Sunny Sevilla, Andalucia, Spain

Sevilla Cathedral, City Centre

This week our highly anticipated summer vacation is now officially underway, an action packed month of exploration awaits us. Sun, sangria and flamenco pulls us south again to the enchanting Andalusian provence and city of Sevilla. 

Only two and a half hours on the fast train, entering Sevilla is like being transported to a foreign land. The charismatic city with such a fascinating history was, according to local legend, founded over 3000 years ago by the Greek god Hercules. 


Ruled by Romans, Moors and Christians the city has seen the strongest of men conquer and fall, empires and entire civilisations develop, prosper and crumble. Sevilla holds its stories and secrets tight, wrapped up and hidden deep within the dark corners of the city. 

Amazing facades down the streets

Great place to stop for a tapa

Mixing old and new

Sevilla sparkles and charms, enticing you to seek what it hides around every bend. The larger roads are lined with fragrant orange trees, laden with bright fruit. Tropical palm trees grow high into the sky, standing strong and erect in the warm breeze but the heat oppresses any motivation to sway. Within the city the streets are odd shaped and narrow and the balconies above are burdened with the weight of blooming flowers in terracotta pots. 
Richly decorated facades and intriguing secret patios hide within the old puzzle of streets. Doors are left wide open displaying large intricate entrances to which you can peer and wander into with detailed iron gates at the ends to protect the inhabitants and to allow the breeze through. High windows are covered with protective, thick straw mats giving refuge to the city from the sweltering heat. Old and new integrate seamlessly.  

It took only moments to feel at home, absolutely lost between the unstructured tangle of roads, caught between the hand-painted tiled patios and under the ancient bell towers of one of the hundreds of old city cathedrals.

John by Torre del Oro

Walking from our Pension

The city was silent and calm when we arrived, locals and tourists alike hiding from the mid day sun, quietly tucked deep away inside their homes or crowded under the water vapor sprinklers strategically placed under the pavement umbrellas.

Our pension, in the San Bartolome neighborhood backed up against the old town. A stones throw over the intricate tangle of undefinable homes we wandered in the late afternoon to explore the center. Immediately, confused and disoriented, we were fortunate to eventually stumble into the historic Plaza Virgen de Los Reyes. Dominated by the looming Seville Cathedral and steps away from the Royal Palace, it swarmed with traditional horse drawn carriages waiting in the shadows for tourists.

Plaza Virgen de Los Reyes

East side of Seville Cathedral

Our first stop was the Reales Alcázares, the Royal Palace. The architectural fortress-like masterpiece, known as Al-Muwarak, the blessed, was built in a frenzy by the Almohades a Moorish dynasty. After the Spanish Reconquista, King Pedro I, commissioned the construction of a new palace, however the beauty of the original palace was so inspiring that they couldn't bring themselves to tear it down and rather craftsmen from across the south designed a magnificent interior arranged around water features and tiled patios. 

Courtyard of the Maidens

Courtyard of the Maidens

Private area of the Royal Family 

Patio of the Royals

We made our way through the expansive palace, it's fine halls and salons and into the royal gardens. For Game of Thrones fans, it's here that they filmed the gardens of Dorne (season 5) featuring the Pond of Mercury. We loved the terraced gardens which lead to secret alcoves and pavilions and the hidden bath houses.

John inside the Courtyard of the Maidens

The pond of Mercury 

Galeria de Grutesco

After an early dinner of local salmon and the necessary help of our GPS, we headed back to take a rest and gain respite from the unyielding heat in our air-conditioned room. When the full moon shone and the streets buzzed with the sultry sounds of flamenco, we walked down along the Rio Guadalquivir, the warm, fragrant breeze whipping across the calm waters. 

Individually wrapped Yema's

Religion is strong in the south, and they'll tell you the best sweets come from the kitchens of Seville's convents. Disastrously hard to find, the convents are hidden down the smallest and most complicated of paths. The ritual of buying sweets, when you do eventually find them, is archaic and completely based on trust. We went off on Saturday morning in search of the inconspicuous Convento de San Leandro and to our dismay couldn't find the right entrance. At several doors we enquired "Tienes galletas?" Do you have cookies? 

Receiving only half-cocked looks of surprise. Consequently giving up, and walking off we remarkably caught sight of a small, ordinary-looking wooden door. With hope, we approached and noted a small plain piece of white paper pinned to the wall with handwritten opening hours. This must be it! We hesitantly entered, nervous and unsure what we would find. The entrance door led into an lonely, deserted square patio where six old dark wooden doors led off into different directions. Maybe divine insight helped us choose the right way as we approached a small wooden turnstile. Alongside, another old and worn paper listed prices for their delicious dulce yema's. A mixture of egg, condensed milk and more sugar, coated in a hard white icing. Soft, yellow and creamy they are divine. 

John at the turnstile

At the turnstile we softly knocked and were greeted through the wall by a chirpy voice that said 'Ave Maria purisima' we placed our order for the smallest quantity: half a kilo. Silence ensued as the order was quickly packaged. Then quietly the turnstile rotated and there was our small parcel, carefully placed in a delicate wooden box. John left the money and the faceless transaction was completed. A final prayer and goodbye saw us on our way, back out into the secluded morning streets.

Here's where we had lunch! 

Street side dining by the Rio 

After this experience the day was heating up quickly so we made a mad dash to get to the Plaza de España complex before the mid day sun became unbearable. Built in 1929 for the World Fair the crescent shaped complex is decorated with thousands of hand painted ceramic tiles and made of red brick, typical regional revival style of the time. It's difficult to put into words the outstanding grandness of the site. It's not rated number one on trip advisor for nothing!

Plaza de España 

Kara in front of Plaza de España 

Stunning tile works

John taking a break in the shade by Huesca

After the obligatory siesta, we sought out lunch trying the most delicious ¡que rico! local potato salad. A few glasses of the smooth house wine combined with the pressing heat saw us return shortly after for a follow-up siesta. 

Ensillada Rusa 

As the late afternoon cooled into early evening we traversed more of the old city, visiting the Cathedral, through the shaded network of shopping streets and over the Rio to the terraces lining the bank. By 10.30pm we went off in search of the elusive, secretly hidden (perhaps purposely) and figuratively 'underground' Peña. Almost all but pushed away from the city for increasing rent prices this is the one remaining raw, cave-like home of flamenco. Obscured from the lane there is a labyrinth of paths and rooms to manoeuvre before reaching the den. Inside it is Gypsy-like; painted white with low lighting and decorated with dark, faded and torn posters of by-gone festivals dating back to the early 20th century. Furnished with long wooden tables over an uneven stone floor, local patrons flock there to watch the passionate flamenco. This was not a tourist show set up for paying customers but more a casual gathering of old friends lovingly and wistfully practicing their famous heart-wrenching songs and powerful dance. 

Extremely impressed with the professionalism (and that we had found this little local gem) we sat parallel to the singers and joyfully tried to join in with cries of 'ole'. We ordered the local 'Agua de Sevilla' which translates to 'water of Seville' but was rather of a strong concoction of spirits and pineapple covered in sweet cinnamon cream.  

Flamenco performance

Calle Verde- The long way home

As the night transformed into morning, it was the stars that guided us home.....star light, star bright, hope we find our way home tonight. Getting lost in the dimly lit neighbourhood where no road fashions a straight direct path is child's play, getting out on the other hand is a mystery. 

We returned to the glorious Plaza de España early the following morning to make sure we had not missed anything the day before under the blistering heat. We enjoyed a relaxing and long breakfast filled with strong coffee and then checked out. Later that afternoon we met up with our Blabla car driver, Aurelio, a local Andalusian, who drove us onwards to Cordoba! 

To the beautiful southern Spanish city, in which a small part of our heart remains: 'Ole'.

Tot siens,

John and Kara

Seville- Home of Flamenco

Museum Hop, Hop, Hopping, Madrid, Spain

                                         Schools out FOR SUMMER!! 

Estación Museo Chamberi

After a relaxing Saturday planning for our upcoming vacation next month we thought we should get out of the house today! After deciding to stay in the city we opted to go and explore some things we haven't really seen. The kind you walk right past all the time.  

We decided to write today's adventure up in a blog for all those other folks also living in Madrid who are looking for an air conditioned building to hide away in for a few hours! We had quite a few stops today and covered a lot of ground, first up and the closest to our house was the Platform 0 museum (Estación Museo Chamberi) located in Chamberi District. This little museum is operated by the city council and is a small metro station that was built in 1919 when the first subway line (line 1) and its corresponding 8 platforms were opened. 

Later in the 1960's when passenger numbers increased and more carriages were required the station platform could not, for some reason be extended so it was closed in 1966. 

The door was just shut and closed. Later the council decided to re open the platform as an education endeavour. Now it not only gives an insight into Madrid's history but it also provides a visual interpretation center on how they built the metro and examples of older tickets. We really liked that you felt you were quietly stepping back in time right under a busy road. Original adverts remain on the wall and you walk through the old turn styles. Most impressive is that the metro still passes through the station and we had never ever once seen the museum from inside the metro! 

Entrance: FREE

Checking out the ads from the 1960s

Leaving the station

After our trip underground we took a shaded backroad West across the Chamberi district towards Moncloa. This district we often find ourselves in when walking in the evening for its beautiful Oeste park!

Museo de América

But today our next mission was to visit the National Museum of the America's (Museo de America). The museum is a little way out from the city center but totally worth visiting. Inside there are lots of archeological and artistic artefacts from across America (taking a small guess here we think most of the precious pieces might have been taken hundreds of years ago when the Spanish ravaged and pillaged their new world). They had a temporary exhibition of traditional clothing from Peru on show which certainly didn't quite look that comfortable.

The museum is very easy to navigate and although its almost all in Spanish we were given an English map. The museum is divided over two floors and five main areas; Society, Communication, Religion, Knowing about America and The reality of America. When you need a break from all of the Mayan or Incan cultural ceremonial pieces, swords, topographical and geographical maps or life size displays of houses, just looking at the enchanting building itself.

Entrance: FREE on Sundays!

Prized tresures representing indigenous chiefs

Knowing of America room with Mayan art

Loved this little guy (from Peru)

Around this time we were both getting fairly famished and lunch was on our mind! As we walked away from Moncloa and closer towards the city we stopped to grab some food to take with us. At Parque de la Montana we set up our little meat and cheese picnic in the shade of a tree overlooking the Temple of Debod. This ancient Egyptian temple is 2200years old and was a gift to Spain. With quite a fascinating history this small temple was built against the banks of the Nile in Southern Egypt, dedicated to the Goddess Isis. In the 1960's it was constructed, relocated and rebuilt in Spain. Again this is another area we have frequently walked past but never ventured in. So when lunch was gone and only the juice of our olives left for the pigeons we wandered in. We were fortune to time it right as sometimes there can be a bit of a queue. Inside you can witness some worn down and tired hieroglyphics (but who wouldn't look tired after 2200years?). Entrance: FREE

In front of Temple de Debod

Walking down the green streets

View from Parque de la Montana

Outside the Almudena Cathedral 

Inside the Jardines de Sabatini, Royal palace in background 

After departing the Temple of Debod, it was really starting to warm up! We took cover quickly in the Royal Neoclassical Jardines de Sabatini and refilled our drink bottles. Here we got a fantastic side view of the Royal palace! But we didn't stop long... we were on our way to Plaza de San Isidro!

Plaza San Isidro, quite a difficult place to find in the windy backstreets of Lavapies, was something we eventually ended up just stumbling across. This small little Museum of San Isidro (Museo de San Isidro) dedicated to Madrid's Patron Saint was quite a fascinating little find. First off you're provided an interactive 3D insight to the wild, prehistoric animals that roamed Madrid in the past as well as the geographical changes the region has been through. Next up were several archeological fossils dug up from Madrid including human tools and a Neanderthal molar dating back thousands of years. We quite liked the model of Madrid dating back to when the city walls were built and it's really visible how much the city has changed and developed. After this you kind of realise you're in an ancient 16th courtyard which is equipped with a 'miracle' well and sweet little Chapel with a fresco roof, dedicated to the Patron San Isidro. Entrance: FREE.   

Museo de San Isidro, Plaza de San Isidro 

Holy Chapel of San Isidro 

Entrance to the Prado 

Lavapies District, Yellow Restaurant

Taking a break in the grass,
 one of us is more knackered

Our last stop was Madrid's most famous National art Museum: El Prado. With one of the world's most finest (and largest) art collections dating back from the 12th century located literally one our door step its a little appalling we haven't found time to go yet! But... not without lack of trying! Set in a stunning building the Prado is a magnificent museum.

What strikes you first it that the museum was huge, and designed surely to get you very lost. At the entry you find yourself in with multitude of choices in which direction to turn and explore.

With a guide map of the most well known images we tailored our visit towards those. Stopping to rest now and then. There is also a central temporary collection which changes every few months, currently showcasing 10 Picasso pieces from Switzerland. Interesting... but we much preferred the Picasso works in Barcelona.

Entrance: FREE on Sundays 5-7pm

Tot Siens,
John and Kara

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid, Spain

First view of San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery 

There is an endless and continuous heat wave that has been surrounding, engulfing and bearing down on Spain. The locals are calling it 'summer'. The air is dry, arid and strong hot winds blow across the road surface like heat gushing out of an oven when you open to check on a roast chicken.

West view of the Monastery

The heat brings drowsiness and a serious lack of motivation to accomplish anything. Everyday the what was once, 'fun' Spanish culture is beginning to transition, from seemingly strange to vital... and we are fully into this daily siesta thing!

We rise early and join the mass movement of locals walking around the neighbouring park, taking advantage of the coolest time of the day when you can still breathe properly. John heads of to school and then Kara heads back to bed. As each hour progresses and the temperatures rapidly increase, heat begins to start rising from the pavement. From 1pm the streets begin to empty and no one dares venture out. For it's the time to find somewhere cool enough that you can uncomfortably doze off. 

Timed selfie! North side of the Monastery 

However as much as we try and be locals, we will always still take the chance to play tourist! With hope in our hearts after a cooler 38 degree Friday, we woke on Saturday to a blissful morning, a little cloudy and great opportunity to head out of the city on an adventure to San Lorenzo de El Escorial. With one more week of school and a schedule chocker block full of exams John opted to stay with his books; so Kara ventured off! 

Located 45 kilometers North West of Madrid in the foothills of the Guadarrama mountains is the small royal township of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Construction of what is the Royal Monastery, Palace, School and Museum begun in 1563 directed by King Phillip II from the inexhaustible pockets of New World gold. Originally commissioned as part of a reaction of the Protestant reformation, the enormous complex has become one of the most important examples of Renaissance history. Although parts of the building decorated by famous artists such as Zuccaro, Tibaldi, Monegro, El Bosco, Goya and Cambiaso succumbed to fires and pillages, the interior which dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries has remained its original character. Additionally as a tribute, the monastery is home to a large collection of renaissance artworks.

Pantheon of Kings
(Photo from juliapgelardi.wordpress.com)

Since its completion the grand estate has also been used as a burial site for most of the Spanish Kings and Queens and their consorts in the last five centuries. The Pantheon of Kings tucked down beneath the floor of the great Basilica was definitely one of the most incredible areas of the Monastery.

Additional rooms, adorned in gold plating and simple white marble hold further vaults of the Prince's and Princess, nestled carefully into the walls.


Taking the 661 bus from Moncloa bus station, there was ample opportunity to read up on the history of the area and watch as we quickly traversed into hectares of olive groves. After arriving and a quick toilet break, the first stop was up to the Monastery.

The Queen's garden view Northward

Standing grand and strong on the hillside the large quad shaped, granite Monastery has a foreboding presence that overpowers the landscape and shadows the small village which surrounds it. With a sense of having gone back in time I quickly picked up my tickets and wandered in. Once inside there are several main rooms and exhibits you walk through, such as; the Hall of Battles, the basilica of San Lorenzo el Real, the Architectural Museum, the Library, and art gallery and the Pantheon of Kings.

There is a very strict policy on behaviour which also forbid photographs. However, I very sneakily was able to use my phone to quickly capture some of the most beautiful and intricate frescos! Such as the amazing fresco below in the Hall of Battles which depict Spanish battles including: campaigns with the French, victory over the Moors and at the end battles of Portuguese Islands.

Frescos in the Hall of Battles 

With shame, these photos can only give a small snapshot of the absolute beauty and size of the Monastery ~ The last area I visited was the Library and it was so magnificent, with bright frescos adorning the high roof that you feel as small as an ant looking up and constantly craning your neck. Over 40,000 old and rare gold sheet books line the walls carefully placed behind glass adding a sense of wisdom and tranquility to the room.

Monastery Library 

Looking up! The main stair way! 

The Queen's garden and views southward

As the hunger in my stomach began to grumble and realising I had been exploring the complex for over three hours I ventured outside again.

Although I was hungry, I was immediately attracted by the Queen's gardens which had been visible earlier from within the Palace. After having a solid look around I decided here was a perfect place to enjoy my little packed picnic! After locating a large, sturdy olive tree I plonked down and just sat quietly.

Later on I plodded around the small village and took more photos of the Monastery.

It was a fabulous day trip out of Madrid and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Thankfully the weather was just bearable.

Tot Siens,
John and Kara

North side of the Monastery 

Patio de los Reyes
(The King's courtyard)