When I was on my year abroad, my parents visited me in Austria AND Cuba. Since graduating, however, relations between us have apparently turned sour. While I'm here in Seville they are not visiting me. You may have heard of angry parents changing the locks on the doors when their rogue offspring finally leave. Well it may not shock you to hear I come from quite a DRAMATIC family, and my parents decided to take it one step further and had a completely NEW door stuck onto the front of my house so that there are now two solid wooden barriers barring me from my family home! They have NOT cut me a key! Christmas is going to be tense (if I ever get inside the building).
But don't fret too much as even though the family have decided to barricade themselves in Wolverhampton until I return, I still had a VIP guest this weekend. I think Seville is probably the perfect city for a romantic get away... lots of winding streets, beautiful views, a passionate culture and a million and one tapas bars where you can drink and share food.
This is the itinerary I organised for our extended weekend in Seville. I thought I'd write it out in case anyone else is planning a visit!
Itinerary for a Romantic Weekend in Sevilla
We spent two nights at my gaff in Santa Cruz, and two in the hotel Sacristia de Santa Ana in the Alameda, which is on the other side of the old town.
Friday
Spend the morning wandering through the enchanting Santa Cruz district, which is the historical area of Seville. BE WARNED, if you don't know your way around, for God's sake take a map and be prepared to get very, very lost. (My colleague who's worked here for 12 years says she still gets lost). Google maps is literally no help. If all else fails, try work out where the river is. If you can get to the river then you can get your bearings.
It was absolutely beautiful weather during our weekend in Seville. If the sun is shining, then head to the Alcázar de Sevilla. This beautiful moorish style palace has awesome architecture and some beautiful gardens, and its very romantic to wander around them in the sunshine, spotting peacocks hiding in the greenery and enjoying the water features.
If you can bare to take yourself out of the sunshine, head to the Cathedral (known as the Giralda) just across the road.
After the Alcázar we wandered through the Jewish quarter to the parks off Mendez Pelayo and had lunch.
After lunch, walk back through the old town to the Parasol (also known as the Setas, which means mushrooms). You can take a drink at the top or just admire the wonderful views of the city.
In the evening, treat yourself to some high quality tapas and then head out on the town.
In Seville, students go to Alfalfa where there are cheap drink deals and busy bars. Afterwards you can go to the Alameda where clubs stay open til like 6am.
Saturday
Now if you used Friday to its full potential, you will need a bit of a lie in on Saturday. That's okay - you're on holiday!!
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| Seville Football Game |
Helpfully, this is on the way to the Plaza de Espana. If you've never seen this before, prepare to be mind blown. If you've got a bit of spare time then you can hire boats or bicycles and enjoy the Parque de María Luisa which is very stunnig.
In the evening, I really recommend a show at the Museo del Baile Flamenco. Very close by you can eat some traditional tapas, for example at La Bodega just off the Alfalfa. However, if you're planning a fancy meal during the weekend don't get caught out like we did and wait til Sunday, or the restaurant you've picked out might be closed!
Sunday
Sunday is a day of rest in Spain, and nearly all the shops shut, as well as some restaurants during the evening. In the day time though the restaurants and bars are full of families enjoying quality time together.
Take the chance to have a relaxed walk down to the river where you can have a drink in the sun looking at the beautiful views.
This weekend Sevilla FC were playing Granada. You can find out the listings of Sevilla FC and buy tickets online here and for their rivals, Real Betis Balompié, here. Sevilla FC's grounds are by the Nervion shopping centre, we got there on the 32 bus from outside McDonald's at Plaza del Duque. The 45,000 seater stadium was full to the brim with Seville fans, and it was lovely to watch the game as the sun set over the city.
In the evening we'd hoped to go to Eslava, but when that was shut we headed for the area near the cathedral, where restaurants aimed at tourists are open every day. And we totally lucked out with the Azotea resturant serving amazing tapas (my review).
If you've got any energy left (we were exhausted!) head round the corner to the EME Catedral Rooftop bar. This swanky joint has amazing views and AMAZINGLY EXPENSIVE DRINKS.
Monday
On Monday my VIP guest left Seville. We had a bit of breakfast near my house then headed to the Park to enjoy the weather. This is very convenient place to spend any spare time before the flight, as the bus to the airport goes from Prado de San Sebastian which is next to the park.
It was a wonderfully busy weekend!
BESOS FROM SPAIN xxx
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