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Stage 6: So the not so mystery guest, Ian, was waiting at Sevilla airport, and he was under pressure. Firstly, he has often described Sevilla as his favourite city, so it better be good, particularly also as he forced me to break my two night rule, another three nighter over the weekend. And secondly, after much persuasion. Ian won the battle of AirBnB vs 4 star hotel luxury…guess who was happy in the AirBnBs….we will see! 🤷♂️😊
As we had a car, firstly we checked out the Roman amphitheatre remains just a few kms from the airport, called Itálica, culture in an instance! But soon forgotten we were in the center of Sevilla, in a district called Macarena, barely 15 mins walk from the main Cathedral area and downtown…Quick spin around and with my guide, Ian…quick footed it down towards the hotspots…there was no need to wait until the real tourist areas such as the Cathedral and Plaza España, immediately and very apparent it was simply so so good…with a series of tightly packed warren of alleyways, with revealing mini plazas, surrounded of course by cafes, bars and restaurants…however it was a newbies navigating nightmare, so thankfully Ian was at hand, and what would we do without Google maps! ? 🤷♂️
Already impressed, the immense Gothic cathedral came into view, which enhanced the experience beyond possibility but later it got even better….by cutting through the barrio (suburb) of Santa Cruz, with even nicer mini plazas and that atmosphere, some absorbing of the street flamenco entertainers adjacent the Real Alcazar, and then over to the amazing Plaza España. Designed and built for the Ibero-American Exhibition completed in 1929, semi circular in design with a series of canals and bridges, with the backdrop of mind blowing architecture and design. It really has to be seen to be believed.
Adding to these sites, we also ventured to the beautiful Maria Luisa Park, Plaza Americas, a suburb across the river called Triana, a more edgy bohemian place, well worth a visit; the Torre Pelle skyscraper viewpoint and a huge party square (what I termed ) near our hotel…bars and restaurants further than the eye could see, in each direction….affectively that was it, on repeat.
Throwing into the mix, a guided bike ride with a rather enthusiastic in-depth lesson in history from well before BC from our nice local (how we learnt about Triana) and after, we decided to have a go on the Sevilla hire bikes….this was a revelation….irony was Ian wasn’t fussed, and for some reason my app wouldn’t at first work…Ian left me (in a nice way, the truth is he messed his white top up, just cannot take the boy anywhere, so he wizzed (well, on those bikes, more of a fast tootle) back to the hotel)….eventually my app worked, and we spent a full day together, going all over the place, intermittently stopping for coffee or beer….and even repeated it on them for our night out! And it goes without saying, the City had great provision with cycle lanes, although you had to keep a lookout for those confounded electric scooters! 😳🤬
We didn’t have time to tour around the Cathedral, the Alcatraz or take in an evening Flamenco show (don’t think Ian was fussed tbh 😂), can’t impinge on VDT though (valuable drinking time 🍻), priorities are priorities…but I’ll definitely be back, so maybe next time?
And as for Ian’s tests? Well, yes, I can understand why he believes it’s his favourite city, that’s clearly without debate, and as for the hotel? In fairness, I don’t think either of us were really overly impressed, but also the Airbnb in downtown Sevilla wasn’t much cheaper anyway, you just don’t get over a 100 shouty Spanish OAPs fighting over the buffet breakfast in a private apartment!🤯
We split on the Monday…and now this was my biggest challenge yet, a committed two days of real culture for me, could I cope? My track record isn’t good….but we will see….😎
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