Right before the merciless summer heat hit the southern region of Spain, we decided to head over to Sevilla and bask in the Andalucían culture.
Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza
Sevilla is the capital city of Andalucía and the largest city in the region. It is the home of Flamenco and bullfighting with a rich history intertwined in European and Moorish North African roots. It also has about 4,000 bars – that’s I don’t know how many bars per inhabitant but a lot – which puts it right at the top of the “Must-visit cities in Spain” list.
Rebujito
Not going to lie – arriving in Sevilla, we were a bit disoriented. Maybe it was due to lack of research and preparation but we thought… we’ll just wing it. In a very touristy and quite expensive city, I don’t recommend ‘winging it.’ Barhopping to the best of our judgment, we found ourselves caught in various tourist traps – paying way too much for mediocre, if that, food… We had heard about a bunch of bars and terraces on Calle Betis, the riverside street on the Triana side of the Guadalquivir River. It was so pretty… but that was it.
Although at the moment, we were disappointed in our search for local hangouts; we were enjoying the surrounding city sights. When I saw the Cathedral of Sevilla, I was speechless. It’s breathtaking and enormous! It is one of the largest Gothic Cathedrals in the world. La Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral; originally built as a minaret tower of a former mosque – note its resemblance to the Koutoubia in Marrakech, Morocco.
About 5 minutes walking from the Cathedral, you’ll find the Real Alcázar, an ancient Moorish style palace very similar to the Alhambra of Granada. Get lost in the details on the walls and ceilings, myriad rooms, gardens and courtyards. There’s usually a long line to enter – get there early or purchase a ticket online beforehand.
After walking the entire city, it was a love/hate relationship with Sevilla… we were hungry…
Until, we stumbled across Taberna La Estraza, a curious looking rock ‘n’ roll themed bar on Calle Feria. FINALLY. Every single thing we ordered was so good.. After a day of disappointment, we indulged and to our surprise, our bill was significantly cheaper than it had been on Calle Betis. Now we were ready. This had to be the start of something great. We continued to explore the neighborhood (Barrio Macarena) and ended up at La Alameda de Hércules, a garden square surrounded by bars, terraces and people. We decided to give it a chance and… JACKPOT. We were home.
Despite all the great food we had at the other places, La Taberna Estraza won our hearts – maybe it was for saving us from the tourist traps or maybe it was just that good. Either way, we went back the next day… not to mention there was a bar across the street with hippie guitar players and 1 euro beers – that was a plus.
MM Favorites:
Plaza de España – This Plaza is stunning; it is a semi circle enclosed by pavilion buildings, embellished with azulejos (tiles) representing various regions of Spain as well as little bridges and flower beds. A true Plaza de España that embodies Spanish history and culture – as it should. Definitely one of my favorite stops on the trip.
Sevilla http://wp.me/s3kb0l-sevilla Right before the merciless summer heat hit the southern region of Spain, we decided to head over to Sevilla and bask in the Andalucían culture.