We were up bright and early to get to the ticket office and hopefully be at or near the head of the queue for tickets for the Alcazar. We arrived at 7.45am, and found probably 40-odd people already in line. Being near the head of the queue pretty much guaranteed us tickets for the day, but the line soon included hundreds of people around three sides of the square. Perhaps half might have got a ticket before they were sold out. The ticket booth didn't open until 9am but we went armed with our e-readers and the time passed quite quickly, though it was fairly cool.
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| View of the Giralda Tower in the morning sunlight as we waited in the queue |
After we'd secured tickets for the 10.30am time slot we promptly zipped away to find a cafe to warm up and have a coffee. We found just the spot - a place selling hot chocolate and churros (the latter is dough pumped into hot fat). Needless to say John opted for the chocolate and churros. I went for the slightly lesser calorific option of an espresso and a warmed croissant filled with nutella! Delicious, and just what we needed.
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Hot chocolate and churros, coffee and nutella croissant.
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We promptly lined up again in another queue to present our tickets and finally enter the Alcazar palace. It was well worth waiting for, and made the trip to Seville a real treat. This was the main reason we came here. The Alcazar is a Moorish royal palace, first begun in the 10th century and then elaborated on over the centuries by various rulers.
The wow factor just kept rolling on as we wandered from room to room, passed through courtyards and strolled in the gardens. We spent a good two hours gazing at the intricate mosaics, carvings and tapestries, capturing much of it in over 200 photos! We have previously visited the Alhambra, a similar Moorish palace located in Granada, also in the south of Spain, which was similarly eye-watering. The Seville Alcazar appears to have a greater emphasis on ceramic tiling, and the Alhambra more carved plasterwork and filigree. Both are incredible.
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Arriving home at 1:30pm we made ourselves bread and cheese for lunch and had a bit of a rest. Tapas was the plan for dinner and we went to a nearby tapas bar which was well-rated online. We experimented with a range of small dishes (tomato, ham and cheese salmorejo, goats cheese and jam on toast, stuffed squid, warm cod and tomato salsa, meatballs, spinach and chickpeas). It was all very tasty, and washed down well with a bottle of cava. The bar was located in a quiet neighbourhood area, with kids playing in the park next to it. All-in-all, it was a very pleasant way to wrap up a great day.
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| Evening tapas |
