Seville, Spain: Welcome to Dorne

Nate told me to expect a very quaint, small town village type of feel for Seville…and that it was known for growing orange trees. He ALSO mentioned that Seville was the location for a Game of Thrones scene! The Alcázar in Game of Thrones which was the set for the Palace and Water Gardens of Dorne. So if there are any Game-of-Thronies reading this, this is a very cool place to vacation and a must-see for your list.

Seville, or Sevilla, has a fascinating past. It was a small city that, in 1503, became the center for commerce between Spain and ‘the new world’ and became the site for the main holdings of silver and gold from the Americas. It became the richest city in Spain in the 16th century. For the art buff, some famous painters and sculptors came from Seville, including Diego Velázquez, a 17th century painter who is recognized as one of the world’s most important artists.

We spent two nights and a morning in Seville as it was a part of our multi-day spanish adventure. Our hotel was the most romantic, boutique hotel… Hotel Casa 1800 Seville. Just beautiful… you walk in and the foyer takes your breath away.

I didn’t feel like I was staying in a hotel, I felt like I was living in an old spanish movie surrounded by stone and wrought iron. And our hotel room? I didn’t want to leave it… it had a balcony that overlooked the courtyard with floor-to-ceiling glass doors. Yep. Amazing.

It was very tucked away but in a great central location. The eating area had a fridge stocked full of waters and afternoon treats! We looked forward to recharging mid-day and taking a necessary spanish siesta… dinner starts at 9pm and goes till the late late hours so you will need to rest and relax!

The Food Tour

Whenever we go somewhere that is known for food, we book a food tour. You also get a lot of history and great conversation with people in your tour group! We really enjoyed this one… we sampled traditional spanish food and wine, and made some friends who had just traveled from Portugal (and sold us on taking a vacation there!)

The food was exactly what I expected… delicious and very unique. We went to multiple restaurants and our travel guide filled us in on some local culture and famous locations, like The Royal Alcázar…

The Royal Alcázar

This royal palace traces back to the year 712. Walking through it was quite the experience…you’ve never seen such elaborate tile work or plaster. This is where Game of Thrones shot their scenes in Dorne. From what I recall, those scenes were mostly in the gardens. I got sucked in like a lot of people…. it was a really great story and so well done! (We shall not speak of the last season….). When we traveled here, Nate and I were binge-watching all of it, so it was pretty awesome that we were standing where the cast had been.

This palace has been impeccably maintained so that we (us tourists) can walk its corridors today and see just how magnificent this palace truly was. The gardens are also quite remarkable, we took LOTS of pictures! We walked hand-in-hand through the gardens and around the perimeter of the property, a wonderful memory.

Seville was such a beautiful place. Of the three places we flew to (Seville, Madrid and Barcelona), Seville was my favorite.

If you travel to Spain, it’ll be hard to choose WHERE to go and WHAT to see…it’s all so exciting! If you do choose Seville, I hope this post helps you create the perfect trip full of great food and tours. In fact, here is a helpful link on tours and things…

We have some family in other countries, and travel out and back again is sounding promising!! We can’t wait… We still have Paris, Copenhagen, San Sebastian, and Iceland during the summer months on our list. Let’s hope that international travel resumes like the olden days! We are ready to ADVENTURE over the ocean and into Europe again soon…

Happy International Travels!