Sunflower Fields and Sevilla
“Ummm…. who are these people?”
Quick Recap: For those of you who have just started joining my blog (hi!) and (thanks!), I’ve been reliving my summer travels. My friend Allie and I traveled the world the month of July immediately following graduating from our residency in pediatric dentistry. We spent 8 wonderful days in Spain. While traveling, I kept a travel journal and have been using excerpts from this journal to relive that wonderful month, and to put pictures with my experiences. Our last town we visited in Spain was Seville, but my travel story begins with the journey to get there.
We woke on a beautiful morning in the idyllic town of Ronda. I ran out to get cappuccinos and croissants so we could eat them on our balcony which had 180 degree views of the valleys below and the mountains above. We enjoyed a beautiful, leisurely breakfast and headed out.
Sunflower fields stretching out as far as the eye can see!
The drive to Seville was absolutely gorgeous! We drove through fields of wheat, groves of oranges, but we were also on a mission to find the famous Spanish sunflower fields! Most of the bloggers had listed Carmona as the town to go to if you want to see sunflowers. Carmona was on our way from Ronda to Seville, and we planned on stopping there, but then on our drive we discovered fields upon fields of sunflowers on the side of the road! They were everywhere and in full bloom! We decided to skip Carmona and pull off at one particularly dreamy spot and must have taken about 100 photos. The sky was that classic Toy Story blue with big, white puffy clouds rolling through. That blue sky set against the backdrop of the yellow flowers all turned towards the sun is something I will never forget.
Feels like I’m in a dream.
We made it safely to Seville and dropped off the rental car.
Travel Tip: Being able to drive from Granada to Nerja to Ronda to Seville is definitely the easiest way to get around, but I was grateful to drop off that car and not have the responsibility any more.
Travel Tip #2: Also in the future, when traveling internationally, I will always get the rental car insurance. It would have given me more peace of mind, and honestly that is worth a lot!
Travel Tip #3: Sometimes staying in a hotel is really nice. We found a cheap, nice hotel called Hotel Bécquer which was about $100 a night, had a rooftop pool and was in a great location for exploring Seville. After lots of different AirBnBs, the beds felt so comfortable and the towels were fluffy. None of the AirBnbs we’d stayed in had soap, shampoo, lotion or anything like that, so being in a hotel with all the little amenities seemed luxurious.
After 10 days of traveling, some travel fatigue was definitely starting to set in. Nevertheless, there were sites to be seen, so we headed out to La Plaza Espana. It is a palace horseshoe-shaped structure that appears to be a mix of Spanish architecture and Moorish. Gorgeous blue and white Art Deco Spanish-style tiles line all the buildings. It was built in 1929 for World Fair and is part of the Maria Louisa park.
Fun Fact: It is also apparently where they shot a scene from Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. (Same bridge as the one I’m posing on above!)
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones shot in Sevilla
From there we wandered to the gardens called Parque Maria Luisa next door and admired the lush greenery mixed with fountains, tile work and flowers.
There is a lot more to see in Seville, but sometimes you have to listen to what your body is telling you, and our bodies were telling us to get in our rooftop pool. Lounging at our pool which overlooks the city was heavenly. We heard the cheers of people on the streets who were watching the World Cup finals (viva la France!) and enjoyed letting the sun warm our backs. Still not feeling Spanish food, we found an Irish pub called The Merchant and ordered burritos and guacamole which were surprisingly delicious. We Americans like our food variety.
Parque Maria Luisa
Roof top pool at our hotel in Seville
On our last night in Spain, I am reflecting on what an amazing trip this has been so far. I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by how easy it has been to travel around here and how friendly and helpful everyone has been. No one tried to take advantage of us, no one tried to swindle us. After being used to traveling in South America, I was ready to argue over prices and haggle over taxis and it was so enjoyable to not have to do that. Spanish food and wine is delicious and cheap. Spain has a variety of climates, architecture and landscapes but all the ones we experienced were beautiful. I’d come back again in a heartbeat.
Travel Tip #4: Find an awesome travel companion. Traveling and spending all day with a person really keys you into their quirks, and I have been so blessed in having such an easy-going travel companion in my friend Allie. This trip is not for the faint of heart. It is non-stop with very little down-time or privacy. Neither one of us has ever been to these places before, so we’re also trying to navigate through cities we don’t know.
Find a great traveling companion to explore the world!
Travel Tip #5: Spain does not have customs for passengers coming from the US. They also do not have any kind of border patrol between other countries. From Seville, we took a car to Portugal so there’s no proof that we were ever in Spain.
Thanks everyone for continuing to follow along! Next up on the travel portion of the blog: LAGOS, PORTUGAL! Spoiler alert: one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been!