Sevilla - the door to Andalusia
I obviously can't proclaim this just yet since I haven't seen the rest of Andalusia, but the people here are the friendliest and warmest people so far. Sevilla being one of the major cities of Andalusia still has such a homely feel.
The minute you get here you can feel somehow everything is just more relaxed and stress free. There are literally 'no worries' in life and everyone is ready for a chat even if they don't understand each other - Sevilla for me was the perfect change after the fast and crazy busy days in Madrid.
Arriving in the evening, we are thrilled to find that our apartment from airbnb is right in Centro and perfectly placed between the Cathedral and Metropol 5-10 mins walk. With our map and directions in hand we made our way towards one of the dinner recommendations. Something to note (if you are daring like the three of us to venture in the peak of summer to Andalusia) - most of the popular restaurants are closed in August as they are all escaping the heat. We still managed to find a nice spot and had some yummy food and wine along with a bottle to go since we had decided it was the morning of sleeping in :)
We split the two main monuments over the two days that we were there for and so our day began with the Cathedral and Giralda and I found out that I have now complete 3 of the largest cathedrals around; Vatican, St Paul's in London and the Sevilla Cathedral. The audio guide for this place is quite detailed with the history of the Cathedral which was built in the 15th century on the site where a mosque preceded during the Islamic rule. The mosque was knocked down to be replaced by constructing a church 'so large, future generations will think we were mad' and hence it's mammoth size.
Apart from some numerous richly decorated chapels you will find the elaborate Tomb of Christipher Columbus, where speculators aren't sure the remains really reached Sevilla. You should also make your way to the Chapter house.
But the beauty of the internal works really makes it's appearance when you finally make your way to the Capilla Mayor, the main chapel and see it's magnificent altarpiece. It is reckoned to be the largest altarpiece in the world.
Finally we climbed the 34 slopes rather than steps up the Giralda (bell tower) and saw a gorgeous view of the city and a view of the garden within the cathedral which is the only area that still has signs of the original mosque and it's layout and fountains among the orange trees sure reminds you of an Islamic palace garden.
After a a good 2.5 hours inside here we were ready for a rest and some food to refuel. I would recommend skipping the immediate perimeter outside the cathedral as it is super touristy and find one of the small lanes towards the exit which takes you to some more local spots. With a friendly waiter we get served some delicious black paella, gambal (prawn) in some spicy olive oil and some chilli chorizo and potatoes.
The rest of the afternoon was to be spent walking around Centro and exploring the small lanes of the old city and obviously making our way to the shopping area and hitting Zara and Massimo Dutti. Needing to rest again with the effort involved in shopping we made our way to our favourite plaza del Salvador which has the liveliest and cheapest bar La Antigua Botegueta which was to become our local refreshment spot during our time in Sevilla with Tinto de Verano (red wine and a fizzy drink mix).
The night held our search for a flamenco show and were told that the usually start around 10 pm and so like true Indians we only manage to make our way towards the spot by 10:45 which was in the Triana area across the river. Crossing the river did remind me of Florence a bit, the bridges are no way as glorious or famous but it still was a beautiful walk across. When we finally reached we realise that Indian standard time is nothing compared with the Spanish. The owners we literally just opening the shutters for the bar at 11:15 and so we waited, had some drinks till about 1 am and still with no sign of the show beginning we finally conceded and made our way back only to be diverted by the sound of good music and chatter coming from an open bar right by the river and so the night continued till we got home. And yet another night spent in true Spanish style came to an end :)
