Sevilla | España

The rest of our time in Seville was fabulous, however, getting there was not. We boarded the ferry from Tangier, Morocco for the short journey to Tarifa, Spain. After our ferry docked in Tarifa and we cleared customs our driver was no where to be found. We booked with what seemed a reputable transfer company and the bizarre part is we had been texting with the driver prior to arriving. He ghosted us! A mildly stressful situation - there was a lot of back and fourth, then dinner in Tarifa, finding an ATM and eventually a taxi to get us 2 hours to Seville. I had our amenable taxi driver stop for cervesas and we made the best of our much-later-than-planned road-trip! 

We were so ready to enjoy a night out (remember, we couldn't really drink in Chefchaouen) and it was midnight by the time we checked into our hotel. Fortunately, it was a stones throw from some swanky cocktail bars. 

At The Second Room the girls sipped fruity sangria and I a classic manhattan. Delicious drinks and winding down from all the transfer stress just in time for some extremely drunk old men to hit on us. Off to Torero - a beautiful Brandy cocktail bar. Perfect nightcap! I was enamored with the the presentation of my aged brandy. I was also ready for a comfy bed. 

Palacio Pinello delivered a comfy bed and then some. This 4 star boutique hotel in the Santa Cruz district is housed in a late 15th century palace. The rooms are situated around the stunning central courtyard where we had our breakfast each morning. Our triple room was very spacious, the bathroom and waterfall shower were too! It had soaring ceilings and really pretty furnishings .

In the heart of the historic center we arrived briskly to Real Alcazar where we spent the better part of the morning. I was glad we booked advance tickets to skip the lines. We lunched in Plaza de San Francisco, shopped for the kids, and went for rooftop cava spritzes at La Terraza del EME.  

La Terraraza boasts up close views of the Catedral and La Giralda which we would head to next! The Cathedral de Sevilla is majestic, we breezed through with audio guides. The climb to the top of the bell tower was worth it! Finally, we went for a late afternoon wine tasting at Lama La Uva which allowed a meandering walk to take in more of the sprawling city. 

Sevilla - rallying not dallying. purposefully meandering.