Spain and Portugal Day 5 - Seville

Last night we made it to Seville and we were pretty tired, so we decided to sleep in this morning. But when we finally got up and looked outside, we were greeted with a stunning day! Seville is actually the sunniest city in Europe, which means we'll definitely be soaking up some rays during our stay here.

We walked to a nearby restaurant for breakfast, and then we started our adventure for the day. Our first stop was at the Torro Del Orro, or Gold Tower. This tower was built near the river and was originally meant for defense, but it has now been turned into a naval museum. I loved seeing all the model ships there and the views from the top of the tower were breathtaking.

Next, we walked down by the river on a pedestrian path and enjoyed the cool breeze and sunshine. We stopped by a local market, but unfortunately, most of the shops were closed since it was Sunday. However, we did get to check out a charcuteria and see all the delicious-looking cheeses and legs of Iberian ham. We've had a lot of Iberian ham during our trip and it's just so tasty.

After strolling through Seville a bit more, we found ourselves at the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville. It was mainly religious art, but we were really impressed by the medieval art pieces. We could also see how art styles evolved over time with the renaissance.

At this point, we were getting pretty hungry, so we started searching for a tapas place. It was Father's Day in Spain, so most of the restaurants were pretty busy. But after some searching, we finally found a place with an available table. We loved the tapas style of dining and it really allowed us to slow down and enjoy our meal. The grilled squid we had was recommended by our waitress and it was seriously mind-blowing.

Two dishes from our tapas lunch - scallops and grilled squid

We had originally planned on visiting the Flamenco museum and catching a show, but it turns out I accidentally booked it for tomorrow instead. No worries though, we decided to check out the Palacio de Las Duenas instead. This is a palace with beautiful gardens and it was really interesting to see that a duke and his family still actively live there.

After the palace, we spotted some people walking by with some delicious-looking ice cream, so we made a quick change of plans and headed in that direction. We ended up at Helados Reyes, which was absolutely packed with people. But we waited in line and pointed at what we wanted. We didn't really know what flavors we got, but it was amazing ice cream. We then headed to Metropol Parasol, which is a park with some cool architecture and sat on a bench to enjoy our ice cream and people-watch.

As the sun began to set, we walked back to the river and found a spot to watch the vibrant sunset. It was such a peaceful and beautiful moment. Finally, we visited the Hotel Dona Maria for a nightcap and some cheese and Iberian ham to share. The rooftop bar had excellent views of the Seville Cathedral and it was the perfect way to end our amazing first day in Seville.