HASTA LUEGO SEVILLA...

Seville is a lovely city. Waking up early in the morning, enjoying a rich breakfast at the Palacio de Villapanes Hotel and sipping my (finally) perfectly prepared Cappuccino is exactly what I was looking for after my previous weekend in Mykonos.

The Hotel's lobby: my morning coffee place

Still, the schedule was a little bit hectic; as soon as the last drop of my (again) perfectly prepared Cappuccino was gone, we had to rush into the bus and go to the renowned sites of the city like Alcazar, the Mesquita and the cathedral of Santa Maria Sede. Not that I dislike History, but I’d rather spare my readers of the historical-all-that-jazz part. BUT, just because I am a proud Arab (at that time the Arabs were super amazing smart people who helped Spain obtain the civilized and artistic touch it has today), I would like to point out few historical points:

• Hercules was the one who marked with six columns the place where the great Julius Caesar later on built the Seville which was then called Iulia Romula Hispalis (206 B.C)
• 527 was the year where the Visigoths established themselves and promoted Catholicism through King Recared.
• In the year 712, the Arabs (called the Moors at that time) settled in Seville for quite a long time (around 536 years!); a period long enough to influence the arts, religion and the language.
• In 1248, Fernando III brought back the power of Christianity and put an end to the Moors’ power.
• In 1492 many things occurred that altered the history of Spain and the world in general: the Moors were completely thrown out from Seville, Spain was unified under one crown and Christopher Columbus discovered the “New World” which made Seville the intermediate route between Europe and America.
• The first economical and artistic decline hit the city in the sixteenth century mostly due to the Plague, the floods, etc.
• Thanks to its river, Guadalquivir (the Grand Valley in Arabic), Seville was since the ninth century both a river port and a bridge between the Atlantic ocean and the hinterland of Andalusia.

Seville’s small alleys and terracotta walls made me travel in a time where people moved with carriages and horses, where children would safely play on the streets and where women would sing opera songs from the play “Carmen” while drying their laundry on the balcony; basically, where all was simpler. After the appreciation I had for all these rural details, I concluded that Seville is one of the best cities in Spain in terms of beauty and history (again, my Arab origins come into play in this bias statement).

Wall of  the Royal Palace of Alcazar (originally a Moorish fort)

the Royal Palace of Alcazar

Garden of the Royal Palace of Alcazar

the Mesquita, Cordoba: Islamic architecture's perfection

One big, big, BIG disadvantage in Seville is the food. Paella? No way; I didn’t like it at all (just by looking at the picture tell me frankly, would you eat it?); Tapas? Most of them looked odd and are either way not sufficient for my metabolism. Also, this thing that they have with the damned “jamon” is ridiculous: everything has ham in it, even a green salad! Thus, I spent the weekend eating bread and some “safe” appetizers. So if you go to Spain, you probably should pack several cans of Tuna and a big bag of Spaghetti. 

Traditional sea-food-based Paella (pity the flies wandering around don't show on the picture)

Another great experience was spending the day at a Spaniard farm located in a far away place in the mountains where all appeared to me as if I was leaving in another era. I had a great time exploring the area and a lot of fun riding the “horsey”.  The people owning the farm as well as (I guess) their relatives were very hospitable serving us water, sangria, wine and tapas over and over again. They were all dressed in flamenco dresses and flowers in their heads, dancing to the guitar which made me understand and appreciate the beauties of the Spanish folklore.

How cute?

Break in the mountain with a lot of Folklore