Last week I spent five days staying with my friend from university on her year abroad in Seville, Spain. This is the same friend I stayed with in Paris in January (you can read that post here) and in Belfast on my Ireland trip a couple of summers ago (again, read it here) so I've definitely taken advantage of having a place to stay in some exciting different places since we've known each other! Although the last couple of days were mostly taken up by shopping (I did a haul post recently) because of the merits of air-conditioning, we did some sightseeing as well and visited some of the main sights in Seville.

On the first day we went to the Plaza de Espana, a square that was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition World Fair which took place in the city. It was absolutely beautiful, with pavilion buildings that today house government institutions and archaeology collections, all surrounded by a huge fountain and ponds where you can hire boats and row around. It was also very symbolic with different alcoves representing the different regions of Spain, and bridges representing the ancient kingdoms. At this point I was seriously feeling the heat so I wasn't too keen to stand out in the sun for longer than necessary but we still took time to take in the amazing architecture and the scale of the place.

The following day we went to the Real Alcazar de Sevilla which is a royal palace that is still partly used by the Spanish royal family today - and is apparently the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe. It cost I think €4 to get in but it was definitely worth it as you could spend a whole day walking around the huge gardens. Some parts of the fifth season of Game of Thrones were shot in Seville including in the Alcazar which is pretty cool, even if you're not that into GoT (as I'm not).

Later that evening we walked to the river (which is called the river Guadalquivir) just as the sun was setting to take in the evening vibes. The sky was beautiful and it was just a really lovely atmosphere, so we walked across the Puente de Isabel II and along the riverside for a while.

The next day we mostly just shopped during the day but in the evening we headed to Metropol Parasol (or 'las Setas'), which is a huge wooden structure with a rooftop walkway and views over the city. It's located in the old quarter of Seville in La Encarnacion square which was close to where we were staying so by that point I'd walked past it a few times but not yet been up to the top. It cost €3 but I would definitely recommend it, especially around sunset as the sky was beautiful and the city was all lit up - also it was nice not to feel too exposed to the sun which would have been the case in the daytime. As you can see at that time of day the rooftops are all lit up with a warm golden glow which was even more stunning in person.

And that concludes my trip to Seville! Muchas gracias to Jill (I know you'll read this) for having me to stay for the third time in total across three countries, it was a lovely little break and much enjoyed. Our next little reunion will be in Brighton I'm sure!

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