the horse to step up from the road onto the pedestrian pavement. Being a pavement meant for pedestrians, it was of course lined with slippery cobblestones and completely unsuitable for the horse. The horse struggled and slipped continuously while trying to get up the pavement, injuring itself against the bar of the carriage and even hitting its head when the driver forced it to step back down from the pavement again. It was really painful to watch, and has completely put me off horse drawn carriages (although I was never a big fan to begin with). I'm not sure how well the horses are treated elsewhere, but I can only discourage people from taking one of these rides in Seville because it's evident that at least some of the drivers give no fucks about the basic welfare of the horses at all.
"Never thought simple roast tomatoes could taste so good, but they were. Combine that with the perfectly cooked Iberian pork (a tiny bit pink, super tender and juicy) and the mouthwatering sea salt flakes on top...absolutely one of the best dishes I've ever had in my life."
Long rant over. After that upsetting incident, we headed off the the Plaza de Espana a second time to get some more shots and to walk around leisurely and soak in the plaza at sunset.
