My 3 Days in Sevilla
SEPT 19, 2019 — WELCOME TO SEVILLA, ESPAÑA
Our flight from Barcelona to Sevilla left at 11:30 am. (As “seasoned” travelers, we knew better than schedule an EARLY flight on day 2 of a trip, or really, ever.) So, we slept til about 8, then caught our hotel’s shuttle back to El Prat airport.
In less than 2 hours we journeyed from Catalunya to Andalucía, and entered a whole new culture! From the airport, we took an Uber to our Airbnb, and the nice driver talked to us about the city and his experience living there. When we arrived at our street, we tried to get into the Airbnb, but we couldn’t find it. The address was not clear or specific enough and our data wasn’t working to send a message to our host. It didn’t help that we were also late to arrive. Gah! Not off to a great start. But, using a neighboring hotel’s WIFI, we contacted our host, were ushered into the building, and everything was perfect from that point on!
After getting settled, it was time to explore! We ventured out to the nearby market, Mercado de Feria, and decided to get some food at one of the stalls. (The produce/fish market was closed at this time.) We got a couple of arepas, a Mediterranean plate, and a delicious melon/lime juice at the bar! We were very happy with this meal (a late lunch, around 4:15)!
Our next destination was a tapas bar, Bar El Comercio, for churros! We ordered 1 portion of churros (didn’t realize there were half portions, which would have been plenty!) and thick dark chocolate for dipping and sat at the bar observing the scene. Every few minutes, a group of tourists would enter for churros, and the bartender would mess with them. Clearly, word had gotten out about their churros because that's what people (like us) came for!
A note on the churros: they are crunchy & fluffy (not coated in cinnamon sugar) and made for dipping. They are crafted by feeding the dough/batter into a circular fryer, creating a long snake of a churro; then, cut into portions. Our 1 portion came with 5 large churros. We couldn’t even eat them all. Consuming 2 per person felt like an impressive accomplishment in itself, especially when we were already so full.
But that wasn’t all. It was time for coffee! We visited a shop called Virgen, where Gabe made me order in Spanish (Quisiera dos espressos dobles con hielo para llevar, por favor), and I successfully got us two delicious and refreshing iced espressos. We were near Las Setas (which translates to “mushrooms”…you will see why), but it was still way too sunny/hot to venture up there, so we kept walking through the city...all the way to the beautiful Catedral de Sevilla and Real Alcazar in the Santa Cruz area.
Such a lovely city! After walking A TON, and taking lots of pics, we retraced our steps back to Las Setas for “golden hour” views. And, it did not disappoint. Very unique structure and experience!
Note: Tickets to go up are $3/p and say they include a free drink, but this is misleading. The free drink is NOT up at Las Setas’ bar, but next door at some random fast food restaurant. You better believe we tracked it down! Two *free* bottles of water? Yes, please.
Next order of business: secure a reservation for dinner. This proved to be difficult as all the places we wanted to go were booked up online. In a last-ditch effort, we arrived early (early being 9-9:30 pm) at one of the restaurants, and got seated! Yay! El Perro Viejo dinner was yummy, and the atmosphere was very stylish and cozy! We got a shrimp/potato salad starter and a pan of duck rice with local red wine, then strolled back to our Airbnb, full and happy.
SEPT 20 - SANTA CRUZ, SEVILLA
Day 2 in Sevilla was all about Real Alcazar & Plaza de España. But first, coffee. This day’s breakfast/coffee spot was Parcería Cafe next to the market from the day before. It was pretty busy, but we eventually secured seats outdoors. We ordered two pan con tomate plates, with jamon and avocado - delish! Plus a pour-over to share, a shot of espresso (Guate), and some kind of bread (banana?) to share. Everything was plated with care, and the service was fantastic even while being slow. We hung out there for a good long while, and really enjoyed the morning!
Next, we tried to figure out if we wanted to rent bikes or what? The bikes were more expensive than I thought, and the walk seemed like a bit much. Sooo we went for it with the Bird scooters! We found one with a coupon code and we both got free first rides. We discovered that they are very fun, especially in a city like Sevilla (small, not a lot of traffic)! It was cool to ride through areas we had already seen the day before, to somewhat know where we were in relation to other things. We ventured toward the Jewish Quarter (which I thought we’d missed the day before, but turns out, we did see some of it). We stopped at El Torno Pasteleria de Conventos to peruse the nun’s baked creations, but the cookies didn’t call out to us so we moved on.
Seeing a very long line at the Alcazar (where I had meant for us to go next), we decided to book tickets for later in the day instead. So, we detoured to Torch Coffee for an iced matcha tea and a spot to sit and book said tickets online.
With time to kill, we walked from there to the famous Plaza de Espana! On the way, we also saw Universidad de Sevilla (complete with a moat & gardens) and some other really beautiful buildings (probably fancy hotels?).
Plaza de Espana + Parque de Maria Luisa (which we didn’t even venture into...sooo much to see!) are ENORMOUS! The Plaza is everything you imagine from pictures, except BIGGER - 50,000 square meters! So beautiful, detailed, and festive! We literally spent hours just walking around and taking pictures here. There were little boats to rent and float around the square’s moat (only one direction to go, but still cute); and 4 bridges, representing the 4 ancient kingdoms of Spain. The (48) tiled alcoves on the walls of the semi-circular building boast each Spanish province, complete with maps and each city’s crest. (Gabe is pictured below with Las Canarias, where his dad’s side of the family hails from.) In the center of the plaza, there was a flamenco show in progress!
Time was ticking (already almost 3 o’clock), so we reluctantly moved on to a spot for lunch: Bodeguito Romero (est. 1939) - a favorite! This bar was packed inside & out! We squeezed between two other parties at the bar and tried tinto de verano for the first time (YUM!), and some really good, classic tapas such as spinach & chickpeas, pringa sandwich, white asparagus, oxtail stew, and beef cheeks! Would definitely return to this place!
It was almost time to tour the Alcazar, but Gabe insisted that more coffee was in order. So back to Torch Coffee we went, where he got a macchiato (more like a cortado). Then we returned again to the Alcazar (lots of walking this day!) for our tour. The palace and gardens were amazing to see and explore! We definitely could picture the Game of Thrones scenes in the “Water Gardens of Dorne.”
It was very interesting to see how various rulers built onto the old palace as well (something we would see again and again in the south of Spain). We spent about 2 ½ hours here. Had our feet not been so tired, we probably would have stayed longer and explored more.
It was starting to rain (we didn’t have jackets or an umbrella with us), so we found some more Bird scooters and carefully motored back toward our home area since we didn’t want to get caught in a downpour far away. Our dinner destination was a Peruvian-fusion restaurant called Nazca (in the midst of lots of construction), and while the plating/vibes were cool, imma be honest: the food was disappointing.
We got there around 8:30 and ordered tinto de verano, some kind of salmon sushi, gyozas, polenta(?) cylinders, and the worst ceviche I have ever had in my life. It looked really cool (served with dry ice), but it was not great for eating. LOL Still hungry, we ordered another fish dish, which was just alright. With the check, they served some fun, mojito-esque, foam cups...so there was that. But, overall, we were less than impressed. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. We returned “home” just after 10 and went to sleep.
SEPT 21 — TRIANA, SEVILLA
First things first on day 3, we went to the market to get breakfast supplies for the following 2 days (we’d be day-tripping to Granada and Córdoba). We decided on a busy produce vendor (an older couple), where we requested 3 mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 avocado, 2 yellow peaches (“melocoton,” I came to learn), and half a dozen eggs - all wrapped carefully and bagged for us. And all for about $6!
We took our bounty back home, and then headed back out (again on Birds!) to Torch Coffee for breakfast and coffee, before walking over the bridge to Triana. This breakfast was more “Americanized” than I had hoped. Mine was avocado toast with a side of tomato puree and a funny sous vide egg. Gabe’s was basically the same with the addition of American-esque ham and hollandaise. We also got a pour-over to share, and some orange juice. It was fine, but not nearly as good as Parcería!
Next, we walked toward the river where there’s a nice biking/running trail, saw the Torre del Oro, and crossed the Puente de Isabel II to Barrio Triana (famous for their painted ceramics, bullfighters, flamenco, and overall bohemian vibes).
Mercado de Triana on the other side of the bridge was built over the ruins of The Castle of San Jorge and the Inquisition. The ruins could be viewed for free, so we did a walk-through of the former headquarters for the Spanish Inquisition. The stories were heartbreaking! Hard to imagine such a terrifying time! Above, was just a normal market filled with all sorts of food vendors: butchers (selling pigeons), fishmongers, cheese stalls, fruit/veggies, pasta, etc.
(I wrote more about this place here).
We left the market to track down a French pastry shop on my list, which was the best idea of the day: Dulceria Manu Jara! This place was sooo legit! We got two croissants to go (should have bought several more). One was passionfruit and the other was pistachio. Both were ah-maz-ing! Then we just sort of wandered around, looking for potential ceramics to buy.
For (first) lunch, we ended up at a little spot called Las Golondrinas. We stood at the bar next to another family and ordered some kind of grilled squid, mushrooms with aioli, marinated carrots + beets, and tinto de verano (of course). This was mid-day, so we decided to cross back over the bridge to find another bar for a bit more food. We ended up at the VERY crowded, La Taberna. We wanted to try their tortilla, but they were sold out. So, instead, we stood at the bar and got a grilled fish skewer and the rice of the day. All very yummy!
Next, we went back to explore a bit more of the Barrio de Santa Cruz. We walked through the Patio de Banderas, and down the “hidden” alley of Calle Juderia (almost like entering Diagon Alley). Then turned on Calle Agua, to walk along the old city wall. We saw the supposed inspiration for the Romeo & Juliet balcony scene, and walked down “kissing street,” which is so narrow people on opposite balconies can lean across and kiss! We took a rest on a bench in a shaded square, Plaza Dona Elvira, surrounded by little cafes and bicycles. La Juderia feels like a whole other Sevilla. With its narrow streets and quaint old buildings, it feels so peaceful and calm, like a respite from the rest of the city.
Once we felt we had sufficiently explored, we headed back toward our “home,” and stopped at our now fave coffeeshop, Parcería, for an afternoon “pick me up.” We thought this would probably be our last chance to buy a little mug from them since we’d be spending the next 2 days in Granada and Cordoba.
So we got a mug (not pictured), a spiced hot chocolate, a shot of espresso, and a slice of carrot cake. Then we went back to our Airbnb for a little rest before dinner (during which I sorted pictures, posted some Insta stories, and Gabe studied for his test).
We had (9:45 pm) reservations at ConTenedor (known for their slow-cooked, organic ingredients). Gabe was meant to finish studying and take his test BEFORE we left, so we could go straight to bed after (we had an early morning the next day). But this, very unfortunately, did not happen. Regardless, our dinner was wonderful! To start, they bring you a hand-written menu on a blackboard, sit it on a little chair, and explain each and every offering! We ordered 3 courses (arguably too much food): a play on ceviche, arroz con pato (with a delicious sauce), and a steak with sweet potato mash and grilled veggies!
Very unique vibes, delicious food, pretty space, classy service, 5 stars all around! Had it not been almost midnight, we totally would have gone for dessert! Would 100% go back again!
Returning back “home,” Gabe still had his test to take (this was the only time his being in school really got in the way of our plans/sleep). We went to bed around 2 am.
Stay tuned for the next day’s adventures in Granada.
