Where is the Barber of Seville? (cont.)

I was in Seville for a day and a half and in the previous entry I only posted photos from the first day. Of course Seville is too beautiful to be condensed into only one post, so here is day 2 in a nutshell.

On the second day in Seville, I visited the Alcázar of Seville, the major attraction of the city aside from the cathedral and the Plaza de España. The Alcázar is a royal Moorish palace with nice architecture and some beautiful gardens. It is situated right in the old town beside the cathedral, but it took me a while to find the main entrance because I kept circling around the outer walls of the palace, according to Google Maps. Then when I found it, I felt so stupid as it was RIGHT THERE, with a long queue (~30 minutes) to get in! Afterwards I went to the Metropol Parasol, which is a massive wooden structure that resembles…waves? Trees? I dunno. I quite liked this contemporary style though, and was rather surprised to find it so close to the old town. I didn’t go to the top but I think I should have – will keep that in mind for future visits!

Obviously I had to have tapas in Spain, and this is only a small selection of what I tried over the two days. I have to especially mention the “Secreto Ibérico”, or the “Iberian Secret”, which is the hunk of meat on the potato slices. I actually didn’t have high hopes for this pork dish because its presentation paled in comparison to the others – merely meat on some potatoes. Even though I ordered a half portion, it was still so huge that I thought I wouldn’t finish it. WRONG. As soon as I took a first bite, I was awed at how juicy and flavourful the meat was…oh my it was delicious! You certainly don’t judge pork by first impression, and this got me really wondering…what IS the secret of Iberian pork?!?!

Oh, and some ice cream was also very appreciated in the scorching heat!

Where is the Barber of Seville?

In terms of country, I wouldn’t say that Spain is one of my top five favourite European destinations (*GASP*! HOW DARE I SAY THAT!) but I can definitely say that Seville is one of my favourite European cities and certainly my favourite Spanish city, out of the ones I’ve been to. Ever since I’ve played a part of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” overture in my highschool band, I had been curious about this place called Seville. It took five visits to Spain to finally get to Seville and oh boy, was it beautiful! Now, it’s time to look for the Barber of Seville…

Seville was so colourful, so classy, so chic, and overall an utterly amazing city filled with beauty and surprises in every corner. The quaint, quiet, and narrow streets that are so quintessential in Seville make it a fascinating maze to explore. And I’ve seen my fair share of similar towns and villages (for example, Cordoba and Toledo in Spain) but I have to say with all honesty…none of them quite compare to the extraordinary charm of Seville…

…well, except for maybe Venice. Actually one of my first thoughts upon arriving in the old town of Seville was, “It’s kind of like Venice…but maybe nicer (and without the water)!” Ha, I hope the Spanish aren’t offended that I’m comparing Seville to Venice!

Away from the hidden alleys, Seville reveals more of its charm with the magnificent cathedral, Plaza de España, the Alcázar of Seville, and so on. All of a sudden I felt like I entered some sort of glamorous royal kingdom where everything was bright and majestic and impressive. Still no sign of the Barber of Seville though…

Yes, summer in southern Spain means having to put up with extreme heat, sometimes going up to 40°C, but that didn’t matter! As my Spanish colleague has told me, people in Seville know how to keep themselves cool, which means that there is plenty of shade everywhere and water mist being sprayed from restaurants and shops as you pass by. As a result, the heat was actually not too unbearable!

I was unfortunately only in Seville for a day and a half but I would go back in a heartbeat. After all I still have to find the famous Barber of Seville!