Sevilla! The capital of Andalusia and famous for the Alcázar castle, the Plaza de España and the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. Surprisingly, it was overcast and rainy during our visit – we were quite happy with that, as it is easier to do sightseeing in drizzly weather than in the summer heat.
Let’s start with the Alcázar castle, which was featured in the Game of Thrones:
The Plaza de España, which was featured in Star Wars:
The very impressive Cathedral, which is also the site of Christopher Columbus’s tomb. Obviously, we had to climb up the Giralda, the minaret-turned-bell tower:
We also ventured across the river to the Triana neighbourhood – less glitzy but full of interesting streets, shops and bars:
And the markets! Although I have seen many markets now, I just simply can’t get enough of them. The colours, the smells, the sounds – all so fascinating.
We also visited the weirdest place we’ve seen up to now in Spain – El Rocio, about an hour away from Sevilla. It borders on the Doñana National Park, which is a place full of wild lagoons and marshes (and hosts beautiful flamingos!)
El Rocio looks like a film set from a spaghetti western – sandy streets, well-kept old little houses and horse-drawn carriages. It is quite empty and has the atmosphere of a ghost town. However, El Rocio hosts an annual pilgrimage at Pentecost and things change completely: at the festival “Romería Del Rocío” nearly a million people come to this little town to honour the saint and enjoy the party atmosphere. Hard to imagine!
Empty, save for some restaurants for the lonely tourists:
So very different from Sevilla, but this eerie experience was definitely worth the trip!