Seville

I had a relaxing time with my family on the beaches of San Jose. Now it was time to hit the road again.  Our next stop was the city of Seville.  As we drove away from the beach areas, the terrain changed greatly.  The land was more lush and green and we saw hundreds of acres of wind farms.  I discovered that Spain is actually one of the top producers of wind energy. We passed through the city of Granada, which was one of the final strongholds of the Moors in Spain, until they were ousted in 1492. In Granada, we saw the Arabic palace complex called the Alhambra. The Alhambra was built between the 12th and 13th centuries.

One of the wind farms we saw (This was one of the smaller ones)

      We made it to our next stop, Seville, which is the capital of the Andalusian region. Seville was also once controlled by the Moors. We stayed at our hotel called Hotel Amadeus / La Musica. This was a really unique experience as the hotel was filled with musical instruments that we were allowed to play.

 String instruments on the wall

One of multiple pianos in the hotel

One of the highlights from Seville was visiting the Real Alcazar Palace. This was another Moorish structure. The palace complex was massive; we had trouble finding our way around. The architectural detail on the palace was incredibly intricate. It is regarded as one of the nicest palaces built by the Moors. The palace was constructed at different periods of time, ranging from the 12th century to the 15th century. A portion of the show Game of Thrones was actually shot in this palace complex. It truly felt like a step back in time when we ventured throughout the palace. 

Portion of the palace with current residences

                                      

One of the interior domes of the palace

Escaping the underground dungeon (Yes, there was a dungeon area under here)

      After going to the Alcazar palace, we went to Parque de Maria Louisa.  It was a beautiful area to rest in the shade.

Strolling through Maria Luisa Park