I took another solo trip this weekend to Seville, Spain! I was so excited to check out this city because I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about it, and I can see why! 

Saturday, November 12th:

I didn’t get into Seville until late afternoon, but I had a fun activity planned for the evening. I enjoyed the beautiful walk along the river to my hostel in the 78 and sunny weather. I checked out the rooftop terrace at my hostel and then headed back into town.

With the few hours I had to kill, I decided to walk to the Plaza de España, which is also surrounded by Maria Luisa park. The plaza itself was beautiful! I loved getting to admire the architecture of the towers and bridges. The mosaic designs everywhere were stunning. There were people riding horse-drawn carriages nearby in the park and people rowing boats along the moat that runs through the plaza. They were also setting up a stage and a bunch of equipment in the middle of the plaza. I later learned that they were filming a movie there! It turns out a scene from one of the Star Wars movies was filmed in Plaza de España too. I walked up to the upper level and took in the gorgeous view. I had gotten there at golden hour so the whole plaza was glowing in the sunlight.

As per usual, I wandered around for a while to kill some time. I eventually ended up sitting along the river and finishing my book before going to the meeting point for my evening activity. I had booked a dinner cruise on the river. It was a 2-hour tour with dinner and unlimited drinks. I had hoped that it would be an opportunity to meet some people, as group activities usually are. Unfortunately, this was not the case for tonight’s activity. It seemed I had crashed date night. There were 4 other couples on the dinner cruise. They were all a lot older than me, and they weren’t up for socializing. The couples spread themselves out around the boat deck, but I didn’t want to crowd any of them. So I sat by myself and took advantage of the unlimited drinks instead, which still made for a good night so I can’t complain. For about half of the time on the river, there really wasn’t much to see, but it was still nice to be on the water. It did get pretty chilly by the end of the two hours. The food was delicious though! The chef had been the one to check us in when we boarded the boat, and he was so friendly! I practiced my Spanish with him as he confirmed that I’d be having the vegetarian option. We got six small courses: a hummus and cheese plate, a cup of salmojero (a cold tomato soup), spinach and garbanzo beans (this was my favorite!), spinach lasagna, a veggie burger with chips, and flan. The drink I had was called Rebujito. The server described it as a white wine mixed with 7-Up. We also each got a flute of cava to toast at the end of our cruise. So although my fellow cruisers were not very friendly and it didn’t end up being the social outing I had hoped for, I still got to enjoy some tasty food and drinks!

Sunday, November 13th:

Of course I had to start my morning off with my favorite breakfast – an acai bowl. I walked across the river and to a cafe called Milk Away. I ordered an acai bowl (in Spanish!) and ate it while I started a new book on my kindle.

The weather here in Spain has really been throwing me off. You have to be prepared for anything! When I got in on Saturday, I was sweating in a short sleeved shirt, but by the time my dinner cruise was ending I was thankful for the sweater I had brought because it was freezing. When I left the hostel this morning, the weather report made me think I would be fine in a short sleeved shirt again. But Mother Nature just could not make up her mind. It was nice and warm one minute… then chilly the next. I hadn’t brought my sweater with me to breakfast, but due to the weather’s indecisiveness I figured I should have it with me just in case. I detoured back to the hostel to grab my sweater.

I had a couple hours to spare before I needed to meet my group for a guided tour of the Royal Palace and Cathedral. I walked past the Cathedral and was stunned by the Gothic architecture. This whole street was so fun to walk along. There were so many independent artists displaying and selling their work and street performers. The holiday decorations had also been hung already, and although the lights hadn’t been turned on yet, they were glistening in the sunlight. It was gorgeous!

Something that had caught my eye when researching what to do in Seville was “go see the mushrooms!” Turns out, there is a structure built in Seville that look like giant mushrooms. You can go up to the top of the mushrooms for a vantage point of the whole city or you can hang out below them in the shade they provide. I decided to stay down below and read my book in the shade for a bit. The mushrooms ended up being a very helpful landmark when navigating through the city.

I headed back towards the cathedral to meet up with my group for a 3 hour guided tour of the Royal Palace and the Cathedral. Our tour started in the Royal Alcazar where we got to explore the three different sections of the palace. Each section had a unique architectural style. It was cool to see the Arabic architectural influence as a result of the many Muslims who stayed in Spain after the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. The central part of the palace looked like it could have been taken straight from Morocco. It was interesting to see the comparison between the Mudejar sections of the palace and the Gothic sections. We also had some free time to explore the 18 acre garden on the palace grounds. There were even some peacocks roaming the gardens.

The second part of our tour was in the Cathedral. I loved getting to see the beautiful stained glass windows. There were also two massive organs inside with a combined total of 7,000 pipes. People say when the organs play they can feel the cathedral shake, but our guide said it’s just a trick of the acoustics. We also got to see Christopher Columbus’s tomb inside the church. Apparently, his remains are sort of scattered all over and many places falsely claim to have his remains. However, this cathedral is also where Columbus’s son is buried because he donated a massive library to the church. They did a DNA test between father and son and confirmed that they do in fact have (part of) Christopher Columbus’s real remains. We also got to go to the top of the Giralda Tower. To get to the top, you have to walk up 34 ramps, which were once used by donkeys to carry people up to the top. From the top of the tower, you can get a panoramic view of the city and, if you’re lucky (which I was), hear the bells ring.

After a long tour with a lot of standing and listening, I wanted to relax for a little bit. I walked back towards the mushrooms and found a restaurant with outdoor tables available. I sat and read my book while I enjoyed a glass of sangria cava and some tapas to hold me over until dinner. On my tour, I had met two other American girls who were traveling together and we had planned to get dinner later that evening. They had tickets to a flamenco show, but afterwards we met up at a nearby restaurant for more tapas and sangria. They are cousins from the Philadelphia/New Jersey area. One of the girls, who is currently studying abroad in London, was telling me how she is studying Art History and Anthropology and wants to get her Master’s in Museum Studies. I told her about Kyle’s work in the field and we bonded over that connection since it is such a niche line of work. It was nice to hang out with them and get to know them.

Monday, November 14th:

I had a very exciting activity planned for this morning. I was taking a cooking class! The class was meeting at the Triana Market, which was just a 5 minute walk from my hostel. The class was led by two women: Sabrina, who led the tour through the market and taught us all about the ingredients we would be using in our recipes, and Victoria, the chef who guided us in our cooking.

Sabrina gave us an hour long tour of the covered market. She told us a bit about the history of the market and how it used to be an open-air market. It was even discovered that the market was built on top of castle ruins, which you can now see through some of the glass flooring. We stopped at three different stalls to learn about olives, Iberian ham, and a few spices. All the olives I’ve had in Spain have been delicious, and it was cool to learn about how they are grown and turned into different types of olive oil. We also got to learn about Iberian ham and how it is categorized into different classes based on how long the meat is cured for, the pig’s diet, etc. The meats are labeled with different colored tags based on which category they belong in, and the prices vary accordingly. At the spice stall we got to learn about saffron and sweet paprika. They both smelled delicious.

While we had been touring the market, Chef Victoria had been getting everything ready for us in the kitchen. We arrived back in the kitchen to see our ingredients prepared and an apron waiting for each of us. We were going to be making three dishes: salmorejo (a cold tomato soup typically topped with a hard boiled egg and chopped ham), spinach and garbanzo beans, and a paella (a veggie version for me). There were 8 of us in total, and we were split up so 4 of us were on each side of the long table with the burners in the middle. Each half of the table worked together to create our portion and then we combined them at the end. The salmorejo was so easy to make. We chopped a bunch of tomatoes in half and crumbled up some bread and blended them together. Then we slowly blended in some extra virgin olive oil to thicken it up and stored it in the fridge while we kept cooking. For the spinach and garbanzo bean dish, we started by crushing some garlic and warming it up in the pan in extra virgin olive oil. Then we mashed up the oiled garlic cloves with fresh bread chunks. We had steamed down some spinach which we mixed together with our garbanzo beans. We combined it with some caramelized onions, smoked paprika, and cumin. It ended up making a thick paste of spinach and garbanzo beans, which sounds simple, but it was so flavorful and delicious! For the paella, I got to make my own portion that was vegetarian. We learned about the importance of using a paella pan and how it distributes the heat evenly. My veggie paella included onion, red bell pepper, snap peas, artichokes, cauliflower, and tomato purée. When those were cooked, we added the smallest bit of saffron (just 3 ground up pistils) and smoked paprika which made the dish smell so good. Once all of that was good to go, we added in the rice. I learned that the proper way to add rice into a paella is to make a “rice river” through the center and then spread it down along the bottom of the pan. Once the rice is lining the bottom of the pan, you leave it to cook and don’t touch the pan again. You aren’t supposed to mix it at all. It lets the rice burn just a little at the bottom, which gives the paella a tasty crunch. As we had been cooking with Victoria, Sabrina had been preparing sangria for us made with freshly cut apples and oranges, a young red wine, and a mix of orange and lemon flavored sparkling sodas. It was finally time for us to enjoy all of our cooking! Our first course was the salmorejo, followed by the spinach and chickpeas, and finally the paella. Everything had turned out delicious! Sabrina even quickly blended up a “dessert drink” for us. It was basically a lemon and mint sorbet but in a frothy drink. Thankfully, Sabrina and Victoria emailed us all the recipes so we can recreate them at home. I’m so glad I did this class! I learned a lot, had some yummy food, and got to meet a lot of other nice travelers as well.

After my class, I walked across the river and wandered into a few plazas and eventually ended up visiting Plaza del Toros, the bull fighting arena. There was an audio tour to listen to as I walked through the arena and learned all about the bull fighting culture in Spain. You could walk right into the center of the ring and imagine what it would be like to be in the ring with a raging bull.

By the time I left Plaza del Toros, it was late afternoon which meant it was time for a little siesta. I found an outdoor cafe where I ordered some churros and chocolate and relaxed here for a bit while I read my book. When I was done, I walked around a little more and ended up being convinced to go to a flamenco show. I had been speaking with a man named Joaquin, who worked at the theater, and was telling me about the show. He had asked where I was from, and when I told him I was American he said he was surprised. He said he would have guessed I was Mediterranean because I have a warmth in my eyes that is not often seen in Americans. We talked a little about American culture and how life here in Spain is much more relaxed and slow paced in comparison. He was so kind and said he had really enjoyed meeting me. It made my day! He promised I would love the show, and he was right. Although I had seen a flamenco show in Madrid, this one was different. It was in a larger theater and with a bigger stage. The dancers were all so passionate and talented, and the musicians were also great. Joaquìn stopped me on my way out to see if I enjoyed the show, and I told him I had. I walked back to my hostel, hung out on the rooftop terrace for a while, and then went to bed.

I had a great few days in Seville, and I’m glad I was able to visit and confirm all of the raving reviews I’ve heard about the city. I loved getting to learn about the history of Southern Spain, get to meet so many kind people, and try all kinds of delicious Spanish foods and drinks.