Buenos Dias Sevilla.....!

I’m a believer that girl trips are good for the soul....time for yourself....time to relax and unwind and time to take stock and reflect about how you are as a parent. You might not agree but I find I come back recharged and ready to smash parenting in the face again.

We’ve done a girls trip for the last 2 years, Barcelona the first year and Paris last year. This year was a bit different as a couple from my usual group couldn’t make it for one reason or another....sometimes life just gets in the way....but a couple of us could, so we scrolled through easyJet looking for the cheapest flights we could. We stumbled across flights to Seville, which was a bit weird for me seeing as I come here a bit for work. However I’d never explored the city so we went with it. We booked an AirBnB as we have every other year and never been let down (I’ve heard horror stories but touchwood this hasn’t happened to us!).

We arrived late on the Saturday evening and went straight out to explore. It’s true that ‘Spanish time’ is a thing...at midnight the cutest tapas bars still churning out ‘patatas bravas’ so we stopped for a mojito and some food.

We had no idea where to start with sightseeing so the wonderful google sorted us out. Our apartment was to the north but still pretty central so we decided we would meander through town and we had a rough idea of the route to take to see some of the sights.

First stop was breakfast and we stumbled across the cutest bagel and waffle place and English breakfast tea (yes I know I should branch out but I can’t start the morning any other way!) If you come you should try it.......they were delicious and actually had quite a few vegetarian options which is rare!

The ‘Catedral De Sevilla’ was our first stop, a gorgeous building with intricate detail. We walked around the outside which was laden with bars and restaurants and shops. A gorgeous buzz and a definite must see.

We then headed through the Jardine de Murillo (which were pretty gardens, perfect for chilling with a book) down to the Plaza de España. This was my favourite place.....tranquil, beautiful and the most stunningly designed building. You can take a boat out on the water there or just walk around it but seriously if you go you must visit here. My best fact I found when researching the Plaza was that it was used for filming the video of Simply Reds ‘Something got me started’. For more historical and useful facts please use the Internet 😂.

The plaza is set in the Parque de Maria Luisa which is about half a mile of gardens, fountains, ponds, ice-cream huts, beautiful flowers....it is absolutely stunning.

The night-time choices are limitless, we opted the first night for for a Flamenco show with dinner and a sangria which only cost €20 per person (bargain!). The place was just by the Cathedral on the road Calle de Placentines. It was fab and something I’d definitely recommend doing. After the show we headed to the EME Cathedral Hotel (which was a few doors down from the flamenco). The hotel has a roof terrace with great views and great cocktails. (They are pricey but it’s 100% worth it).

The second day we may have had soreheads from to many cosmopolitans the night before so we wanted to chill. Seville doesn’t have a beach so we went to the Ocean Beach Club which is to the east of the city. We walked there and it took about an hour (Uber to get back was around €14). En route we stopped to have breakfast and ate under the Metropole Parasol which is the most incredible wooden structure. It’s not fitting with the old style of Seville as its pretty modern (completed in 2011) but it’s worth seeing.

The Ocean Club was just what the doctor ordered, a pool, day beds and music. It was chilled when we went but they have evenings with music etc. Drinks and food were pricey and they don’t let you take your own water in which was a bit annoying but all in all we got a bit of a tan and chilled out which was what we needed!

The 3rd night was chilled, we went to one of the amazing tapas bars near the Cathedral...I don’t think we can hack the pace anymore.......

Our last day we had decided that our favourite area of the city was the cathedral so we decided to have breakfast near there. It was delicious and we felt the right thing to do seeing as we were in Seville was have an orange juice.

As we sat discussing there are around 25000 orange trees in Seville we discovered in fact that the oranges in Seville don’t actually make the orange juice there because Seville oranges are far too bitter. They apparently are used to make marmalade and perfume. However the orange juice was delicious.

We spent the day wandering again....discovering new places. We went across the river to the Triana area. Apparently there is an amazing market there, we were slightly disappointed as it was a food market and it wasn’t as big as we had imagined. So we bought some melon and cherries for a Euro each and headed into the area. I have to say we were a bit disappointed again and we didn’t think the the area was as nice. So we wandered back to have a chill in the Parque de Maria Luisa....we found more gorgeous fountains there that we hadn’t seen the previous day. The walk back took us past the University....wow....what a building.

We ended our little trip with some tapas at a place called Mateos. It was on a road off the Cathedral. It was the best tapas we had...I’d recommend it totally. My personal favourite was the burrata and tomato salad and the crispy squid.

So the verdict....?

Seville you didn’t disappoint, the wonderful weather, friendly people, wonderful gin and wonderful sights you have to offer. I enjoyed discovering your beauty and I can’t wait to come again with work. Still lots to discover. x