This review is an overview of Seville and is meant as a taster which hopefully will encourage you to visit.

One thing we did notice as we made a journey break at the roadside services was that, unlike Portugal, no-one seemed to speak English. Well really why should they ? After all most British people like myself do not learn other languages. However as we did not expect to be visiting Spain we knew no words or phrases at all. Still you can get by.

Instantly we both fell in love with Seville. The area we mainly visited in our brief stay was so full of architecture and history it was interesting and really beautiful. The Cathedral is apparently more impressive outside than in. The outside of this 15th Century Cathedral is very ornate and impressive and it is a massive building. We did not visit it as it was so warm but were told by friends it is not as spectacular inside. However it is huge. It has the longest nave of any such building in Spain and does have it's fair share of decoration. The entrance fee was 7 euros each.

When we came out of the gardens we decided to take one of the horse drawn open top carriages which will take you around this cultural centre. The carriage thankfully had a little sun shade on but the poor horse must have been sweltering. The driver was an old Spanish gentleman who despite his lack of the English language made sure we knew what he was pointing out. We passed so many splendid buildings and drove through a lovely green area. This area is where all the buildings from an Exposition, many years, earlier are located. Many buildings or pavilions from different countries had been built for this exhibition. They were all pretty splendid but Spain's was a little extra special. It was a huge ornate building with tiles, bridges and twists and turns all over the place. However it was simply designed to be looked at and there had never been a display inside. Our coach had already briefly stopped here and the guide had told us to watch out for female gypsies. They approach you with a sprig of greenery which they appear to offer you for free. If you take it they feel you have made a bargain with them to read your palm, for which you must pay in coins. If you do not want this just firmly say NO and shake your head and they will reluctantly leave you alone. Trotting around this area was lovely but from time to time the driver did have to manoeuvre the heavy traffic. He finished the tour by heading slightly along the river and then back to the Cathedral area. The carriage trip cost 20 Euros each and so it was a little pricey. However it was enjoyable and lasted about 45 minutes.

This whole inner Tourist area of Seville is traffic free, apart from some modern trams, the horses and delivery vans etc. However crossing from here to say the river means tackling the busy traffic. There is a good looking Opera House in Seville and Seville as a whole seems to have a real buzz to the place. I think also, from what we were told, it is one of the hottest places in Spain. Temperature wise that is.

Highly recommended-Loved it !