Billie Besos

Hello and welcome back to my blog!

I actually started this post a couple of months ago but of course, I have only just managed to post it.

I had lots travel post ideas towards the end of 2020 (mainly through fantasising about places I’ve been/am desperate to go to) but the motivation to write them was pretty hard to muster up! I think most people’s motivation did a nosedive in 2020 so I’m not too worried. 2020 was a challenging year for everyone, and the ongoing struggles have continued into 2021. I only moved to Portugal just over a year ago, and I made the move under the impression that while it would be my base, I would be able to visit lots of other places from here. Then COVID struck, and my travel ideas somewhat went out of the window. I know this is the case for a lot of people, but it is something that has really challenged me, as my usual itchy feet have not been able to go anywhere! I think this might be the longest time I have ever spent in a place without flying somewhere!

I was lucky enough to visit Lisbon just before lockdown and I was quite excited for trips back to the UK during 2020, none of which have happened. I don’t want this post to be one long spiel of my complaining, but I can’t deny that I have struggled to come to terms with my lack of freedom; the 9-5 routine has been a major challenge for me, and I guess I have felt a little stuck. That said, I was fortunate enough to take a short, albeit spontaneous, trip to Seville a couple of months ago so that has given me something to write about.

Hello and welcome to Seville

Seville is a city I know extremely well. I lived there for six months during my ‘Year Abroad’; this was part of my university degree. For anyone who doesn’t know, I studied Spanish and French at university in the UK so living abroad for a year was a fundamental part of my learning. I have continued to visit Seville year on year, as there is something about being familiar with a place and going back to it time and time again. Although this trip wasn’t planned, it was a great opportunity for me to show Josh some of my favourite aspects of the city.

We only decided on the Saturday afternoon that we would drive to Seville early on the Sunday morning, stay a night and then return on Monday evening. This would leave us with about 30 hours to explore. Obviously, this was not going to be your standard visit to Seville, as COVID was very much still present in Spain and we knew this would limit us in some ways. However, we still managed to do lots of fun things so I thought I would share with you some details about our trip. Even if you just have a weekend to spend in Seville, you can definitely get a taste of what this beautiful Andalusian city has to offer.

Always love the view from the top of ‘La Giralda’

In case you are coming from Portugal (like we were), it is just a 3-hour drive from the Faro area and is super straightforward. We left around 6:30am Portuguese time, and made it to Seville in time for a late morning Spanish breakfast. We were lucky enough to find parking just by the Real Fábrica de Tabacos de Sevilla which is used as a University building (see pin drop here). I have never noticed this parking spot before, but it was free parking within walking distance of the city centre – a perk of COVID as I am sure this is normally a nightmare to access! Arriving around 10:00am on a Sunday morning meant that some Spanish cafés weren’t even open yet (the ones in Parque de Maria Luisa opened at 11:00am) so we took the opportunity to visit the Plaza de España early before we ventured into the city centre. It was so peaceful but also a strange atmosphere, as you even had to wear masks outside. After taking a few snaps, we walked via the car, picked up our belongings and walked down the Avenida de la Constitución towards the beautiful Plaza Nueva and Plaza de San Francisco. Plaza de San Francisco is one of my favourite squares in the city, next to the stunning town hall (Ayuntamiento). We decided to stop for breakfast here overlooking the square, where we ate classic Spanish breakfast foods. I had tostada con tomate (tomato purée on toast) and Josh had the same, but accompanied with jamón iberico (Spanish ham). We sat for a while and watched the smartly dressed Sevillanos on their Sunday strolls. We also watched some young girls having a photo shoot in what looked like bridesmaid dresses. All in all, it was a lovely start to the day.

The Plaza de España in all its beauty

Self-timer catching the candid shots…

So quiet!!!!!

Just chilling in front of the Metropol Parasol

A beautiful horse. It looked pretty well looked after and luckily was standing in the shade

On Monday, we headed out for breakfast and ended up going to a café in Alfalfa (again – shock). We then planned on going to the Real Alcázar palace. When we got there, we found out it was more expensive than we thought, and if our visit had been planned and we had booked in advance, we could have gotten 1€ tickets due to it being a Monday (cry). Therefore, we decided not to bother this time around, as there was always next time! We did, however, manage to buy tickets to go up the cathedral. Just a warning to anyone planning to do it – it is quite a walk to get to the top. We then fancied some lunch (but preferably not Spanish food this time!) so we went to Orsini which in my opinion serves some of the nicest pizza in Seville! There are a couple of them in different locations in Seville and the pizza is yum. We also found time to walk to the riverside and pop inside theTorre del Oro (free of charge) which is a Military watchtower that is now home to a naval museum. Just a tip: don’t try to hire the scooters that you see parked up along the riverside. We spent some painful minutes attempting to create an account online to then find out that they were only available to locals. Walking was the best option! Seville is a very walkable city.

Then we headed home! We had had a really successful visit, managed to safely visit a lot of the best spots of the city, and then get home within a few hours. All in all, it was very easy to pop to Seville for 30 hours and I hope some of this information might be useful if you also decide to visit this beautiful city!

I will be trying to post more content on here soon as I’ve really missed it!

Besos x

Good luck pronouncing the name of the river that runs through Seville… the Rio Guadalquivir

We were then able to check into our Airbnb (located just a stone’s throw from the centre of Seville) which was only £40 for the night. Click here to view the Airbnb in case you fancy booking it for your next visit to Seville! After freshening up, we headed out to explore. We took the short walk to Las Setas or The Metropol Parasol or the mushrooms which are *the largest wooden structure in the world*. We paid the small entry fee of 5€ to go up the mushrooms. You used to be able to get a drink while admiring the views from the top, but sadly it looked like the café had closed down. It was still great to have a view over the city. We had then hoped to go up the cathedral but it had closed for the afternoon. So we continued strolling around, taking pictures, and I showed Josh the area I used to work in. This was in a square called Cuesta del Rosario in the Alfalfa neighbourhood which is known to be fun area filled with bars, and a hotspot for student nightlife. There is a café in the square that is probably one of the cheapest places I’ve found in the centre of Seville, called La Gitana Loca. The tables are all spread out in the square, you go in and order at the bar, and then your order is brought out to you. We decided to stop here and have a couple of drinks. I had tinto de verano and Josh had lager. We got a little peckish so also ordered a couple of tapas. After an afternoon of exploring, we walked back to the apartment to rest a bit (the early start had caught up with us!). We then headed out for the evening; it was quite a quiet night as I guess it was a Sunday. I wanted to take Josh to my favourite rooftop bar – the Hotel EME rooftop so we sat up there and enjoyed some rather pricey drinks! We went for dinner at a tapas place on one of the side streets next to the hotel where we ate lots of traditional Spanish tapas.