I have been fascinated with Spain ever since I read Michener’s epic The Drifters as a teenager, about a group of young hippies who spend time in Spain including going to the famous Running of the Bulls. That interest only deepened later when I found Hemingway and watched Anthony Bourdain’s episodes in Andalucia and other parts of Spain. The country seemed amazing to me, less pretentious than France, less chaotic than Italy. With amazing food, relaxed and happy people, and amazing traditions and culture that have spread across the world. All of this juxtaposed with their atrocious campaign of colonization, basically wiping whole peoples off the face of the earth, and yet leaving a legacy today across 3 continents where the people are still speaking the language and carrying Spanish genes. Leaving that aspect of history behind, I most of all wanted to experience the food, smell the air, and see the architecture that spans through Roman and Moorish rule. I finally got my chance to visit last year where my company kickoff was planned at a small resort town outside of Seville. I got to extend my trip through the weekend and had a whirlwind couple of days exploring the city.
My first impression of Seville was that it was small and relaxed. Many streets were open to pedestrians only and there weren’t any skyscrapers, most of the buildings were older. Walking through the old-town cobbled streets to my hotel, I had to push past many tourists and found it hard to navigate the small sidewalks with my luggage. After checking into my spartan AirBnB, I went back out to do some exploring. The centerpiece of the area where I was staying was the Santa Maria Cathedral, a big and beautiful church with fantastic spires that stood out sharply against the clear blue sky. I walked down the main pedestrian street filled with cafes and boutique shops to the riverside, which was extremely peaceful and had beautiful views of the old buildings on the other side. I also wandered through the Plaza Nueva with a monument of San Fernando. I found it interesting they had signs up supporting Ukraine.
After a week of mediocre buffet food at the resort, my main goal for the weekend was to sample all of the culinary delights I could find. I was happy to spend my time mainly exploring by myself as we had a packed schedule and I was a bit overstimulated from being around all my colleagues for meetings during the day and social activities every night. I made my way over to Bar El Viruta for a late lunch, sitting at a table outside under the afternoon sun in a quiet neighborhood was amazing as I enjoyed my first authentic tapas meal. I was very overzealous in ordering and ended up with Jamon, croquettes, chicken, a tortilla, a chorizo sandwich, and an espresso. Everything was wonderful, but the jamon and tortilla really stood out. The Jamon had that wonderful funky taste of aged meat and just the right amount of fat-to-meat ratio, and the tortilla was tall and browned drizzled with an amazing olive oil covering the egg and potatoes.
I had plans to go train jiujitsu that evening at the Roger Gracie Seville Academy, so after going back to my hotel to pick up my gear, I strolled through another part of the city on the way to the gym. It was around 6 o’clock, and the streets were buzzing with people just finishing work and starting their evenings. I walked past the famous Setas de Sevilla, an iconic wooden structure in the middle of a square with plenty of places for people to gather and relax around it. The jiujitsu training was super fun, the instruction was in Spanish, but with a few pointers in English from the coach, and having seen the moves before I was able to follow along fine. I always enjoy training when I travel because it is a great way to meet locals and experience something other than tourist attractions. I rolled with some blue and white belts, as well as the coach. I’m always extra nice when I am a guest at the gym and roll very relaxed so I don’t offend anyone or make them feel like I’m coming in to challenge them. But my defense held up well, so I felt pretty good after the session. After going back to shower and change I headed out for a very Spanish-time dinner at around 11 pm. This time I went to one of the more famous tapas bars that is recommended in many guides, Casa Morales. The interior was gorgeous with bottles of wine lining the walls and huge legs of Jamon hanging from the ceiling. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and could picture Hemingway or Michener dining there 60 years ago without much having changed at all. The local beer was light and accompanied the richness of the food perfectly, the highlights for this meal were the chicharrones and foie gras, which were both excellent. Together with more Jamon and croquettes, the whole bill was only 13.70 euros. What a steal!
The next morning I woke up late and had a simple breakfast of Jamon sandwich with tomato and an espresso. Before wandering through more of the city. The small streets with cafes, mom-and-pop stores, and little fruit stands were a delight to walk through, and the sun was shining brightly, without it being too hot since it was the beginning of May. I ended up at Casa Molina for lunch (I warned you that food was my main goal of this trip), where I had more delicious Jamon, and kind of spinach casserole, and fries covered in a white gravy. The only disappointment of the meal, and maybe the whole weekend, was the grilled squid, which was flavorless and rubbery. In the early evening, I walked through the area of the Basilica de la Macarena and was lucky to encounter the beginning of the processions for Easter. Statues of Jesus on the cross and the Virgin Mary are paraded through the streets carried by people on their shoulders, and again it looks like something that hasn’t changed much over the last 500 years.
For dinner, I met a colleague and we went to the famous Espacio Eslava, which is known as one of the best tapas bars in town. We enjoyed a fine bottle of Rioja wine and splurged on a variety of dishes. Some of the highlights were the sticky pork ribs, grilled octopus, clams, and fried sardines. As it was Saturday night, the bars and restaurants were still packed when we made our way over to the Bodega La Aurora around midnight. This place had tables outside on the sidewalk that looked like they would be great to stand around and eat and chat, but as they were full, we ended up sitting at the bar. While not quite as picturesque as Casa Morales, the interior was also memorable, with huge casks of wine and Sangria filling the area behind the bar. We finally called it a night at around 1 am, and as I walked through the now slightly damp streets it was mostly quiet, except for a few discos I passed, lit up in neon, with thumping techno music pouring out of the interior and bouncing off the walls of the neighboring old buildings.
My final day, Sunday, started early and I had plans to hit the most tourist sites of my trip with a couple of colleagues before heading to the airport that afternoon. Our first stop was the Alcazar, a royal palace built for the king of Castille. The palace has gone through many iterations and additions since starting off originally as a Visigothic basilica prior to the year 712. The Islamic era rulers built out the gardens and residences of the complexes in the 1100s before the Christians took back over and made more additions in the 1300s. The striking layers of decoration and architecture blend beautifully, and the gardens are fantastic, especially with majestic peacocks wandering the grounds. After exploring the palace we stopped for a small breakfast where we had another tortilla (I need eggs for breakfast), and espresso. We then headed over to the Plaza de Espana, where government buildings sit in front of a huge open area with fountains and waterways. Tiled murals representing different parts of the region line the walls, and flamenco dancers perform for the tourists walking by. It was a beautifully sunny day with clear skies, but still cool enough to need a light sweater, so a perfect temperature to walk around.
We had just enough time for lunch before heading to the airport, so we went over to Restaurante Alcoy, another highly recommended tapas place. Spanish service is known to be slow, but this restaurant really took it to another level, and it took us almost two hours after sitting down to finish our meal. The wait was worth it though, as I finally got to try the tinned sardines that Anthony Bourdain raved so much about. They were nothing like canned fish in the US and went amazingly with the cheesy garlic bread we ordered. We were all stuffed from 3 days of eating, so we didn’t order a lot, just the sardines, a charcuterie board, and a big portion of Jamon to nibble on. We sat outside under the sun, which was very peaceful and made me feel like a local, but when we went in to use the toilet, I loved the interior of this restaurant as well. It seemed like someone’s house, with a maze of narrow hallways that opened up into small rooms with 2 or 3 tables in each, and of course, the ubiquitous wine bottles and Jamon hanging from the shelves.
Overall I loved Seville, I’m pleased with the attitude I went in with of a relaxed weekend mainly eating and wandering the city, and only hitting a few of the biggest attractions. It is a peaceful city that should be savored over slow meals, cups of espresso, and bottles of wine. I also personally loved the culture of eating late dinners well after 8 or 9 pm, with so much amazing food, you need more time to experience it all!