{"id":640,"date":"2012-10-16T19:39:10","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T02:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/?p=640"},"modified":"2012-11-09T13:31:54","modified_gmt":"2012-11-09T21:31:54","slug":"city-overview-sevilla-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/?p=640","title":{"rendered":"City Overview: Sevilla, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

City.<\/strong>\u00a0 Sevilla, Spain<\/p>\n

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When?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Sunday, September 9 – Tuesday, September 11 (2 nights). \u00a0We did a lot in these two days, but, as always (it seems) I wish we had been able to stay longer. \u00a0We really enjoyed the tapas scene in Sevilla and another night would have meant two more meals! \u00a0We were in Sevilla on a Sunday and Monday night, and found out that the bullfights were on Thursdays, although they used to be on Sundays. \u00a0We considered going to a bullfight, but after reading that they are so\u00a0gory\u00a0and violent that many Americans have got up and left, we decided against it. \u00a0However, we went to the bullfighting arena for a tour and we now have an understanding of what takes place during a bullfight, and we plan to attend one the next time in Spain! \u00a0This means we will have to be sure to be in Sevilla (if that’s where we will attend one) on a day that actually has a fight. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Where? <\/strong>\u00a0We stayed at the Hotel Amadeus and thought it was great. \u00a0We were originally thinking of staying at the Hotel Casa 1800 (I wrote a bit about it here), but it was all booked by the time we made the decision. \u00a0Both hotels have a great location! \u00a0A few great things about Hotel Amadeus include the amazing rooftop terrace with a bar, several common areas to relax, an amazing breakfast, and very friendly staff (with a 24-hour reception). \u00a0The one thing I would definitely do differently is stay in a smaller and cheaper room. \u00a0We paid for the Junior Suite, but there was no view or balcony, and we were up on the rooftop terrace when we had free time at the hotel. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Transportation. \u00a0<\/strong>We took the train into and out of Sevilla. \u00a0The train station was super close, so the taxi ride was quick and cheap. \u00a0We did not have to deal with any long lines or confusion on our way to Granada.<\/p>\n

Food.<\/strong>\u00a0 Amazing! \u00a0We absolutely loved the tapas scene in Sevilla. \u00a0There was a particular street with restaurants on both sides and it was absolutely packed both nights we were there (we got there around 11pm or so each night). \u00a0The street is one that leads into the plaza with the cathedral and was very walkable from our hotel. \u00a0Most of the restaurants had tables that spilled onto the sidewalk, making the area feel very busy and lively. \u00a0We did decide to splurge on our second lunch in Sevilla and ate at Abades Triana<\/a>, which is located across the river. \u00a0The food was delicious (and expensive) and we enjoyed it outside on the shady terrace overlooking the river. \u00a0We shared the ox carpaccio with pumpkin guacamole, I had the octopus and potato, and Ryan had the Iberian pork tender loin with grilled veggies and\u00a0caramelized\u00a0apples. \u00a0We were surprised by a small\u00a0aperitif with potato, truffle potato mousse, smoked salmon, and a basil sauce on the side. \u00a0It was tiny, but a great start to our fantastic meal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Day Trips. <\/strong>None!<\/p>\n

Attractions.<\/strong>\u00a0 Honestly, I didn’t know much about Sevilla before we got there (Ryan did a lot of the research here) and I wasn’t expecting much. \u00a0I was wrong! \u00a0We were so impressed with the Cathedral, the Alc\u00e1zar, and the bullfighting arena tour. \u00a0The Cathedral was huge (I believe it is the third largest in Europe, after St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s) and I really enjoyed the Treasury, which was tucked away in several rooms and contained gorgeous jewels. \u00a0The Alc\u00e1zar, built as a palace in Moorish times, was impressive with its\u00a0intricate\u00a0designs and vast gardens. \u00a0We easily spent over two hours there and could have stayed longer. \u00a0Finally, I am so glad we decided to take a guided tour of the bullfighting arena and museum. \u00a0We learned a lot more about bullfights and we now want to attend one. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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And finally, the most famous thing to do while in Sevilla is to see a Flamenco show. \u00a0We decided to go with a show without dinner, since we had read that the food can be mediocre at the joint restaurant\/Flamenco options. \u00a0The show we saw was an hour long, and while we thought it was interesting, we didn’t enjoy it as much as we thought we would. \u00a0I’ll save a full review for a different post.<\/p>\n

Language Barrier.<\/strong>\u00a0 English is definitely spoken here, but I took advantage and tried to speak Spanish when I could. \u00a0Luckily my broken Spanish was readily accepted and I was able to communicate in Spanish on several occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cost. \u00a0<\/strong>Overall, Sevilla was fairly inexpensive. \u00a0Our hotel room was not cheap (175 euros\/night), but we could have gotten away with less, even at that same hotel (the standard double would have been closer to 100 euros). \u00a0The food was also very reasonable – there are expensive restaurants, but the tapas scene allowed us to eat a variety of foods cheaply. \u00a0We walked everywhere, so we didn’t have the need to take public transportation, which was nice after our expensive taxi rides in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Advice. \u00a0<\/strong>Try to stay in the Santa Cruz area, since it is close some of the most interesting parts of Sevilla. \u00a0If you want to see a bullfight, make sure you plan your itinerary so that you are actually in Sevilla on the day of the fight (this is obvious, but I’m not sure how consistent the days of bullfights are). \u00a0<\/p>\n

Closing comments. \u00a0<\/strong>We had such a great time in Sevilla and it was actually awarded the title of our favorite stop in Spain! \u00a0The culture felt real, the food was delicious, and unbeknownst to me, there was so much to do. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City.\u00a0 Sevilla, Spain When?\u00a0\u00a0Sunday, September 9 – Tuesday, September 11 (2 nights). \u00a0We did a lot in these two days, but, as always (it seems) I wish we had been able to stay longer. \u00a0We really enjoyed the tapas scene … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,3],"tags":[57,23,8],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=640"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions\/869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}