One month after having Weston, we decided to take advantage of Jayson’s final weekend on paternity leave and venture out on our first trip in Spain. We decided on Seville since it is only 1.5 hours from us and we had heard so many great things about it. We spent one night and almost 2 days there and still didn’t get to see everything it has to offer. To say this town is beautiful is an understatement. The architecture, attention to detail, lush greenery, and charm of this town is just breathtaking. Seville has over 1.6 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest city in all of Spain.

We started at Plaza de Espana. This was originally built to house the Exposition World’s fair in 1929. It brought together over 18 countries in hopes of improving their trade and relations. This structure took over 19 years to build and is now used as a consulate and government offices.

The plaza has a mote in the middle spanning the half circle of continuous buildings. The building can be accessed by crossing over one of its four main bridges that represent the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. The inside bottom ring of the plaza is detailed with ornate tiles and sections representing each province in Spain.

This was also the sight of the filming of Star Wars episode 1. This is what it really looks like, compared to what it was made to look like in the film.

Pretty neat!!!

Next we visited the cathedral of Seville. This is the third largest church in the world after Saint Peter’s in Rome and Saint Paul’s in London. This is the final resting place of the remains of Christopher Columbus.

On our second day, we toured the Real Alcazar. This is a royal palace built in the 14th century. The upper levels of this palace are still used by the royal family today and is therefore the oldest royal palace still used in all of Europe. This palace boasts numerous courtyards, myriad rooms, and lavish gardens and water features.

This is the beautiful rainwater tank baths beneath the patio.

 

There is also a chapel where Columbus met with Ferdinand and Isabella after his second voyage to discover the Americas.

This location was also used for the movies Lawrence of Arabia and Kingdom of Heaven. It was most recently the film site of episodes from season five of Game of Thrones.

Here are some pictures of the city itself. Sorry for the history lesson, but I find it so mesmerizing the time, effort, and attention to detail that these structures offer. Considering all of this was built before America was even discovered is just amazing. They definitely don’t build them like this anymore.

Now bring on more visitors so I can go back here and show you all around!! 🙂