Sevilla, Spain

Date: August 8, 2018 – August 11, 2018
Location: Sevilla, Spain

From Madrid, we traveled by train to Sevilla, Spain. The Airbnb we stayed at was located on a pedestrian street.

Close by was the large wooden building built in 2011, Metropol Parasol.

August 9, 2018

We tried to go to Alcázar palace in the morning but when we showed up the line to get in was already really long. The line for people who purchased tickets online was short so we decided to buy tickets online and go back in a couple days.

Brian and I took a walk towards the Guadalquivir River and saw Híspalis Fountain.

This is the Guadalquivir River.

After walking along the river we went to Parque de María Luisa, the large park in Sevilla. At the end of the path is Plaza de España.

Plaza de España is a large area with a semi-circle building.

This is one of the Christopher Columbus monuments in Sevilla, Monumento a Cristóbal Colón.

I went to the flamenco museum, Museo del Baile Flamenco, and learned about the 7 main styles of flamenco dance. Each style suggests a different emotion. The styles are joy, hurt, loneliness, passion, sensuality, elegance and seduction.

Later that night we went to a flamenco show.

The stage was smaller than we were expecting.

Most of the time on stage it was just one or two guys playing a guitar, a guy singing and someone dancing. Everyone came out for the last song.

Each person danced individually.

We didn’t see the guys and girls dance together.

The flamenco show was entertaining.

August 10, 2018

Brian and I went to Sevilla Cathedral and climbed up the bell tower.

Along the way up we saw the bells.

Instead of stairs up the tower, there was a ramp that went up and there were just a few stairs near the top.

Here is the view out over the Cathedral.

After climbing up the tower we went inside the Cathedral.

Inside the Cathedral is the tomb of Christoper Columbus.

Four figures representing the four kingdoms of Spain during Christoper Columbus’ life hold his tomb up.

August 11, 2018

We went to Alcázar palace.

If some of these places look familiar, it may be because Game of Thrones was filmed here. The Alcázar serves as the setting for Dorne’s Water Palace of Sunspear, the summer home of the royal Martell family. Here is an image from Game of Thrones:

Unfortunately is wasn’t until after our visit when we were watching Game of Thrones that we realized that!

Brian and I have been watching Game of Thrones from the beginning since we have been traveling. It was a couple weeks after we were at Alcázar when we saw episodes with Dorne’s Water Palace of Sunspear and noticed right away that it looked like Alcázar.

If you look on the left hand side of the Game of Thrones picture above, you can see open windows on a second level, as well as an orange arch further in the distance.

That arch is a water fountain in the garden, as shown below. One of the few “water” or hydraulic organs still in existence, it plays notes and music in the garden as the water flows through the pipes.

There was a section of garden that also had a few peacocks in it.

We enjoyed Seville and the pedestrian streets filled with shops and tapas bars were enjoyable.