Day 2
Woke up late today and had breakfast at Hotel EME (5 min
walk from our house) near the Cathedral. This hotel was feature don the Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills a few seasons ago when Tamra Barney and her
boyfriend Eddie went on vacation to Seville. I was curious to check it out and
it totally lived up to my expectations. Bright, airy and modern and it had the best
coffee right on the main square. We would make it a habit to stop there each
morning for coffee and breakfast while Victor made friends with the girl
selling ice cream next to the hotel and got a lot of free samples (she did not
speak English and he did not speak Spanish but the two of them hit it off
somehow).
Next stop was the amazing Moorish castle of Alcazar. While
smaller and less famous than Alhambra, we had heard that Alcazar is the
more authentic and the better landscaped one of the two. There was a very short
line to get in and we set off on exploring the gardens first trying to give
Victor a chance to run around a bit and get tired before we focused on the
“more boring” bits inside.
The gardens are amazing, with lots of greenery,
flowers, fountains and things to discover. There are azulejo tiles everywhere
and while Chris and I were admiring the art of the tiles, Victor was just happy to run
and hide behind columns, look into the vents that were connected to underground
tunnels and try to make friends with the dozen or so geese that walked around
the park.
Inside were the famous golden arches, a breath-taking pool decorated
with tiles and some unique artwork.
On our way out we were surprised by a fast-approaching
thunderstorm so we ducked into the first restaurant we saw and took the last
available table. It was a typical Seville place with jamon (huge chunks of smoked
ham) hanging from the ceiling and tables placed so close to each other that you
are touching your neighbor’s arm every time you pick up your fork.
The Food
Oh, the food in Seville is to die for. In
every single tiny little place that we had lunch or dinner the food was fresh,
tasty and unique. We ordered a bunch of tapas and Chris practiced his
minimal Spanish (surprisingly, not many locals speak good English but
communication usually goes well) and we avoided the rain while enjoying fresh
olives, fish and cheeses. I have to say that Victor loved the food there so
much that he ate pretty much everything that we ordered and pretty much
devoured tons of olives each day. Tapas are perfect for kids of many ages as
there is always a huge variety and plates are relatively small so you can try
many different things. We noticed local kids eat everything - no pizza or
chicken nuggets on offer which was fine by me.
The afternoon we took the Hop On Hop Off bus to take a break
from walking and to explore parts of the city that we would not have time to
visit in depth. The buses are great as they give you head phones that narrate the
journey in your language of choice and you can also get on and off as much as
you want for the day.
We started at the Torre del Orro (Gold Tower), which is
the bus stop closes to downtown and the Cathedral, then drove through the
modern part of town and along the river (I was actually surprised that the area
alongside the river was underutilized and sort of bare) and rode through
Traiana – the cure area where the factory workers used to live and often
associated with flamenco dancing on the streets, little bars and restaurants
and more alternative living. The bus ride put Victor to sleep after a while and
we just relaxed and enjoyed the sights. There is really a lot to see in this
relatively small city.
Dinner that night was back at Hotel EME who have a smallish
but really hip (and surprisingly child-friendly despite the local fashionistas
on display) bar area that, despite its small size, prepares amazing food. The
tuna salad and the local sushi rolls were all amazing.
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