The Alcazar

Once we left Moraira, we headed to Seville for the end of our trip. The drive across southern Spain was one of the most gorgeous things we have ever seen. Lush farms with olive and orange trees everywhere, snowcapped mountains in the distance (yes, snow in Spain- who knew?), tons of countryside fields full of sunflowers, all just incredible. We were jaw dropped the whole trip!!

Our first morning in Spain, we did as our guidebook suggested and went to the Alcazar. I'm going to show you lots of pictures below, none of which do this palace any justice at all. It is a truly gorgeous, enormously expansive buidling which is still used by the King and Queen of Spain when they are visiting the area. There is no separation of indoor and outdoor spaces here. The light is incredible and there are gardens everywhere. There could easily be a semester long class on the architectural elements in the building with a strong focus on the ceilings. I've never seen more incredible work anywhere! Truly, the Alcazar and La Sagrada Familia are why everyone should visit Spain. Add on an amazing dinner in Barcelona and a fantastic lunch in Seville, and you are truly set for a great vacation!

The tile work in Seville is astounding. The yellow and blue combinations were my favorite.


Isn't the light here pretty? It shows off all the details that the Moors created before the Christians took over the building in one of the crusades.


There is no glass in the scrollwork below, so you can see how the indoors and outdoors flow so seemlessly into one another.


Yellow is one of the more dominant colors throughout the Alcazar, including most of the outer walls of the building.


Ceilings are below. The yellow one with the crest is my favorite, but all are so impeccably done that it's amazing!!





Blair in an alcove off one of the bedrooms. The planter pictured here is used throughout the building, and, not only are they huge, they are gorgeous! We wanted to steal one to bring home, but weren't sure how we would have fit it inside a suitcase!


Me inside the Alcazar


The lushness of the gardens.


The top of one of the sides of the building. I can't even begin to describe the layout to you because we got lost a few times throughout our tour!!


I'll end with a shot of our bed in our hotel in Seville. Do you know how excited I was to walk into the hotel and have this adorable pink and green toiled bedding just waiting for me? It couldn't have been more perfect!!