My Two Weeks in Seville, Spain

Beyond the Page

I have hinted at this in a few posts, but we haven’t talked about my two weeks in Spain yet, so I thought this section of the blog might be the best possible choice. My time in Seville now seems short, and there is a lot I missed out on in that short frame, but I’m not someone who likes to be away from home for too long. I have two homes on this planet, one in Ireland and the other in Croatia. Anywhere else I prefer ten days. While in Seville, I did have that little nagging feeling of wanting to go home, but I also knew I wanted to return to that beautiful city and see more.

Yes, I am a bit strange and unusual.

A Quick Recap

To set the record straight, this will not be a significant event or conspiracy; I know what you did last summer-style story. If you are the type of person who favours those sorts of tales, dear reader, and find yourself disappointed at the end of this post, most of what occurred in Seville, which most people wouldn’t find interesting.

The timeline of my time in Spain is this…. I landed on a Saturday, spent two weeks there working and exploring, and came home on the second Saturday. In between, we did a lot of sightseeing, exploring different parts of the city, practising my bad Spanish, and working as a Graphic Designer with an event company as part of my work experience (where only my mentor spoke English, so I did have to practice Spanish with the employer and other employees).

History of Seville

Seville is a vast place with a vibrant history. It has seen the rule of Romans, Muslims, and Christians. It was built throughout that time, which means its architecture is a magnificent combination of all of its cultures and influences, as are some of its names. On our tour around the city, on the second day, we got to hear that Seville was, in fact, a poor city at the start of the 20^th century. It was only by the wisdom of the ruling King that they managed to gain their wealth and build Seville into the city we all know today. This was when the last of the American colonies had been lost, and to keep the connection with these countries, they were invited to build their contributions to the architecture of Seville (as long as they paid tax). This enriched both the treasury and the city.

Famous Projects Filmed in Seville

Another interesting fact about Seville is that many well-known projects were filmed there, including Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Game of Thrones, The Dictator, Lawrence of Arabia and others. Of course, I did get a selfie at the Plaza de Espana hallway where the famous Senator Amidala and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker walked in (as you would expect).

Beautiful Light Show

Naturaleza Encendida Light Show at the Alcazar of Seville is one of my favourite things in Spain.

Picture this. The royal palace of Seville already has these vast, absolutely gorgeous gardens (several, in fact). Still, the people of Seville decided they would better use this space by installing lights and projects of their sea life and playing beautiful Arabic music. I fell in love with this lovely place, how it is presented, and the little stories you find throughout the garden telling you the history of this magical place.

My Other Experiences in Seville

There was more: the streets, the food, the people. There was a lot to experience, and at the end of it all, I feel like I have only seen half or even a third of what Seville has to offer. For example, I only took one quick walk into the part called Triana (across the bridge) and found there was even more magic to be experienced there, but there just wasn’t enough time.

It was in Triana that I found the best ice cream.

My favourite restaurant was a small, halal place that served delicious food and was not expensive. I ended up going there twice. And despite what some people may think, halal means permissible. So it’s not just ‘no pork, no lard’, but the food served is heavily inspected from start to finish and high standards are expected at every point.

The Work Placement

Before concluding, I will say that my work experience was also brilliant. I got to spend two weeks working in Adobe Illustrator, which I hadn’t worked in before but is something I wish to learn to help me with my book covers (this is probably the main reason I’m returning for a second year in college). I got to see the professional life of a graphics designer, and I worked with a great mentor who could point me in the right direction and teach me what was important when having clients.

In the end, I enjoyed my time in Spain. After returning to Ireland, I continued practising Spanish (brief daily lessons), and it’s a place I want to return to someday.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this post. This last week has been a burst of activity for me due to an assignment at college about picking a client and running their social media for a couple of weeks. Most people went elsewhere in search of clients, but to be fair, I already was my own social media manager, so it made sense to give some love to my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. After this time ends, I might disappear for a couple of weeks again as my final deadline is the 19th of April, but I will be back for the summer. There is a book (three) to be finished, so there is a good bit of work for me.

To keep up with the latest, like and subscribe to my blog (and follow my social media accounts if you haven’t already). Feel free to drop me a comment here on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, and we can start a conversation! I’d love to hear your thoughts about my blogs and designs!

Until next time,

~ Love, L.V.