We happily waved goodbye to Morocco and hopped onto our first Ryan Air flight. After hearing stories about how bare bones the airline was, I was pleasantly surprised – it was great. The plane was stripped down to the bare essentials and every square inch of wall space was plastered with advertising, but it was very clean, the service was great, and the flight was on time. We also paid $15 extra to sit in the second row of the plane (first on, first off, guaranteed spot for our carry-on’s, etc) so that may have influenced my opinion.
We landed in Seville and stood outside the airport just breathing in the cool air. After the stale heat of Morocco, the air in Seville was deliciously refreshing.
Seville was a pretty extreme but very welcome culture shock after Morocco. Most notably, women – suddenly they were everywhere. Beautiful, fashionable Spanish women, with long hair, juicy silhouettes, tight clothing, and endless confidence. This was in stark contrast to Morocco, where women kind of disappear from the picture. Hidden behind burkas, tucked away inside their homes, and in the very few advertisements featuring a woman wearing western style clothing, fully covered.
Our Airbnb was SUPER COOL. An architect’s live/work studio, complete with architectural models and a reference library. The vast collection of vintage Spanish architectural magazines were so fun to flip through.
In addition to being cool, the apartment was located in the old part of Seville which was perfect for us. We spent most of our time strolling through the tiny, winding, orange tree lined streets, sitting at outdoor cafes drinking rioja. Oh man, the rioja. After not drinking alcohol for weeks in Morocco, wine never tasted so good.
A few of our favorite places:
La Azotea – One of the best dinners we’ve had on the trip so far. Delicious food, served in an untraditional way. Beautifully plated. We had a bunch of tapas and delicious wine. We had a wonderful evening. The people watching was spectacular.
Maquila – Hip little brewery/bar with fantastic tapas. We slid in for an afternoon “snack” and four giant tapas and four glasses of beer later, we stumbled out happy and full. Great vibe, awesome staff, bright breezy interior. Great place to spend an afternoon and/or evening.
Seville Cathedral – Enormous gothic church containing the biggest altarpiece in the world and Christopher Columbus’ bones. As one of the largest Christian churches in the world, it’s pretty impressive.
Torch Coffee Roasters– Super cute coffee shop run by two sisters. After drinking exclusively mint tea for three weeks I wanted to make out with the perfect almond milk cortado they made me. Oddly, their only other location is in Raleigh, NC. Go figure.
Torre del Oro – Dodecagonal military watchtower built in 1220 (yeah, that’s not a typo) to control access via the river. Very cool little museum inside full of naval artifacts, and after a narrow, spiraling climb up the tower, you’re rewarded with spectacular views from the top.
We found Seville to be delightful, relaxing, beautiful, and charming. If you’re going to Spain, definitely take the time to visit.