I have skipped ahead to Seville. It’s a short flight from Porto and it’s so odd to see the sun and feel the heat. Immediately you feel you are in a different space. Our hotel is lovely and all is well with the world.
We do a wander through the lanes and go get some tapas, vino and cervesa. Nothing is great with the exception of the place we are in. We then sit on the rooftop and once again watch the sunset over the rooftops.
The next morning I wake on a mission to take morning light photos and yet get trapped in a maze of lanes where the walls are to high and the light is to weak. It’s easy to get lost as every left and every right is never quite square and every lane walks away a few more unseen degrees. Then before you know it you are somewhere far from where you want to be. Another rounded corner and all of a sudden the square opens before us and the architecture unfolds as you view it from a distance.
We wander past cathedrals with the low sun hitting the steeples and watch and listen as the city comes alive.
It’s going to be a big day out as we head back to our hotel for breakfast which i have to share a photo of the pretty courtyard where we eat. We choose to eat outside and there is a really grumpy man who leaps up from his chair and slams the door after the waitress comes to serve us. It must be the cold draught in the 20 something degree heat that annoys him as he sits at a booth alone, in a setting for five, closest to the door , with a sea of empty tables far away from his perceived cool air. Tapping on his laptop with important looking eyebrows and grumpy looking mouth. We enjoy our breakfast in the cooler morning air but go in and out the door at the other end as I do not want the poor man to suffer further.
Right what’s next. It’s a walk to the park and then to see the big curved military building that seems to dominate the images when you go searching Seville. We walk. It’s hot. We walk some more. It’s hot. Somehow we get trapped in the grounds of the university and can’t get out. We are surrounded by a moat and no bridge, expecting security to come and deal to tourists any minute. We escape the university and finally are in the park. It’s hot.
It’s probably time to mention how much I hate google maps walking especially here in Seville. We follow it and then we are going the wrong way, turn around go back, turn around again, I feel like it’s just messing with us. Sitting in google space, watching and laughing. I don’t want to end up like breakfast man so I breathe deep and spin around again.
We walk around the outside of an ordinary looking building and WH suggest that as its curved perhaps it is our destination. We pass a car park and take some steps up to a door that we think will lead us inside antlers church but it is like we have stepped through a portal. Its beautiful.
There is so much detail you can’t fit it in. The tiles, the arches, the roof, the stairs, the bridge. In terms of monuments I think it is one of the beautiful I have seen. It is too much for my camera lens to take in as I try to capture it.
We cross the river and wander its banks. It’s hot. We look for somewhere shady to enjoy a late lunch and I wonder if breakfast man is at least happy sitting eating his lunch in the warmth. We meander back to the hotel, it’s been a big day out and the city is closed for Siesta. It seems such a civilised thing to do as we walk back in the heat. Evidently in the summer it’s around 40 degrees every day so my advice is don’t go in the summer. The lanes and alleys are breathless and the rooftop breeze provides a welcome relief along with a cervesca and Aperol Spritz.
With siesta over and our feet now rested we decide to head back into the streets below as we can hear the music somewhere and FOMO sets in as we pack everything into our weekend.
We are not disappointed as we walk into a small square and find not only the music but also the dancing. It’s the mayors party and all are invited as multi generations crowd into the space under the trees. You can buy cerveja for a euro and vino for 2.
It was a day to remember. Love Seville.