DAY 7
Train to Seville and some R&R
We maximized our time at the hotel before having to check out and make our way onward to the next destination of the trip.
With a little more time to kill before our train, we swung by local churreria Mojaelchurro for a quick churros con chocolat en route to Córdoba’s train station.
We boarded our train to Seville at 1pm and an hour later we were already pulling into Granada’s Central Station.
We headed straight for our hotel in Seville’s Old Town. After settling into our new home away from home for the next few days, we headed back out in search of food.
Where we stayed: Jondo Apartments
We landed on Taberna Coloniales for our late lunch. We grabbed a table in their upstairs dining room and ordered a variety of tapas to share. Highlights were a super fresh veggie and octopus salad, patatas bravas, and huevos de codorniz con jamon (quail eggs with ham).
By the time we finished with lunch it was already past 4pm, so we decided to take it easy for the rest of the afternoon. It had been a busy week of travel and sightseeing, and we were in need of some downtime.
We picked up some empanadas for dinner from a nearby shop and headed back to the hotel. We spent the evening relaxing in our room, watching TV, and planning our itinerary for the next few days in Seville.
DAY 8
Touring Seville’s historical landmarks: Cathedral of Seville, Giralda Tower, and the Royal Alcazar
We started our first full day in Seville off with a tasty brunch at Biomio.
It was nice to get a break from traditional Spanish food — all of the tapas start to blend together eventually.
I thoroughly enjoyed my waffles with fresh fruit and peanut butter drizzled on top. Dan got a delicious breakfast sandwich with fried egg and avocado.
We spent the rest of the morning checking out the impressive Cathedral of Seville.
The Cathedral of Seville is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The central nave is 138 feet tall — so tall, in fact, that there are birds flying around inside.
And that’s not its only claim to fame. The cathedral is the resting place for Christopher Columbus and his son Diego. It’s also home to the world’s biggest pearl, which oddly enough serves as an angel’s torso in a crown.
Similar to the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, the Cathedral of Seville was originally a mosque. The average visitor would never guess it though — little of the original structure from the 12th-century mosque was preserved. Most of what you see today was built in the 15th century.
The interior is absolutely beautiful with intricate carvings covering the vaulted ceilings, making them look more like lace than stone.
We ended our tour of the cathedral with a climb up to the top of Giralda Tower for some panoramic views over Seville.
The tower was once a minaret for the mosque and was later converted into a bell tower for the cathedral. Unlike the usual spiral staircase you’ll find in other cathedral towers, the climb to the top is made via a series of short ramps. It’s said it was designed this way so that the man who performed the call to prayer could from the minaret could ride his horse to the top.
After descending from the tower, we headed across the street to Bar Catedral for lunch.
The food was decent, but the real draw is the interior decoration. Several mounted bull heads watch over diners, and the walls are covered in colorful posters of famous bullfighters and photographs of iconic bullfights, many of which are quite gory.
It all makes for a strange (but interesting nonetheless) backdrop for a meal.
That afternoon, we checked off another one of Seville’s must-see historical landmarks with a visit to the Royal Alcazar.
The Alcazar is a palace complex that has been in use for over a thousand years. It was originally built as a fort during the Islamic era and later expanded into a royal palace for Christian monarchs. It’s a beautiful blend of Islamic and Christian architecture.
One of the highlights was the Courtyard of the Maidens, which features a reflecting pool and is surrounded by a gallery of intricately carved, arched columns.
Equally impressive was the Hall of Ambassadors, which was once the throne room and, as such, is fit for a king — the room is covered with ornate plasterwork and tiles and topped with a golden dome.
After touring the interior, we headed back outside to take a stroll through the Alcazar’s garden.
The gardens are laid out in a series of terraces featuring fountains, ponds, and perfectly manicured flower beds. It’s easy to forget you’re right in the middle of the city with how calm and serene it is here.
We stopped for a quick lunch at the snack bar in the gardens and watched as a couple of peacocks roamed about in search of handouts.
DAY 9
A unique food tour
For our ninth day of the trip we embarked on another food tour. This one was focused on more off-the-beaten path establishments and was called, quite fittingly, the Ugly Delicious food tour.
We sampled caracoles (snails) and codornices fritas (fried quail), and learned that only tourists order sangria — locals stick to tinto de verano, a combo of red wine and lemon soda that is incredibly refreshing.
Unfortunately I’d picked up a cold a few days earlier on the trip, and by this time, I had completely lost my voice. So I spent the tour awkwardly silent, forced to eavesdrop on everyone else’s conversations. Oh well, what can you do?
After the tour, we had a detour to a nearby clinic so I could see a doctor about my cold. Dan and Luna killed time in the waiting room while I attempted to communicate with the doctor about my symptoms — thank goodness for Google Translate!
We kept thing low key for the rest of the afternoon and had ourselves an early dinner at a tapas restaurant called Bar Alfalfa.
Everything we ordered from this place was fantastic. Highlights were the steak, brusquetta topped with salmorejo, and the baked provolone.
Definitely recommend you check out Bar Alfalfa if you ever find yourself in Seville!
DAY 10
Enjoying sunny Seville at María Luisa Park and Plaza de España
Our 10th day of the trip started off leisurely — that is, until I realized we’d missed our 9am train to Granada! Luckily I was able to rebook our tickets for an afternoon train at 3:30pm without it costing us a fortune.
We checked out of our hotel and stored our luggage at their super convenient automated storage facility.
We then beelined it to Biomio for another delicious brunch. We almost never return to a place twice on vacation, so you know it must have been good!
On our way to the restaurant, we stumbled upon an antique pottery shop called Populart with a beautiful curated collection of antique pottery on display. If we had more time (and perhaps more importantly, luggage space), I would have loved to pick up a souvenir from this shop.
We decided to spend our bonus day in Seville enjoying the sunny weather at María Luisa Park.
We entered the park at the north side near the Plaza de España. The plaza was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition and is defined to one side by a pond and pavillion that give the plaza a semicircular shape.
We watched on as some brave souls boated around the pond beneath the intense afternoon sun. Feeling hot ourselves, we then headed to the center of the plaza to enjoy the cool mist from the fountain.
I visited Seville 13 years before with my sister and recalled us renting these two-person covered bicycles to get around the park. We had a blast, so I was determined to find out if these still existed.
Sure enough, we found the Cyclotour stand just off the plaza. We paid for a two-hour rental (plenty. of time to explore every part of the park) and were soon on our way. It was just as fun as I remembered!
Our last day in Seville started off stressful, but in the end I was actually happy that we missed our train. We had so much fun at the park that it’s hard to imagine not having that extra time.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, so we headed back to the hotel to grab our belongings and made our way to the train station. We were finally headed on to our fourth stop of the trip, Granada.
Don’t miss it…
This post is a part of a larger two-week trip around Spain. Check out the full itinerary and an overview of the trip here!
