Andalucía (4) - Sevilla

This is the continuation following the post Andalucía (3): Córdoba.

Sevilla - 16.-19.05.2013:

Sevilla, fourth and last stop of our Andalucía tour.
Just having parked the car for the next 3 days at some free of charge spot somewhere in the streets of Sevilla, we needed food. Lunch time had nearly passed.

Having satisfied the urge for food, we checked in to the hotel which we discovered to have a nice roof terrace with swimming pool :-)

Time to discover the city centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "cathedral of the bull fighting", the oldest bullring in the world, la "Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza":

 

Along the Quadalquivir:

 

La "Torre del Oro":

Later in the evening we headed for a full load tapas dinner. Having in mind that tapas are small units of food bits, i.e. little snacks and seeing the prices of 1-2€ per unit, we ended up ordering more than would fit on our table (about the double of what is shown on the below pictures) - and much more than our stomach had space for! Yes, we were hungry, but not THAT hungry. I guess we ordered food enough for 4-5 people. LOL! But it was damn delicious :-)

 

After this dinner we definitely needed a digestive drink in some nearby bar.

Not to be missed in Sevilla is "La Giralda" of the Catedral, the symbol of Sevilla, registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

 

 

 

The tomb of Christopher Columbus:

Broad ramps allow for an easy ascent up the Giralda tower, offering a magnificent view.

Right infront of the cathedral you can find another UNESCO World Heritage site, the Real Alcázar, a royal palace which was originally a Moorish fort. It is actually the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe. The extensive complex embodies a series of palatial rooms and spaces in various styles and from various ages, dating back until earliest AD 913.

Puerta del León - the entrance to the palace: 

 

By night...

 

 

 

Last day in Sevilla: we visit the beautiful Plaza España, a huge half-circle complex with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the centre is the Vicente Traver fountain. Today the Plaza de España mainly consists of Government buildings.

The Plaza de España has been used as a filming location, including scenes for „Lawrence of Arabia“ (1962), in „Star Wars Episode I“ (1999) and „Episode II“ (2002) and for „The Dictator“ (2012).

 

 

 

By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain.

Not far away from Plaza España: the parc around the "Museo Arqueologico".

It is May 19th - time to say good bye to Sevilla and head back to Málaga...

...where our fantastic holidays end, flying back to Oslo :-(

These days spent in Andalucía were truly amazing, full of magnificent impressions and showing us breathtakingly beautiful sites - simply unforgettable! So happy that this trip will remain in memory for Marco's and my 10th anniversary :-)