Europe – Southern – All Around The World

Exploring Seville, Spain

A tour of historic Seville

Seville is the capital of Andalusia region in southern Spain. A historic city popular with tourists, it’s old town contains three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Alcázar palace complex, the Sevilla Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies.

My wife Glenda is Hawaiian-Filipino and her Filipino ancestry trace back to Seville with a migration around early 1890s during Spanish colonial era. With her recent DNA test showing her still 1/4th Iberian and her middle name (Sevilla) still bearing the heritage, a trip to Seville was an obvious choice. And when we landed she was beaming at the airports large signboard!

We arrived in Seville from Atlanta via Lisbon, Portugal. The airport is well organized and have a delicious restaurant right next to the security checkpoint!

We decided to stay at the historic old town and took a 30 min taxi ride from the airport. Some areas in historic district are only accessible on foot which was a treat exploring the historic wonders!

*Musician playing Spanish guitar by the cathedral*

After freshening up at the historic Murillo apartments, we started our walk toward Plaza de Colone for our bus tour around the city.

*The nicely laid out historic district is an enjoyable experience including Street side Flamenco dance.*

The Hop on hop off bus tour took us all around the city with an audio guide explaining notable sites.

*Getting a sit at the upper level in good weather is best to enjoy sightseeing in the bus tour*

*The famous bull fighting arena of Seville*

*The blending of Muslim and Spanish design is prominent in Andulasia*

The Seville harbour, located about 50 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. The river splits the city in two distinct regions.

*The River Guadalquivir made Seville an important City during the Spanish Golden age back in 16th century*

*The famous Macarena church housing the priceless gold statue of Virgin Mary brought out during the annual procession*

*An example of modern Seville from the 1992 Expo that gave rise to the Technology district*

After the bus tour and quick lunch, we headed to the Royal Alcazar for a guided tour. The palace grounds has been in existence since 10th century during Muslim Spanish rule and there are even remnants of walls from the Roman period. It was rebuilt in it’s current Andalusian Mudejar style by King Pedro I in late 14th century. More recently the palace interior and garden were filmed for the HBO hit series ‘Game of Thrones’.

*Real Alcazar, palace of the Spanish monarchy for 5 centuries*

*One of the access-gates (b. 14th century) to Salón de los Embajadores in Palace of Peter of Castile*

*The famous Royal gardens featured in the fictional kingdom of Dorne in HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’*

*The interior facade by the pond of the Royal gardens where they still have live fish!*

*A photo op for the ladies next to back facade of the garden of Real Alcazar*

One of the big attraction of Seville is it’s amazingly diverse and colorful cuisine. Tapas was invented in this city during the Spanish Golden age. Below are a few delicious samples!

*Simone checking out the tasty treats at a Spanish bakery*

*Dinner in the historic district next to our Murillo apartments*

Exploring Seville was a memorable experience for us. The charm of it’s old town cobblestone streets, historic architecture and delicious food makes it a must see in any Spanish trip.

*Courtyard of the historic Murillo apartments*

*Stage and lobby at a historic 17th century Flamenco apparel factory, now a hotel*

*Shops line up the streets connecting old town to Plaza de Colone*

We also took day trip to nearby Andulusian white villages of Zahara and Grazalema and historic Ronda.

Finally, check out the below video clip for a live experience of our tour in Seville. Enjoy!

Exploring Seville – A Video Blog

Barcelona – First Look

A first look at Barcelona

We visited Barcelona in the summer of 2015 during a Mediterranean cruise. The city is famous for its Modernista architecture and is one of the biggest tourist destination in Europe. Enjoy the clip below for a first look at Barcelona.

Zahara, an Andalusian village

Tour of a famous white village in Andalusia, Spain

Zahara de la Sierra is a picturesque village in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia, southern Spain. Perched on a mountain, overlooking a valley and a man-made lake formed by a dam, this beautiful village is conveniently located between Seville and Ronda. It is considered to be one of the pueblos blancos or “white towns” because the overwhelming majority of the buildings are white.

Below is a photo gallery of our brief tour to Zahara.

The White Village of Grazalema, Andalusia, Spain

A brief tour of the white village of Grazalema

Grazalema is a village located in the northeastern part of the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Situated in the foothills of the Sierra del Pinar mountain range.
During Muslim rule in the 8th century, the area acquired the name of Raisa lami Suli, “town of the Banu al-Salim”, place which passed to Ben-salama, “Son of Zulema and later Grand Zulema”. With the Christian conquest in 1485, the name morphed into Zagrazalema. It became economically important as of the 17th century thanks to the drapery industry which produced the famous shawls of Grazalema.

Today it is a famous tourist attraction and voted one of the most beautiful villages in Spain. Enjoy the video below for a brief tour of this picturesque white village in Andalusia.

Touring an Olive Oil factory in Andalusia, Spain

A tour of an olive oil factory near the white village of Zahara, Andalusia, Spain

The white villages of Andalusia are famous for their scenic beauty. In addition to tourism, this region also accounts for 50% of world’s olive oil production. The video blog below is a virtual tour of one such well known olive oil factory near Zahara in Cadiz province of Spain. This factory has been in operation since mid-1700s. Enjoy the tour!

Cruising – Costa Favolosa in The Mediterranean

Our European cruise in Mediterranean

Costa Favolosa is a cruise ship based on the Concordia class design and owned by Costa Cruise line (A subsidiary of Carnival Cruise). The ship was built in Genoa, Italy and launched in 2010.

We travelled Western Mediterranean on the ship in the Spring of 2015. Our itinerary took us from Barcelona to Marseilles, then eastward by the Riviera coast into Savona, Italy. Finally, we returned to Barcelona cruising over the Western Mediterranean Sea.

The below video clip details the first part of our journey. Highlights include exploration of the beautiful interior, an amazing evening entertainment show and a memorable dinner.

Check out my related blog on Cruising for the conclusion of this trip. Enjoy!

Marseilles – Basilique Notredame de la Garde

video blog of the most iconic church of Marseille

Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France built in 19th century. The site of a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage, it is the most visited site in Marseille. It was built on the foundations of an ancient fort at the highest natural altitude of 149 meters (489 ft). Buildings in Marseille are not allowed to exceed this height. It is built from limestone outcropping on the south side of the Old Port of Marseille and offers the only panoramic view of the entire city including the old port, cruise port, isles of Monte Christo, the famous fish market and old town Marseille.