In total, we spent 4 nights in Seville, Spain. The city was beautiful, the heat – unbearable, and our airbnb was so elegant yet had ants 😦

Day 1: the drive and arrival. Our leisurely drive from Armaçao de Pera to Seville took about 3 hours. Before going straight to Seville, we stopped in a small village we randomly found off Google maps and had lunch in a local restaurant “Los naranjos”. The food was amazing. Even picky R ate their rice. There was a playground next to the restaurant- a bonus!

Checking into our airbnb was such a pain. First we had to squeeze our “midsize” SUV into the narrow Seville street and then we had to squeeze it into the garage. Once in the garage, it had plenty of space but getting through the garage door set off many car sensors (because the walls were too close to it). So that unpleasant experience dampened our mood a bit. But whatever, let’s walk and find our airbnb. Mind you, it’s 100 degree day.

Walked for a few minutes, found our airbnb and couldn’t get in. The keys were just too old or worn out or, I don’t even know. The instructions were long and detailed; we tried following them… Anyway, after much cursing under my breath, we got in. Only to realize the air conditioner is not working. Called the owner – “the air takes a long time to start blowing but the system is new.” Okay great… They were right but it would have been helpful to know it before hand so I wouldn’t rage vomit on them because I was so hot, had a long day and the kids were driving me nuts. We then also discovered that we are sharing this airbnb with ants. Told the owner: “tomorrow I will stop by this the spray.” Okay, I don’t think they ever did.

The airbnb was in an old building, located in Seville’s old town center, very quiet and private, and clean (apart from the ants). It had a lovely courtyard that had many beautiful potted plants. The inside was so tastefully decorated, spacious and comfortable. Except the ants. I may be bringing some with me to Granada…

After taking showers, settling in, and exploring our building and courtyard, we headed out to dinner. Found some tapas place and ate. The kids were dead tired so on day 1 in Seville we all went to bed super early.

Above is day 1. Crossing into Spain, lunch at a village, looking for our airbnb in Seville, tapas..

Day 2. Exploring Seville + seeing Tablao de Arenal Flamenco show. In the morning it was quite pleasant (80s) so the kids and I went to explore the center of the city. I wanted to lay my eyes on la Giralda and la Catedral as soon as possible. Both are within a 5 minute walk from the airbnb. The kids and I spent an hour and a half roaming the center and getting a gelato. At 10:30, T came with us to the Royal Alcazar of Seville and we explored that for about 2 hours. Royal Alcazar building was beautiful but I especially liked the gardens that surround the castle. I could have stayed longer if not for the the heat.

After the Alcazar, we rested at the apartment for a bit, I have taken a nap since the heat zapped all of my energy. In the afternoon, the kids and I went for a walk by the Guadalquivir river. They chased pigeons, had ice pops, and found a playground. When we came back, we were soaking wet. Even Spanish news were talking about this unbearable heat wave.

How we kept cool. Seville has a million water features, mainly fountains. I saw many folks dip their hands into a fountain, scoop some water and put it on their face, hands and neck. I started doing the same with me and the kids. If a fountain wasn’t available and I saw that R’s face is getting red/sweaty, I would take his water bottle (which I filled to the brim at the airbnb) and use that to cool his face/head/neck. Repeat for L. Repeat for myself. We always choose the shady side of the street to walk on, and take breaks in cafés and shady “plazas.” Lastly, sunblock and hats for everyone.

In the evening I went to see an incredible flamenco performance from El Tablao de Arenal. Pictures were not permitted.

Day 3. A day trip to Cádiz + the beach.

In the morning I slowly squeezed the car out of the garage in Seville. The drive to Cádiz took about 2 hours and went smoothly. Arrived in Cádiz, parked, and went to the Mercado de Cádiz – an open air market selling anything from towels to Iberian ham and apricots. It looked like each stall is owned by one person because they were labelled with their names. Right away I bought two huge peaches for the kids, and asked the owner to wash them. The peaches were happily decimated right then and there.

After lunch we walked down to la Caleta beach. La Caleta is a city beach and it was cramped, dirty and full of seaweed. A quick search on Google revealed that there are better beaches nearby. Got the car and went to la Barrosa beach. And THAT was beautiful, peaceful and a huge stretch of land. Even R went into the water, I was so impressed! The trip back toSeville took about 1.5 hours. Tried a different tapas restaurant and went to bed around 10(!). Cádiz was smaller but it was also not as clean as Seville and had more unhoused population.

Day 4. Exploring Triana + la plaza de España.

On day 4 L’s first tooth came out!! She was so excited and scared. My little girl is growing up…

We set out before the heat and crossed the bridge into Triana neighborhood across the river Guadalquivir. In Triana we had churros y chocolate in a tiny café then made our way to Plaza de España. In Triana it was refreshing to see very few tourists but la plaza de España was a different story. All in all, our route from airbnb to Triana to Plaza de España back to airbnb was 5 miles! In total we walked almost 8 miles on day 4.

Tonight was T’s last night on this trip since he has to get back to work. This morning he took a taxi to Seville airport from where he will take an hour flight to Lisbon and a subsequent flight to NYC.

Starting this morning, it is the kids and I. Part of me is nervous that I will not have my husband to lean on as we make our way through Spain and part of me is feeling okay since I have traveled alone with them before (Iceland, Denmark, Maine, Shenandoah Valley). Today the plan is to visit a few “white villages” on our way to Granada. We are in Granada for the next three nights.