Seduced by Seville
Spain, September/October 2011
Seville, the capital of Andalucia, in Southern Spain took me completely by surprise. I was expecting a city of flamenco shows; bulls and matadors and shops selling tacky paper fans and miniature guitars. However, instead of feeling like a tourist you will spend the weekend hanging out with the city's residents and before long will start imagining what it would be like to actually be one.
watched the owner carve thin slices of ham from a leg that had once hung with the others above our heads.
So many cities look identical but Seville is the exception. To start with it takes a while to get your bearings which I blamed entirely on the Guadalquivir River. Unlike most European cities, the river runs from North to South before eventually ending up in the Atlantic Ocean. It also doesn’t run through the middle, so isn’t the main focal point, and probably explains why you have never heard of it before. The different districts that make up the city centre are all located on the East bank with the exception of Triana which has the opposite side of the river to itself.
The city also doesn’t have a typical “old town” surrounded by a hotch potch of modern high rise office buildings and concrete eye sores. Instead every street is stunningly beautiful and the whole atmosphere very residential. The majority of buildings are stone but a few are painted white, terracotta and ochre or decorated with yellow and blue glazed ceramic tiles. There are also several minaret-style domes as the Mudéjar or Moorish influence dominates the architecture.
Even the buildings in the quiet, narrow back streets will make you stop and stare - especially at the windows. I have to admit to falling in love with the balconies and windows of Seville. The majority of town houses and apartments have wrought iron balconies but many have been elaborately extended up to cover the main first floor window and then glazed. In fact, there were so many beautiful homes that if I won the lottery it would be difficult to choose a favourite.
Another thing that is different is the lack of traffic in the city centre with the exception of taxis, horse drawn carriages, pedal bikes and mopeds and the majority of streets are pedestrianised. The main wide boulevards are beautifully paved and subtly sub-divided into lanes by silver discs - pedestrians next to the buildings under the shade of orange and palm trees; then a bike lane and, in the middle, modern silent trams. The main traffic runs along the riverside boulevard or around the ring road and, as Seville is completely flat, it’s easy to explore a couple of different neighbourhoods a day.
The Santa Cruz quarter is home to the city’s three most famous buildings – The Cathedral, The Giralda and the Alcázar Palace. The inside of the gothic cathedral is one of the most interesting I’ve visited and is where you will find the tomb of Christopher Columbus and, in one of the corners, the entrance to The Giralda tower.
The cathedral was built on the site of the city’s mosque whose minaret was incorporated into the cathedral and became its bell tower. The tower is square and there aren’t any steps to climb, as it was built with horses in mind. Instead the floor is herringbone bricked and leads you past bay windows where you can stop for a rest and admire the ever increasing views. Forty-four floors later you will reach the main balcony and twenty bells of different sizes. Above this level is an even larger bell and above that the El Giraldillo statue – a replica of which stands outside the ticket entrance where you can admire it without straining your neck.
The enormous cathedral dominates the view from two sides of the balcony along with its courtyard filled with symmetrical rows of orange trees. In the other two directions there are very few landmarks, apart from the Alcázar Palace and the bull ring, as the city is totally low rise. What you do get is a fantastic bird’s eye view of the roof tops of the buildings you have been walking around. The majority have roof terraces covered with potted plants and some are multi-levelled with spiral staircases and you can spot the hotels by their swimming pools. Just don’t forget that you are standing in a bell tower and that the bells chime every 15 minutes and are very loud.
There are many impressive buildings to admire around the Cathedral but eventually you will arrive at the Lion’s Door entrance of the Alcázar Palace, one of the oldest royal residences in Europe and not surprisingly, along with the Cathedral, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Originally a Moorish fort, the courtyards and patios, water features, sunken gardens, colourful mosaic tiled walls and solid carved wooden doors will leave you speechless.
With so many amazing rooms you will find it hard to tear yourself away but eventually the frequent glimpses of the palace’s formal gardens will entice you outside. Palm trees, Roman walls and low box hedges divide the garden into sections where you will find pools filled with monster-sized carp, grapes hanging from vines and peacocks hiding in shady bushes. The only thing that will stop you spending the whole day here is the heat of the sun.
Once you’ve visited the main buildings of Santa Cruz it’s time to get lost in the labyrinth of streets that surround them. When you exit the Palace, turn right and follow its walls stopping briefly to listen to the acoustic guitarists or admire miniature oil paintings. Here you will discover beautiful shady squares, hidden courtyards and a multitude of narrow, single file lanes that weave in and out this enchanting district. It will take you several attempts to find your way around but somehow you will always end up in Mateos Gago Street.
There are several modern bars on this street with their speciality tapas displayed on blackboards and wooden tables and chairs balanced on the pavement’s edge underneath orange trees. There are also a couple of traditional bars and one that could be mistaken as an empty garage. At the weekends this strange bar - Alvaro Peregil - was the one the locals preferred and the small section of pavement outside was heaving with everyone drinking beers and munching on jamón and Manchego bocadillos (small toasted crusty rolls with ham and cheese). Its fun to explore Santa Cruz both day and night and in the evening it’s the good place to learn to “tapear”.
Before coming to Seville I could never understand the concept of a tapas dinner. I thought it was a meal made up of lots of different dishes that you shared with friends and I had always found it unsatisfying. However, if you were a Spaniard you would have your main meal at lunchtime, followed by a siesta and not venture out until after 9pm. Then at each bar you would order a small hot tapas dish or a plate of delicious Manchego cheese or thin hand cut slices of Iberian ham which will be served with a basket of sliced French bread and pellet sized bread sticks. Once you’ve finished you move on to the next bar and repeat the process trying that bar’s speciality tapas accompanied by a glass of wine or another glass of cerveza.
white awnings hang from building to building across the narrow streets or in the squares are supported by flag poles providing shade
The strange thing about ordering a beer in Seville is that you never know what size of glass you are going to get. In the traditional bars when you order “dos cervezas” you will get two small tumblers which to a Scotsman would be like a “shot” of beer. However, living in a city where temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees, the last thing you want is a pint of warm beer so I presume the logic is that small glasses will always guarantee your beer is at a perfect thirst quenching temperature.
All the bars have silver tissue containers on their tables that have the establishment’s details on them. You will go through many of these thin tissues as the majority of tapas are eaten with your fingers. It’s quite fun to collect a clean one from each bar as a way of keeping track of how many you’ve visited or just to remind you the next day which was your favourite.
Once you’ve got into the swing of Spanish bar hopping its time to be brave and try the traditional bars in the heart of Santa Cruz and instead of opting for a table on the street, go inside. Standing at the bar, next to the locals, you can admire the memorabilia, old bullfighting posters and black and white photographs of the owners and their families hanging on the walls. At our favourite bar – Las Teresas - we had our tapas order marked in chalk on the marble bar in front of us and watched the owner carve thin slices of ham from a leg that had once hung with the others above our heads.
Although it’s great to embrace the tapas culture there comes a time when you need a proper meal. San Marco is an Italian at the top of Mateos Gago Street and, at weekends and evenings, the pavement outside the primary school opposite provides al fresco dining. However, even if you can’t get a table outside it’s worth eating indoors as the restaurant is stunningly beautiful with stone walls, alcoves and separate dining rooms spread over two floors and overlooking an internal courtyard in what was once a townhouse.
The other fun street is Betis in Triana, which runs along the West bank of the river between the bridges of San Telmo and Puente de Triana. Starting at the San Telmo end you will come to a row of restaurants that have terraces, jetties and gardens on the river’s edge that range from the old fashioned to the very modern. Further along, the street turns into one large outdoor restaurant with tables and chairs set out on the pavement overlooking the river and your food comes from the restaurants across the road with the speciality being paella.
On the city side of Puente de Triana you will find Bar Capote, whose palm tree, riverfront location and live DJ is a cool place to kick off the evening. The rooftop bar of our hotel (EME) was also very popular as it overlooked the Cathedral and Giralda Tower and every evening spot lights turn the latticed tower into gold and created the perfect backdrop for cocktails and photographs.
Seville is such a sociable city and everyone loves being outdoors. Every night, shady court yards and streets are packed with neighbours, friends and families sitting on mosaic benches, plastic chairs or standing around beer barrels chatting, eating tapas and enjoying a glass of beer or wine. For the four nights we were in Seville we didn’t see one drunken person or any gangs of youths. It was all very civilised and safe.
Although the Santa Cruz district will entice you back many times during your visit there are so many other neighbourhoods worth exploring. Walking from the Cathedral through Puerta de Jerez you will come to the stunning 1929 built Alfonso XIII hotel and next to it the Seville University which used to be a Tobacco Factory. You can walk right through the university as it has an entrance on either side and, on San Fernando Street, you can mingle with the students and have the cheapest beer in Seville especially on Wednesdays. Or if that’s not your scene at the end of the road, beside the Murillo Gardens, is the more upmarket Oriza bar and restaurant.
From here a walk through the ancient botanical park of Maria Luisa will bring you to the site of the 1929 Iberio-American Exposition and the Plaza de España which is incredible in a “Disney-land” theme park way. You can even hire a rowing boat and navigate the moat that follows the semi-circular buildings with its ceramic tiled balustrades, bridges, street lamps and stairways. Colourful, tiled alcoves run along the lower part of the building each representing a region in Spain and although the plaza is as impressive as it was in its hey day it seems such a waste for it to be used as government offices.
The district sitting between the Cathedral and the river is El Arenal where you will find more tapas bars, Torre del Oro, an antique market and the bull ring. Further on is Seville’s official town centre and located in Plaza de San Francisco the incredible 16th century City Hall and the entrance to the main shopping streets of Tetuan and Sierpes.
Although Seville has all the typical high street brands as well as places to buy tacky souvenirs what is wonderful is the amount of old fashioned, authentic shops that still exist. Everything from ceramics and silver; guitars and castanets; flamenco dresses and embroidered shawls; hand painted fans and elaborate hair decorations. Our favourite was Maqueda’s with its felt sombreros, fedoras and matador caps and if you take a peak inside you will see hundreds of hat boxes lining the stairway and stacked against the walls.
and if you take a peak inside you will see hundreds of hat boxes lining the stairway and stacked against the walls.
Seville gets so hot in the summer that white awnings hang from building to building across the narrow streets or in the squares are supported by rows of flag poles providing shade for the pedestrians below. If you thought this was a simplistic way to block out the sun then head to La Encarnación Square where you will find the Metropol Parasol – a bizzare modern sculpture that although does its job, in my opinion, is totally out of character with the rest of the city. If you keep walking you will come to the Macarena district where you can follow the original city walls and see the old entrance gates as well as visit the city’s oldest market.
Besides Santa Cruz my favourite area was around Puerta de la Carne (Meat Door) where you will find some great bars and restaurants. Despite its name the oldest restaurant here is in fact a fish & chip shop although it does not sell chips and their croquettes were not a good substitute. Freiduria was established in 1929 and you order - or point - to the fried calamari or different bite size pieces of fish at the counter. Then once it’s been weighed, wrapped in a paper cone and paid for, you take it outside to eat at one of the tables.
The best part is that one of the waiters from the restaurant across the street will come over to take your drinks order to accompany your carry-out. After your fish supper the best ice cream shop in Seville (and there are a few to choose from) can be found right across the street. There are two heladerias right next door to each other but it was at Villar that we discovered the addictive chocolate ice-cream infused with pieces of rice crispies and jellied orange.
As you walk around Seville and explore each district you will notice on every street corner and every square there is a church and the majority have a higher façade to the front encompassing a bell. The city also has several convents and you will see nuns and priests wandering around the streets as well as many shops selling religious icons. The main festivals in Seville are Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Feria de Abril (April Fair) when the city is covered in orange tree blossom and the processions must be incredible to see.
It was so easy to fall into the vibe of Seville. From being woken by the Cathedral bells at 9.00 am and heading to Cerveceria Giralda for breakfast; exploring a couple of neighbourhoods and stopping for a café solo (espresso) or a cold cerveza at midday. More exploring, and then around 2.00 pm escaping from the sun and enjoying a long lunch followed by a late afternoon siesta. Waking up again at 8.30 pm and heading to our hotel’s rooftop bar for a glass of Cava before tapear-ing with the locals until midnight. In fact it would be fair to say that I was seduced by Seville and could quite happily become a permanent tourist.