Seville was just a short 1-hour flight from Valencia and is the fourth-largest city in Spain. Its Old Town, with an area of 4 square kilometres (2 sq mi), contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising three buildings: the Alcázar Palace, the 16th Century Seville Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies.
The Alcázar Palace is a historic royal palace in Seville and is still used by the Royal family during visits to Seville. Unfortunately, we missed going inside this very impressive Cathedral as we left it late during our visit and it was closed early at the time we rolled up to the entrance.
The Plaza de España is a huge impressive square and a must-visit. It was constructed in 1928 and is an example of mixed Spanish architecture. An interesting feature are the many tiled alcoves built around the plaza, each representing a different province of Spain. We stumbled upon the Metropol Parasol – a huge wooden structure constructed in the shape of mushrooms over 2005 – 2011.
As usual we spent much of our time exploring the interesting Old Town with its small shops and restaurants. Geoffrey couldn’t resist the Bocadillo de Jamon Iberico – Iberian Ham Baguettes! Dinner was tapas every night!
The visit to Gibraltar was a full tour from Seville that we booked with Naturanda. Although it was a group tour there was only about a dozen of us so was ideal. The bus ride is around 2-hours. Gibraltar is a British territory, and is located in an enclave south of the Iberian Peninsula 14 kms away from the African continent. Also called “The Rock“, it houses a peculiar population in which the Andalusian and British environments are mixed. There is still a lot of politics for The Rock and the history of the enclave is fascinating! After crossing the border we walk across the airport runway to the town centre. The tour then takes us to the San Miguel Caves and we stop to view and get close to the famous monkeys. A viewpoint at the Northern Pillar of Hercules is where we get the best views of the Strait of Gibraltar and the African Continent. The rest of the time was spent looking around the shops and with Gibraltar British controlled – lunch at Roy’s Fish and Chips. Overall well-worth a visit.
Please contact me if you are interested in knowing more about this destination
Getting up close and personal with the Gibraltar locals