Part III: Tours, Taps and Tapas: Seville, Cordoba and Toledo

Seville's Plaza de España

Sevilla

Once positioned in our primely located AirBnB (love AirBnB!), we enjoyed Seville’s southern metropolitan, laid back atmosphere. But entering the city after dark, having to navigate to our jewel in the midst of a labyrinth-like area of the city, made us ready for some good food and drinks.

Luckily, Restaurante El Bacalao was about twenty paces from our door. We arrived near closing time but our gracious waiter, Juancho, was very accommodating letting us sitting in the main dining room despite us not wanting to order full meals. We did all order a starter each, to share ,and a bottle of wine. Each food choice was 5* quality and some of the highest caliber of food creations we’ve had while in Spain. Our favorite was a sliced cod with avocado dish topped by a sweet balsamic sauce drizzled across the dish. A wonderful late night surprise. ​

From Apartamentos Campana, our AirBnB, we were able to walk to many attractions, but we were also able to catch a Hop On, Hop Off tourist bus a few steps away. The apartment was set up like a hotel with a concierge and was decorated tastefully and practically, with a high level of attention to quality. We enjoyed our duo of small balconies overlooking the little street below, displaying the busy hum of life in Sevilla. We were also able to visit the rooftop terrace with lots of shade, seating and a jacuzzi tub, undoubtedly, a favorite place for guests in the summer heat.

Our first day, after the men scored me a wheelchair (see Spain blog, Part II for that story), took us wandering the corridor-like streets until we found a great little craft brewery called Maquila for lunch and some flavorful brews. We then wandered our way towards the Seville Cathedral a.k.a. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See. We didn’t enter but the outside was a beautiful sight as this cathedral is considered the third largest church in the world, but the largest cathedral in the world as it is led by a Bishop (fact: a cathedral is typically a larger place of worship but has a bishop running it, whereas a group of clergyman or priests run a church). Much like other cathedrals in Spain, this place began as a mosque with initial construction beginning in 1184. Christopher Columbus and his son, Diego, are both buried inside the cathedral.

After having a restorative break at a waterside open-aired lounge along the banks of the Guadalquivir River, we strolled, me in my “carriage”, through Maria Luisa Park on our way to the Plaza de España. Not having much time to explore, we could see it was a beautiful and expansive park that deserved more exploration with many pathways and well signed directions to specific gardens and monuments. Plaza de España was next on our agenda.

Angel, our friend, has special childhood memories of Spain, as he spent many summers with his Spanish grandparents in the north, and Plaza de España allowed him time to be reminded of his loving summers where he lived as the Spaniard he partially was. His parents were both from Spain and immigrated to England allowing their children dual citizenship. He was given the gift of living and knowing his Spanish relatives as he returned ‘home’ each summer. The Plaza de España is home to a tribunal pavilion building honouring all 50 provinces of Spain, and this is where Angel found his home province of La Coruña represented.

After taking some pictures of Angel, and his wife, Louise, in front of the tiled alcove representing Corona’s history and industry, we walked around the terrace of the semi-circle building, over the bridged moat and stopped to admire the fountain. It was hard to believe that this building, despite looking, architecturally, as old as many of the other centuries-old buildings we had been viewing in this city, was only built in 1929 as part of the Ibero-American Exposition World’s Fair. It has since been featured in many films such as in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones as the Planet Naboo.

Metropol Parasol in Seville

Since I have mentioned new and mesmerizing architecture in Seville, I’d be remiss to not mention the Metropol Parasol. This massive structure consists of 6 parasols that resemble mushrooms. There are 4 levels that include a basement Antiquarium where Roman and Moorish ruins were uncovered and are now displayed, a street level market area, a first level recreational area, and two levels of terraces and a nice restaurant. German architect Jürgen Mayer completed this in 2011 and it is said to be the largest wooden structure in the world.

Day two brought rain, and since we were located in a lovely shopping district with a large department store named El Cortes Ingles. We did a little shopping and were delighted to find a high end, gourmet food court of sorts on the top floor of El Cortes Ingles, so we ate some delicious food, tapas, of course, to share, and were able to order some delicious wine. Come to find out later, the adjoining terrace is apparently one of the nicest in the city, and a good spot to come to get a nice view of city lights in the evening. After a couple of hours, some fashions lessons on business casual, and a trip to the grocery section to buy Sangria ingredients, we were ready to make the wet beeline back to our AirBnB with a goal to find Flamenco that night.

We ventured over to the Triana area where apparently you can find authentic flamenco but we had little luck finding a good spot and soon felt we were not welcome as it was obvious we weren’t locals. You win some and you lose some. Our next stop of Cordoba did not disappoint in the flamenco department so the stars aligned eventually.

Beside the Cathedral of Saint Mary is the Royal Alcazar of Sevilla which is still home to the monarchy while they are in town. Generously, the monarchy has opened the majority of the palace and its amazingly beautiful grounds to the public, keeping one area more restricted for their visits. This ‘sweep you into an Arabian Nights story’ palace was created by the Christian King Pedro in the 10th century, a man who loved the Islamic culture. We visited the Alcazar on our third day and our souls were fed with the beauty, the creative detailed architecture and the seeping history. And being Game of Thrones fans, we revelled in spending time in the “Water Gardens of Dorne”, and walking along the same garden path that Marcella strolled with her lover in complete innocence.

A 'must see' while in the Danse Gardens, one must look carefully for the Doña María de Padilla’s Baths, named after King Peter of Castile’s well-known mistress. The baths are beautifully surreal transporting its visitors to an underground cavern with crafted arches and mystical, reflective light. We spent a couple of hours at the Alcazar of Sevilla but it wasn’t enough time to explore all areas, but seeing that it was closing time we reluctantly left peacefully.

We were hoping to catch a football (aka soccer, to us Canadians) game, or a bull fighting event but will have to save them with a return trip someday. Despite passing many interesting looking bull rings or some impressive stadiums, our timing did not give us the luxury of fitting it all in.

Cordoba

Once again the labyrinth cobblestone lanes greeted us with open arms and promises of curiosity and mystique. Our next AirBnB was within the walled old city, in the shadow of some of the city’s most historical marvels. First stop, the Roman pillars (Templo Romano) and restaurant Federación de Peñas. We casually wandered through the maze like streets upon arrival. Literally, about thirty paces on the same path-like street as our AirBnB, we found the ‘dinner and flamenco’ restaurant that I had metaphorically stumbled upon on TripAdvisor, which was literally stumbling distance away, if we decided to partake in too much Spanish tinco vino that night. Making note of this, we continued on until we found the Plaza de las Tendillas which is a beehive of activity surrounding an equestrian statue at the center of a focused fountain. We soon came upon the Templo Romano with its dominating pillars, some original, some recreated and being recreated still .

On our way back, as we passed Federación de Peñas, we stopped to make a reservation for this night’s show. We settled in at our AirBnB and freshened up with a snack and refreshment. During the show, we had our hearts filled with the lyrical stories of love, betrayal, defeat, revenge, heartbreak among a great meal and a bottle of red. The guitarist was a master of the strings, the singer was a passionate soul whose face contorted to every emotion portrayed and the adorned dancer ebbed, weaved and pounded each powerful note and word. It was an experience not to be missed and Federación de Peñas was a worthy peddler of such a performance.

Early mornings brought us to the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, the rarest of jewels. If you ever go to Spain, and end up in Cordoba, and, even if you think that you have seen enough of churches or cathedrals to last a lifetime, you must visit this church. We found that if you arrived at opening, the first hour was free to visit the grounds and the church. It was a peaceful time of day to visit and the light was perfect in the gardens.

The Patio De Los Naranjos (Orange Tree Courtyard) is enclosed within the Mosque-Cathedral and is worth visiting even if you don’t go inside. It’s peaceful and fragrant but what got us was the irrigation. It has 98 orange trees planted in patterned rows, along with some olive and cypress trees, dating back as early as the 15th century, but the original garden dates back to the 700’s, possibly making it Europe’s oldest ‘living garden’. There is a fountain that fills and empties, and as it empties, it pours out into a system of designed channels that lead water to all the trees. It’s beautiful with it’s small stone mosaic-like patio incorporating these clever channels ensuring that every tree is watered.

The Mosque-Cathedral has an interesting history of existing as a mosque and a church at different times, and even as both, being shared at one point, since from around 600AD. It’s current form was completed in 987AD, and it’s surreal to see. It’s roof is held up by 856 columns consisting of double, red and white arches allowing a higher ceiling and a feeling of grandiose. Entering the hall, one’s first impression, is that it feels like entering a room of mirrors with a repeated image that seems to go on forever, but in actuality the consistent pattern connects it’s many chapels seamlessly. A stroll through presents a gallery of historic artifacts, and beautiful flowing geometric patterns and color, and rich hints of divinity.

Cordoba is also home to a stone-arched Roman bridge that dates to the 1st century, although the Moors reconstructed it in the 8th century, and it’s been restored many times throughout time, most recently in 2006. The 14th and 15th arches remain the only original arches. This bridge is also featured, with the help of CGI and drone footage, in the Game of Thrones representing the Long Bridge of Volantis in Season 5, which is interesting to us GOT fans. An evening walk across the bridge allowed us a scenic view of the illuminated old city.

Cordoba was our second favorite stop on our Spanish tour due to it’s small and ‘back in time’ atmosphere. It was here, too, that, we discovered metal markers indicating the Jewish Quarters, along with, finally, Toledo.

Toledo

In Toledo, there were many areas where we felt we must have jumped into the Delorean from Back to the Future, and took it for a spin to earlier centuries. We were there essentially only for one late afternoon/evening, so my impression of Toledo is really only a first impression.

Toledo has a long history dating back to a significant Roman inhabitation, and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its historical and cultural relevance. If we had had more time, I would have explored more of the history and visited “subterranean Toledo” sites as many ancient baths, caves, cemeteries and wells exist still today. There is a whole underground city that is still being discovered as new excavation occurs. Additionally, there is intense and dark history that seems to be in the forefront of Toledo’s atmosphere. This darkness was evident in our first impression as we took a walk through the old city and found that swords, knives and other various blades and weapons were in many, many, many stores. To prelude, we had begun our tour of Toledo at a nearby tavern for some caloric energy, but ended up squaring up our bill quickly after a patron and his companions physically assaulted the waiter, and almost the owner too as he intervened. Yikes! And blades in almost every store!

Toledo’s history with blades and steel making began as early as 500BC when they were recognized for the high caliber alloy in their steel. They soon were the standard supplier of weapons for the Roman Legions. This industry continues as an important one today.

We wound our way uphill through small stoned streets until we ended up in front of the Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo as dusk fell. This cathedral is considered high Gothic architecture, and quite striking to view in the falling light, although, in light, so to speak, of the impression we had had, so far, of Toledo, left me with a foreboding feeling. We turned a corner a few moments later and, thankfully, found a bustling square and lots of restaurants and shared our last tapas in Spain.

An early morning, traffic-jammed drive to the airport in Madrid left us with a desire for home, and, so, we left Spain with fantastic memories of beautiful vistas, historically passionate and determined people, delicious food and drink, and lots of laughter on our road to discovery.