Discovering Spain
How many of us that live here have ever actually been on holiday to other parts of Spain I wonder? Apart from the Yanks, who often pack up their massive Winnebago’s and take a road trip across the States – well it is a rather large country, most people with motorhomes tend to go and discover other countries. You often hear of Brits that sell up, buy an RV and tour across Europe. Just look here in our own neighbourhood and there are no shortages of caravans and motorhomes, parked up in my eyes illegally overnight on scrubland or on the roadside. Most of those are British or Dutch I find, obviously too tight to go and pay to stay in a proper designated campsite – heavens there are enough of them here in Benidorm yet pass by on the approach to the outdoor weekly market, just by the private IMED hospital and they have set up on a piece of cleared waste ground. Why don’t the police move them on I wonder?
Anyway, back to discovering parts of our adopted new home Spain. I know many knock them, but Ryanair are a marvel on cheap domestic flights, and one was to Seville, for €9.99 each way. Two-night break – yes please, no need to add on extras and book priority as you can squash everything into a small holdall to go under the seat. Probably the best time to visit Seville is during the annual Feria de Abril, which takes place two weeks after Semana Santa (Easter) finishes. This year it starts on Sunday, April 26 until Saturday, May 2 but bear in mind the cost of hotels and flights will sky rocket! The flight takes around an hour – depending on which way the wind blows and from Seville airport you can get a bus – more like our Llorente No 10 rather than the Alsa airport bus into the city centre. It takes around an hour, again depending if you arrive in rush hour and costs only €4.
There are certainly plenty of things to see and do there – you can buy a Hop On Hop Off bus ticket, either 24 or 48 hours or just walk and take in the atmosphere. There are plenty of things that you should see but top of the list should be the stunning Cathedral, officially the largest Gothic cathedral in the world! The Giralda tower was once a minaret when the building was originally a mosque! Opposite is Real Alcázar, a Moorish fort which evolved into a Royal Palace and was used for filming the series Game of Thrones.
Although a very old and historic city, there are some very contrasting modern bits and one of the best examples is the Metropol Parasol, also known as ‘Las Setas’ a mushroom shaped monument which is actually made of wood! The bullring is one of the most visited monuments in the city – massive with a capacity of 14,000 and where bull fighting still goes on (particularly during the feria week). However, despite your views on this ‘sport’ it is architecturally and incredible place. They have guided tours (only €4) and you get to see the chapel, dedicated to the Virgin de la Caridad, where fighters pray before entering the ring and a hospital – where the stats recorded show that 20 per cent require emergency treatment.
The Triana Bridge is the oldest in Seville, constructed out of stone and iron pillars in 1852 and in 1976 was declared a National Historic Monument. It is beautifully illuminated at night. Another must is the Plaza de España in the Parque de Maria Luisa. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Expo the following year and huge. Now it mostly consists of Government buildings but the tiled alcoves lend themselves to a fabulous backdrop for visitors’ photographs. It has also been used numerous times as a film location – many moons ago in 1962 for Lawrence of Arabia, in 2002 in Star Wars and in 2012 for The Dictator and for the video of Simply Red’s song Something Got Me Started.
There are horse and cart tours you can take – plenty waiting around the cathedral vying for tourists, giving them a ‘special price’. Calle Betis is their equivalent of our Tapas alley, with plenty of bars and restaurants serving traditional Seville food and tapas dishes. A fabulous place to explore… I will be consulting Ryanair very soon to check out where the next €9.99 fare is going.
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