Day 77 of our journey.

Our next destination had now been decided, the beautiful Seville. As we wanted to stay for several days, we were faced with the choice of a suitable pitch for our Dexter to find. The places available near the city didn't give us much hope at first and none of them convinced us one hundred per cent. It had to be close to the centre, but in a quiet location and offer us and our dogs a bit of exercise. We chose the Area de autocaravanas Gelves in the town of the same name south of Seville. The pitch was located directly on the banks of the Guadalquivirin the boat and marina harbour. We stood with our camper in the centre of the quay and had a great view of the boats arriving and departing. If you leave the harbour to the north, after a few minutes you reach a walking and cycling path that you can take directly to the centre of Seville. This was ideal for us and our dogs. The bus stop directly in front of the harbour is ideal for a trip into the city. Line 140 runs here approximately every twenty minutes towards the city centre with a journey time of just under twenty minutes.

Plaza de España

As usual, we left our dogs in the camper and set off to visit the city. Seville offers so much to see that you can't fit all the special features and sights into a three-day visit. So we will only write here about the places we visited. Our first destination was the Plaza de España with the Pabellón de España and the neighbouring Parque de María Luisa. Various buildings in this southern area of Seville originate from the plans of the Ibero-American exhibition The Pabellón, the Plaza de España, the Parque and many other buildings such as the Teatro Lope de Vega or the Plaza de América were built on farmland at the time. In this way, a completely new district of Seville was created in one fell swoop, which, in contrast to various planning errors at other expos or world exhibitions, was harmoniously integrated into the new cityscape.

The Pabellón de España surrounds the Plaza de España in a semi-circle. The inward-facing front of the building features 52 Tile pictures scenes of Spanish history and each of these scenes stands for one of the Provinces of Spain. The tile pictures were nicely laid out as U-shaped seating areas. This is the perfect place to take a break in Granada or Barcelona. The square is surrounded by a pool of water and if you feel like it, you can take a few minutes to take a boat trip around the square. Flamenco groups show off their skills and envelop the square with Spanish music. We stayed here for a while, listening to the music and watching the dancers before heading into town.

Real Alcazar - the royal palace

Our next destination was the Real Alcazarthe medieval royal palace of Seville. The history of the palace dates back to Moorish times and was originally built as a fort. A large part of the modern facilities were built in the 14th century on the Moorish ruins built and they are one of the best preserved examples of the Mudejar architecturethe buildings constructed under Christian rule with Islamic influence. Other architectural styles were added by later monarchs. The palace also includes the extensive gardens from the period Charles V. The entire complex is surrounded by a high fortress wall, which is partially accessible and offers a good view of the gardens and the palace. The whole complex is extremely impressive and you should allow at least two to three hours for the entire tour.

We still had a little time to explore the rest of the city and strolled through the Barrio de Santa Cruzthe smallest and most charming neighbourhood in Seville. It consists of a maze of narrow streets and inviting squares. There are numerous restaurants and cafés here. One tapas bar follows the next. However, we were drawn to the northern part of the city La Macarenaprobably the most authentic in Seville. By this point, you have left the chic shopping streets behind and things become more colourful and alternative. Small bars serve beer at bar tables and there are many small shops. The neighbourhood is bordered by the Alameda de Hérculesthe green lung of the city. The large square is lined with cafés and restaurants with fountains and park benches in the shade of the trees.

Last but not least, we paid a visit to the Metropol Parasol a visit. That too Las Setas the mushroom-shaped building designed by the German architect Mayer-Hermann is the largest wooden structure in the world. For an entrance fee, you can take a lift up to the viewing platform and walkways allow you to explore the individual levels, offering unusual views of the city. So ended three days in Seville and we were glad to have included it in our plans after all, as we didn't really feel like doing much sightseeing at the time. We will definitely be back, hasta luego Sevilla! Now the time had finally come, Morocco could come. We got the news from the vet in Tarifa that the papers for Masou and Youma were ready. Our journey now took us south again and then to the other continent. You can find out more about this in the next post.

Our driving route in this article

With pictures and locations (zoom in and click points).

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