Country: Spain
Place: Sevilla
Visited in: September 2006
Sevilla can do no wrong. Construction workers can tear up its streets while constructing the new Metro system. Tourists can swamp its historic buildings. The sun can turn up its blaze to the point of my hair catching fire. I will still leave Sevilla as besotted with this elegant, old lady as when I first laid eyes on her many years ago.
So I can only put it down to momentary insanity when we chose to allocate only a single day to Sevilla. One short blink-and-you’ll-miss-it day trip to Sevilla – but what a day!
We knew, we were in for a whale of a time, when we boarded our bus at Málaga bus station. As we were getting comfortable for the 3-hour ride, two dressed-to-kill ladies sat down in front of us. The two were characters straight out of the comedy Ab Fab. They had all the right gear – the designer sunglasses, the Gucci handbags with the hair and makeup to match it all. But as hard as they tried, they just couldn’t pull it off.
I have never been this entertained on a public bus before. At one point, one of the ladies was down on her designer-suited knees with one hand down the back of her seat frantically looking for her earring, while the other, wearing her reading glasses underneath her sunglasses, was using the screen on her mobile as a mirror to put on lipstick.
Getting lost in Barrio de Santa Cruz
With front row seats to this free comedy, we were in Sevilla, before we knew it. Our bus pulled in at the Prado de San Sebastián bus station and after a short stroll we were right in the middle of Barrio de Santa Cruz. I could never get bored of Barrio de Santa Cruz. No matter what corner you turn, there is always something to look at. It is not a place to be rushed and it is easy to get lost in the narrow, winding streets. But don’t panic if you do, I can think of a lot worse places to be lost. Just enjoy the atmosphere, you’ll find your way soon enough.
Free entrance at the Alcázar
Making our way to the Alcázar we walked across Plaza del Triunfo, which was heaving with people and tv crews. Tourist were randomly being picked to participate in what I can only describe as a jamming session. As we walked through the Lion entrance of the Alcázar we learned what the 
celebration outside was all about. Sevilla was celebrating the World Tourism Day, which also meant free entrance to tourist attractions such as the Alcázar. So to our surprise we were ushered through the ticket barriers without paying.
My imagination ran wild in the midst of the many colours and patterns of the Alcázar. Its patios and gardens make your head spin and I could have spent hours there, were it not for the large tour groups that eventually swamped the place. The Alcázar is without a doubt one of the most beautiful palaces I have ever seen and one not to be missed, if you visit Sevilla. However, I would recommend going at times when the big tour groups are less likely to go, whenever that might be?
The Cathedral & Giralda
In the name of World Tourism Day entrance was also free at the cathdral. But while we managed to see most of the Alcázar, before the place got swamped with large groups of tourists, we did not enjoy the same luxury at the Cathedral. 
It was hard to see anything for massive groups that were flashing their cameras at every little detail, while listening to their tour guide. Despite several warnings not to use flash in the Cathedral, so many of the tourists did that the church felt more like a red-carpet event than a place for worship.
The Giralda, however, was a pleasant surprise. We climbed up its 90-meter belltower to enjoy the fantastic view over Sevilla. The tower is divided into 34 ramps and getting to the top is relatively easy. Again try to avoid the crowds if at all possible.
Plaza de España
We missed our first bus back to Málaga, which gave us time to swing by Plaza de España, before the next bus departed.
Plaza de España is a perfect place to end a day trip to Sevilla. Aníbal González created the plaza for the 1929 Ibero-America Exhibition, which was held in Sevilla. The beautiful semicircle with its fountains, canals and bridges was apparently also used as a setting for the planet Naboo in one of the Star War movies.
We sat for a while just enjoying the atmosphere, before we walked round the semicircle admiring the tiled benches, which illustrate historic events from all of Spain’s provinces.
Left Sevilla full of joie de vivre
We left Sevilla on the second to last bus back to Málaga. As we rolled out of Sevilla, I was very much regretting that we had not allocated a few more days to visit this beautiful city. But as short as it was, what a fantastic day it had been. I dare anyone to leave Sevilla with anything but a soul full of joie de vivre!
How did you get there?
We used the bus company Alsina Graells to get to and from Sevilla. The company runs a number of daily bus services between Málaga and Sevilla.
Photographs
You can view more of our photographs from Sevilla in our Photographs from Andalucía series.
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