Seville

Last weekend I visited Seville in the south of Spain. The city was beautiful not just to look at, but also because of the relaxed atmosphere and smell of orange blossom which lingered throughout the streets.

We began our day wandering through the town looking at the most famous buildings. We headed to the cathedral where we climbed the tall tower known as the Giralda and saw excellent views of the city. Then we walked down towards the river where we saw the famous Torre del Oro. Whilst down by the river we enjoyed some of the Sevillian sunshine; Seville as it’s located in the south of Spain is famed for enjoying warmer temperatures than other parts of Spain.

From here we headed to the Plaza España, this Plaza unlike many of Spain´s is circular rather than square. A row of buildings form a semi circle around a central fountain. Plaza España is very colorful, the surrounding trees provide greenery, and the water reflects the blue skies and the buildings have a terracotta tone. The buildings also have mosaic tilling which also add to the color of the Plaza. You may well have seen Plaza España without realizing it as it features in the Star Wars film Attack of the Clones!

For me one of the most beautiful buildings in Seville was the Alcazar. This building was the Moorish royal palace; there were lots of intricate details upon the ceilings and beautiful arches. However the grandeur could be seen both inside and out. Wandering round the gardens we continued to enjoy sunshine and color which can be found throughout Seville.

Seville was the birthplace of Flamenco and also was historically home to Spain´s gypsy population. This flamenco tradition is famously celebrated in the Feria de Abril. During this festival Seville erupts in even more colour. Although we didn´t see a flamenco show whilst in Seville it was easy to see just how strong the tradition was from the number of shops selling flamenco dresses alone!

Seville is without a doubt worth a visit. The sunshine helps to create that relaxed holiday atmosphere and slows down the Spanish pace of life even more! It is a great place to relax, soak up the atmosphere and simply enjoy the scenery.