August 19, 2026

We woke up early in Madrid and walked through the city before the sun was up. We found our way to the city train (not the Metro) and caught the train at Atocha (Madrid’s main station) to Sevilla.

The train ride was about 3 hours and we got in mid day – we grabbed the rental car and drove to the center of town and parked. We grabbed some food in the square and then started our journey around.

First we went to the Cathedral de Sevilla. It is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. It was crazy on the inside – all chopped up with only small sections of pews. We climbed the tower, saw the burial site of Christopher Columbus and also the tallest alter.

There were lots of other rooms and different places it was truly the most hodge podge church I have ever seen it is well worth the visit. To close the visit, we saw where the Parrish council meets – a bit different than the places the Parrish council met at the churches of my youth.

Odd side note – when I was confirmed, I chose St. Isidore of Seville as my confirmation saint – the patron saint of technology. Life is funny like that sometimes.

After that we went to check out the Real Alcazar. This is the oldest royal palace that is still in use. The Christians took it over from the Moors when they were pushed out but the architecture still was very present.

The castle was interesting and a total mix of architectures- it definitely felt different from other European castles that I have been in.

After we got checked in to our AirBnB, we went to Flamenco show at the Casa de la Memoria – it was a nice hour long show that was in a very small venue – we really enjoyed it.

Next on the docket was the Plaza de España – this was an Expo venue that was amazing.

The whole thing was a scale that was quite impressive. Apparently it is now just administrative offices but this would have been a fun event to attend when it was first in use.

We got some bonus street performer Flamenco also.

We also visited the Plaza de Americas – it was less impressive but still an interesting stop – those buildings are now museums.

From there we quested for dinner. We walked to a bar called Casa Morales. Elliott was super hungry and we walked in and there not great seating. We started to grab a table as people left but a couple indicated they had been waiting longer. We stood down. We took at a standing table but had walked 20,000 steps already we really wanted to sit. However, there was a sliver of hope when the waiter came quickly… I tried to order but was frozen – I was supposed to read the chalk on the giant jugs – but could not process quick enough. The moment passed – I admitted we should go and we got food at Five Guys – a DMV original in Sevilla. It was yummy.

After that we went back. I did some reading on the bar and got prepped. I read up on two key things.

First was the Vino de Naranja (different from Vino Naranja). This is a specialty of Seville. They take the bitter Seville oranges that are the same variety that is planted through out the city and put add them tor he wine. It is a whole process.

Second, I got up to speed on Sherry. I learned about the Sherry triangle and that there are different types of Sherry – Learn five words and you can drink anywhere: fino and manzanilla (bone-dry, chilled), amontillado and oloroso (nutty, deeper), and Pedro Ximénez (dark and sweet). These words explained why I did not see Sherry listed anywhere in menus. Fino it would be.

David and I popped back to Casa Morales and it was a success – we had some drinks and I got taste the Fino – the bar tender was proud to highlight how dry it was – it went with with more Jamon.

Overall a great close to a solid day. Goodnight Sevilla!