I wake up uncharacteristically late this morning. So late in fact, Lucy has to come and check that I am still alive! Clearly the last 5 days of being on holiday have been exhausting!
It’s late morning and we decide to head out of the centre of town and over the bridge to the neighbourhood of Triana. Triana is known for its food market and as the historic home of the ceramic factories that Seville was famous for. Historically Triana was a lower income area but is now one of the posher neighbourhoods in Seville.
It’s a lovely 20min walk and we find a cafe for breakfast just outside the market. Once we have eaten we venture inside to explore. we realise quickly that we should have explored inside first, before stopping to eat as the range of cafes and restaurants within the market is amazing. I think we both assumed the market would be loud and crowded like we experienced in Barcelona the previous year, however it was the exact opposite. The rainbow colours of all the fruit and vegetables catches my eye, and then I’m lured by the smell of the cheese. Everywhere you look there is Iberian ham and finally we find ourselves in the fish section. It’s probably a good thing we only travelled with carry on bags as I could be tempted to buy everything!
Once we’ve window shopped ourselves full, we head over to the tourist information and are pointed in the direction of the ceramics museum.
On our way to the museum we are lured into small ceramics shops selling colourful wares. We browse freely and each buy a small souvenir, very restrained of us considering how gorgeous all the pieces are.
Again we remind ourselves we have no luggage room. We find the ceramics museum tucked into a corner between some shops. We pay the 2€ each to enter. I love an unassuming museum that completely knocks your socks off, and this was that! It turns out this museum was built in the archaeological ruins of one of the original ceramic factories and so the structures of the kilns and some of the machinery still remained. The interpretation was simple, yet easy to read and so informative. I learned so much about the manufacturing and decorating process, and saw the most amazing murals and furniture. It was such a joy and at 2€ per person a brilliant way to spend an hour.
We browse a few more shops before stopping for refreshments and have a quiet hour people watching and reading our books in the lovely weather. We wander down along the river towards the docks and cross the bridge to take us back to the city centre. We arrive just in time to jump on a river cruise, a different way to see the city. The breeze coming off the river is refreshing and we relax and sway with the river. Ironically we meet a couple from the UK who happen to live in the same town as Lucy. It’s such a small world.
After our river cruise we decide to visit the Alfonso XIII hotel as we are informed it is the most luxurious hotel in Seville and worth stopping in to admire the entrance hall alone. It really is magnificent with beautiful high arches and ceramic tile decoration. They even have a small museum exhibit.
We decide to be very decadent and have some cocktails at the hotel bar.
It is now late afternoon and after all the refreshments we decide to walk back to the Plaza de Espana to see it properly in the daylight.
The scale and detail of it are unsurpassed and it is easily my favourite place in Seville. The combination of bridges, a moat, ceramic detailing, and viewpoints to overlook the plaza just make this place so unique. I could honestly spend hours wandering around.
It’s hard to believe it was only built in 1929 for the world fair. It combines the architectural styles of art deco, renaissance revival and baroque revival. I feel it does have a somewhat Disneyland aura to it as it’s so perfect, clearly a testament to the restorers who carried out extensive work from 2007-2010.
By now it’s early evening and we are shattered from a full on day. We head back to the apartment for some pool time and then decide to forego eating out tonight in lieu of hitting up the local supermarket and having a picnic at the apartment.
I can’t believe this is the last night of my holiday and that tomorrow morning we will be heading to the airport to fly home. The experiences I have had in both places have been so different, but both inspiring and amazing in their own ways. I’m definitely not looking forward to leaving the sun, heat and European lifestyle.
I guess I just have to remind myself to say “a la prochaine” , until next time!
Live Wild and Free 