Seville, Spain

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Spain. While M and I had been to Barcelona and Madrid before, and we again visited Barcelona last year for my cousins wedding but we had always wanted to go to Andalusia.

Now when I say we this does not include the boys.. they are not that refined. But they came along anyway. Andalusia is a southern part of Spain that was ruled by the Moorish for almost 8th centuries. The Moorish are Muslim from North Africa. Andalusia is famous for its Moorish heritage and architecture. It is the birthplace of Flamenco dancing and sherry wine. Produces 34% of the worlds olive oil and is also the location from which Christopher Columbus departed for the New World as well his final resting spot.

We flew into Seville, which we used as our home base as we explored the rest of the area. We had taken a red eye, so we landed in the morning dropped our luggage off at the hotel and quickly headed out in search for food.

We had a wonderful breakfast at Mokambo.

Then we headed towards the Seville Cathedral aka Catedral de Santa María de la Sede.

Seville Cathedral is the world's largest Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, built on the site of a grand mosque, retaining its minaret of the 12th-century Almohad mosque (now the Giralda bell tower).

The Great Altarpiece (Retablo Mayor) as seen above is considered the largest and one of the most detailed in Christendom, it contains over 200 carved figures and was worked on for over 80 years. The cathedral also has a grand choir with 117 carved seats, and up to 80 chapels.

The interior features the longest nave in Spain, reaching a height of 42 meters (138 feet).

Houses the elaborate tomb of Christopher Columbus, carried by four figures representing Castile, León, Aragon, and Navarre.

Patio de los Naranjos: This "Courtyard of Orange Trees" is a surviving part of the original mosque, once used for ritual ablutions. 

Seville is the city with the largest number of orange trees in the world, with more than 40,000 specimens lining its streets and plazas.

The oranges grown on Seville's streets are bitter oranges. They are inedible raw and highly prized for making British orange marmalade. Over 4 million kilos are exported to Britain for this purpose.

The jetlag was starting to get to us now so we headed back to the hotel for a break and headed out again later in the afternoon. We grabbed some coffee and pastries and headed to the Royal Alcazar.

The palace is known for its stunning blend of Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architectural styles. It is the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use today and features intricate tile work, ornate arches, and extensive gardens.

It was here that explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan planned their historic voyages.

It was such a beautiful palace. The architecture stunning. 

We ended the night with a wonderful meal at Al Wadi. And visited the Setas de Sevilla, one of the world's largest wooden structures. It was designed by architect Jürgen Mayer opened in 2011.

You can take an elevator to the top for a panoramic view for a fee. We didn't.

The next three days were spent visiting various Andalusian cities.. which I will hopefully be posting about soon.
Till then wishing everyone Happy Holiday's. May they be filled with family and friends, laughter and joy.

                            Etsy           Instagram           Twitter           Redbubble           Zazzle