Today was our last full day in Sevilla, so we tried to at least walk by all the remaining sites we’ve accumulated on our to-see list. Sevilla has so many cool little neighborhoods so it’s fun to play connect-the-dots and see what we encounter.

We started the day having breakfast at Brunchit, which emphasizes natural ingredients, plant-alternatives, and eco-friendly practices. Fresh orange juice, great coffee, yummy food, excellent presentation.. we approve!

Quick stop at the hotel and Savitri face-planted into a mini-nap on the bed like Ashok used to as a child.

Next stop was Plaza de Toros de Sevilla, the famous bull-fighting arena. This a central theme in Sevilla culture and comes recommended, so it seemed obligatory. We had.. mixed feelings. On one hand it truly is unique and is a key element of Spanish culture. The facility has a long history and the self-guided tour was very informative.

…On the other hand.. humans are twisted. The audio guide says all this stuff about the mutual respect and profound honor between matador and bull, blah blah blah. Respect and Honor do NOT exist between a trapped animal and someone playing with its life. Now as a meat-eater I can’t say that killing the bulls is unacceptable, but it is surely a concocted justification. The exhibits also highlight the gross position of royalty and slaves at various points in history, and overall really make you wonder how civilized we are as a species.

Our next stop along the canal was La Torre del Oro (The Gold Tower). We didn’t go inside (which you’ll see is our M.O. throughout the day) but we did admire its age. This was built in the early 13th century (I see many approximate dates but this seems to be most common)..

We wound our way through the streets and paths around the palace and the Sevilla Cathedral, just soaking it all in.

We liked the old tile hand-drawn maps. Not super helpful for walking around in the days of GPS but would do the trick if necessary and are art themselves!

As we walked through the Jewish Quarter to the east of the cathedral, the streets get narrower and narrower..

Una Ave Maria was tucked in, very empty, and very quiet.

Santa Cruz Square is sort of a launching point for many of the tiny pathways in the Jewish Quarter.

We worked our way down to The Gardens of Murillo, a peaceful, orange-filled, little sanctum. An interesting caged animal at the entrance..

Up amongst the oranges!

Street Flamenco!

We chose an Italian restaurant for lunch, LA GALLINA BIANCA. It was chilly out but their only seats were outside, so we got a heater. As always with these things it doesn’t reach some people and melts the others (see the heat shimmer in the mini video below).

Overall the food was very good. The only exception was the cannelloni, which was fresh with good texture but lacked flavor.

After lunch we re-visited Setas de Sevilla, this time with Savitri and Jen. It was also nice to see it from a different perspective and in full daylight.

We then walked NNW about 2 km (1.25 miles) to Alameda de Hercules. On the way we stopped at Bolas (Balls.. of gelato).

This is some of the best gelato I’ve ever had, and MANY truly unique flavors. They had several that included ~comfort spices like cinnamon, anise, cloves, ginger, etc. SOO GOOD!! We had three flavors, all delicious:

• Caramelo a la Sal (salted caramel, butter)
• Magallanes (ginger, cinnamon, raisins, Malaga wine, nougat)
• Chocolate Lejano Oriente (ginger, cardamom, anise, clove, cinnamon)

Highly recommended! They have several locations.

We arrived at Alameda de Hercules and it was.. not what we expected. Many touristy sites say it has arts & crafts but we suspect that is seasonal. Today at least it was mostly a large open plaza with very few people. Young kids were playing fütbal. Surrounding the plaza were several restaurants, seemingly lively and all with outdoor fire heaters. It looked like a nice area mostly frequented by locals, but unfortunately we weren’t hungry to try any of them. The ends of the plaza both have pairs of Roman columns, the northern ones modern replicas and the southern ones at least largely original.

We turned SSW and walked back to the hotel. We ended up walking 4.5-5 miles.

True to European form we went out for dinner around 8:15. We went to El Cairo just around the corner from our hotel. They came recommended by the hotel when we asked about paella and did not disappoint! Our paella was mixed seafood (fish, shrimp, prawns, clams, and mussels) and meat (chicken, beef). It was cooked perfectly, with a thin layer of charred rice against the pan. The four of us ate beyond capacity and there was still quite a bit left.

We declined dessert and staggered across the street to Jessica Garcia gelato, another highly rated gelato shop I’ve had my eye on. We had the Chocolate Fondant and Bailey’s Cream. Both were delicious and had strong flavor. they had a huge variety of flavors as well, although not as creative as Bolas.