Seville is Spain's third largest city with a population of 700 000. It is also home to the Alcazar, a Moorish and Catholic palace and the official residence of the Spanish monarchy. After spending time in Morocco and the smaller towns of the Andalucian countryside, Seville felt frenetic. We were staying in very center of the city, and found ourselves swept up in the throngs of tourists, Spanish, European and international, that pour through the city.
In an effort to escape the hustle-bustle of tourist shops and herds of tour groups, R. and I headed down to the river, the Rio Guadalquiver which flows north to south through the city. We spent the better part of the morning walking alongside the river front, and stopped for a light lunch at one of the little cafes.
The heat of the day finally drove us back to our hotel for a siesta - the mercury in Seville was staying firmly in the 30s. By the late afternoon the breeze had picked up and we headed out to the main square at the cathedral and Alcazar. All through the day we had seen tourists taking horse and carriage rides round the city, and we finally decided to treat ourselves to a romanitc carriage ride through Seville. It turned out to be such a wonderful way to see the city! We saw the Plaza de Espana, a beautiful 200m long building that now houses the Spanish military offices. The building hugs a sweeping plaza and features ceramic mosaics depicting every Spanish province. We also rode through the Parque de Maria Luisa and Gardens of San Sebastian.
We spent the rest of the evening strolling through the streets and stopping for tapas, before settling down to a lovely dinner at a very la-di-da restuarant! One of the tapas we tried was the caracoles, or snails! This is something of a speciality in Spain, and from what I can gather, these little delicacies are not available all year round. As such, when bars have stock, they post big signs "Hay Caracoles!" (There are snails!) Our friendly barman was more than happy to demonstrate how to eat the little blighters - you quite simply pick up the shell and suck the tasty morsel out. They were quite scrumptious! (And they are in fact cooked - they taste quite salty and herby!)
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