What a lovely week that was in Seville! Thanks to Sarah for organising it, and for Clive, Gordon, Brian, Andrew and Bev for coming along.

I do have some more posts to add, but for the moment, here’s the complete post:

Seville Cathedral

Craft Beer Pubs

Gigante Bar

Giralda

Renfe Train Journey from Seville to Madrid

La Barrica de Debla

Bierkraft

La Jeronima

Maquila

Summary of Day Five

Iglesia de San Julian

Hops and Dreams

Update on Policeofficergate

Basilica de la Macarena

Bar Oliva

Badulaque

La Mafia

Summary of Day Four

La Cueva

Sarah’s Balcony

Meson el Serranito

And then there were Two

Adapterpluggate

Andrew’s Towel Update

Summary of Day Three

Summary of Day Two

Andrew Accommodation Update

Clara Campoamor Sculpture

Towelgate

Metropol Parasol

Buying Biscuits from Nuns

Clive Buys a Hat

La Escalona

Andrew’s Accommodation

Summary of Day One

They’re Off

Drinkgate

Andrew Refuses to Buy Sarah a Drink

Bev Speeding Along

Clive’s Still Stuck

Hike Norfolk Update

Getting a Hotel at 01:30

Hike Norfolk Crowd are Sort of Getting Here

So it Begins

Seville Cathedral is the largest cathedral in the world and is also one of the most visited attractions in Spain. We avoided the queues by buying a joint ticket with the Church of El Salvador, as this allowed us to jump the queues at the cathedral. Above is the Door of Assumption, or the Main Door, although this isn’t in general use for visitors.

The building was constructed for use as a mosque in the late twelfth century. When Seville became a Christian city in the thirteenth century the mosque was transformed into a cathedral, although some traces of its original use are still visible, primarily what is now the bell tower.

There has been an on-going effort to clean the stonework, which is visible at the gate which is located near to the exit. Anyone wanting to visit the cathedral who hadn’t bought a joint ticket, or some other form of advance ticket, had to wait in a queue and that would have taken perhaps half an hour or more.

The nave is 42 metres high and light floods into the cathedral, making it feel open and spacious. There are eighty chapels located within the building and a proper investigation of the cathedral would take many hours.

The roof of the nave is beautifully decorated.

The interior of the chapter house which was completed in the late sixteenth century.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus, who although was an Italian was also an explorer paid by the Spanish Monarchy. The Spanish wanted to take a lead on trade with the Indies and after Portugal had turned down Columbus’s idea, their Monarchy agreed to fund his expeditions.

When Columbus died he was buried in Valladolid, a Spanish town, and then were moved on numerous occasions, including by the French who moved his remains to Havana, in Cuba. It was decided in 1898 to bring his remains back to Seville, although there is still some uncertainty about whether the remains are those of Columbus.

The side of Christopher Columbus’s tomb.

The rear of Christopher Columbus’s tomb.

There are many items of historic interest on display throughout the cathedral, including books, vestments, furniture and other pieces of religious history.

One of the cathedral’s courtyards.

The Giralda, or the Cathedral’s Bell Tower, which I wrote more about here.

Outside is the Orange Tree Courtyard, which was once an ablutions courtyard when the building was used as a mosque.

This rather pleasant bar is large in size, with an extensive terrace and also plenty of seating inside. We couldn’t see any menus outside and so we headed inside, and found some chairs overlooking the rear of the bar. The service in the bar was well above average, with the staff member speaking good English and he really made an effort to build up a rapport.

The beer selection, which was wider than we’d experienced in many previous bars. In those bars the option was sometimes Cruzocampo or Cruzcampo….

Some interesting artwork.

We visited this bar rather accidentally, although I’m pleased that we did. Not just for the crisps which were given out with the drinks, but also because they have a map of craft beer pubs. Over the next day we were to visit several of them on the map, and all of them were excellent locations.

Clive enjoying his sangria and they didn’t hold back on the fruit.

The Giralda is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral, and it’s necessary to get entrance to the cathedral to be able to access it. The bottom sections of the tower date from when it was a minaret for the mosque, dating to around the late twelfth century.

In 1248, the Christians took the city of Seville and the mosque started to be transformed into a Christian place of worship. The interior of the Giralda wasn’t much changed and it retains its wide sloping ramps to the top, which meant that “beasts of burden” could transport materials up there if required.

The start of the climb to the top, which wasn’t difficult as it was just walking up a gentle slope, although the temperature was rather warm. There aren’t obviously distinct floors as it’s a constant ramp up, but there are effectively 35 different floors and these are numbered.

On the way up there are some museum exhibits placed in the central section of the tower, which visitors can stop and look at to have a rest. Towards the top there are some viewpoints which also attract a rather pleasant breeze, ideal when Seville is hot (which seems to be nearly always).

Above are the views of the city which can be had from the top of the tower.

The bells at the top of the tower.

A view of the tower at night with the lighting making it stand out in the local area.

When I visited St. Louis in Kansas City in January 2017, I saw this half-size replica of the Giralda. The developer of the complex visited Seville in the 1920s and was inspired by the building so much that he wanted to recreate it.

This was another pub which was on our craft beer trail, and this was the one with some of the longest opening hours. The available beers weren’t as clearly displayed as in the other pubs, so I found the ordering process just a little more complex. However, the staff member was keen to explain the options and offer samples.

The bottled selection in the fridges. I opted for the IPA which was on tap, and it had a pleasant taste, although it wasn’t exceptional in flavour.

The bar was a little busy, so taking photos wasn’t easy, but I liked the beer barrels which are located behind the counter. There was quite a pile-up of empty glasses on the bar though for most of our visit, which didn’t give an ideal first impression.

The decoration on the walls, all rather quirky.

Our free snacks, and I was pleased to see the pickled onions and gherkin. An American came in when we were eating these and he mentioned to the bar staff where he was from and he also apologised for Donald Trump. I felt the need to thank him for that as we left, and he said to me that he assumed that I didn’t approve of Brexit. That was about as political as I decided to get, as this was the last pub we were visiting in Seville and I was ready to get back to the hotel.

Overall, I didn’t find this pub quite as exciting as the others on the trail and I’d personally like them to just chalk up on boards the options that they had and also the prices. They were also the only pub on our trail which didn’t accept credit cards, even though they served food. However, I felt that the pub was still worth visiting as the service was friendly and the beer was of a good quality and seemed well kept.

Just a quick update on Andrew’s interaction with airport police officers at Stansted yesterday. It has transpired that not only did he go up to a member of the police to tell them he had been drinking in Seville, he also told them about the Whopper burger that he had at the Burger King in Seville Airport.

Unbelievable….

This was another location we went to as part of our craft beer walk around Seville and like with most of the others on our trail, it has a modern and welcoming feel to it.

The selection of beers was marked up above the counter and finally there was a dark beer available. Prices were towards the higher end of the scale for our visits, but the selection was well balanced.

A rather lovely stout, from the Hilltop Brewery in Italy. It’s 5.5% ABV and it’s not quite what I associate with Italian brewing, but it had a smooth taste.

The interior of the bar, which is a little minimalist in terms of its design.

The chunky wooden bar, which does lean a little and that’s not my poor photography skills (or at least, no more than usual). Again, despite it being Friday night, the bar wasn’t particularly busy either during our early evening visit and nor when we walked past at around midnight. The service was again polite, which is becoming quite a theme, and I liked the selection of beers which were available.

This is another bar which was listed on the Seville Craft Beer map, and it’s a combination of craft beer pub and bookshop. I’m not sure that there’s a better possible combination? Well, perhaps a combination of Greggs, craft beer pub and bookshop I suppose….

Here’s the beer list available at the beer, with three beers on tap and numerous more in the fridges. The bar is small, with only a handful of tables available, so the relatively limited number of beer options does reflect that. There were a few customers when we visited, which was on an early Friday evening, but it was far from busy.

A slightly wonky photo of the interior…. I like the wood effect on the ceiling, it looks like something that I’d do (although it wouldn’t look as good if I did it…).

Lots of wood has been used which is in line with the bar’s vision of using recycled items where possible.

A vintage cash register.

The branded glasses from Yelp, something I’ve never seen.

Books! How lovely.

This was a charming little location, with the atmosphere of a laid-back coffee shop, but with beer. The service was friendly and there was a relaxed feel to the whole operation, with the prices being reasonable. If I lived in Seville, I think that I’d be here a lot more often.

Our chosen restaurant for our final evening meal in Seville was Maquila, a craft beer pub situated within walking distance of the city centre. The reviews of the pub were excellent, and it had the desired combination of craft beers and interesting food options. I reserved a table on-line for when the pub opened, just in case it was busy.

However, I did feel that the exterior of the restaurant was a little nondescript, and I’m not sure we’d have gone in if we had just walked by it without knowing more about it in advance.

The English version of the menu, and nearly all of the options sounded tempting.

The specials board, which was rather more extensive than I had expected. I was rather taken with the items on the main menu, but again, there were some interesting choices.

The beer selection and as this was a craft beer pub, there were plenty to choose from. I went with the Weihenstephan from Germany, but they also had a fruity saison beer, a pale ale, an IPA, a Helles lager and a New England India Pale Ale. I’d have ideally liked a darker beer to be available, but I only found this on tap in one of all of the craft beer pubs we visited, so it wasn’t a common option.

The olives to start us off with. When taking the order the staff member asked if we were going to share the meals, but as I’m British, I didn’t want any of that nonsense. I’m not that continental (or social).

This was the tapas sized portion of chicken wings with seven spice Japanese sauce, on top of noodles. The portion size was again generous given this was the small size, although I wasn’t entirely sure about the combination of noodles and chicken wings. The chicken wings could have been hotter in terms of the temperature and they seemed a little greasy, when I would have preferred a crispier edge. However, they tasted fine and the sauce had a rich and pleasant flavour.

I can’t recall actually having a Waldorf salad, so I thought I’d live the Fawlty Towers dream and order it as a tapas item. It also had chicken and prawn mixed in, which I’m not sure is traditional, but it added a little extra flavour. I rather liked it, with the crunch of the walnut and apple both adding texture. Given that it was just a tapas item, and not the racion (or plate), I felt the portion size was generous.

This was what Clive ordered and he ordered a racion, rather than just a tapas selection. It’s the Imperial Stout braised beef with lemon mashed potatoes, and the sauce was rich and full of flavour. He said that the beef was tender, and I liked the incorporation of the stout into the dish.

The crispy chicken with a creamy tandoori sauce, which I ordered as a tapas item, so the portion size seemed generous again. The chicken was crispy and they’d used dark meat which was tender and flavoursome. The sauce didn’t have a particularly strong flavour, but the chicken was excellent.

I wasn’t going to order a dessert, but the staff member really sold the French toast with ice cream and a pineapple sauce. When it arrived I was pleased that she had recommended it, although the French toast element wasn’t perhaps even necessary and was just a little bland. It was the rather lovely ice cream, which seemed home-made, and the rich pineapple sauce which really made the dish. I’ve never thought that pineapple could be so delicious, although Pineapple Fanta might be an exception….

Overall, I felt that this was an excellent bar, with a really engaging service and a contemporary design. The atmosphere was laid-back, there were some decent beers to choose from and the food was as good as I had hoped for. It wasn’t packed, even on a Friday evening, but it was still relatively busy.

This was mine and Clive’s final last day in Seville, as he flies back home tomorrow and I get a train to Madrid, a city which I’ve never been to before. We decided to have a cultural morning visiting some churches, a large section of the city wall and we had a delightful lunch at a craft beer pub.

There’s of course much less to talk about now that Bev and entourage have gone home, it’s all much more sedate and orderly now. I had a leisurely afternoon of catching up on e-mails and reading about Andrew has been given a mini magnum (not a full size one though, just a mini one).

This evening Clive and I decided we’d visit four more pubs in the Seville craft beer guide that I picked up yesterday, meaning that we’ve managed to visit seven of those which were listed. They’re all been excellent and I’ll write them up individually, hopefully in the near future.

In the final pub tonight there was an American who wanted to let people know that he hadn’t voted for Donald Trump. I felt the need to go over to him and thank him on behalf of the British people, although I am trying to avoid making this blog political…. He replied thanking me and he said that he assumed that I was against Brexit, of which he was correct in his guess…. But, I’m away from the UK and politics, so that’s the limit of my political comment.

As we’re leaving the city tomorrow lunch-time, this is the final daily update, so I’d like to thank Sarah for organising such a lovely trip, and for all of the seven for the fun we’ve had this week. Andrew wanted there to be an awards ceremony, so I’ve decided to do that here:

Most exposed person of the week – Clive

Bravest person of the week – Julian

Nicest person of the week – Sarah

Best dancer of the week – Bev

Best stories about Gordon – Brian

Best faces in a photo – Gordon

Best falling off a chair – Andrew

Most drunk – Andrew

Most generous person – Sarah

Best food critic of the week – Bev

Person with the smoothest look – Clive

Person with the fewest towels – Andrew

Person drinking the manliest drink – Gordon

Person who ate the most food – Andrew

Person who went unnoticed for the longest period – Clive

Person who picked the worst accommodation – Andrew

Most disappointed person of the week – Bev (over no swimming pool)

And I think that concludes that   🙂