1. SEVILLE
I had always wanted to tour Southern Spain and visit all the Islamic sites from the time when the Muslims were a powerful force and ruled Andalusia. With 5 children in tow and one having disabilities I knew that I would have to plan everything in advance to make sure the trip went smoothly. We hired a van from the airport and visited Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga and Gibraltar.
Our first stop was Seville, a beautiful and breathtaking city. We stayed at the Barcelo Renacimiento hotel which had an excellent pool and was situated next door to the Isla Magica theme park and Water park. The theme park was okay but the kids particularly enjoyed splashing about in the waterpark. I chose the hotel for this reason as I felt it would be nice for the kids to have some fun as they would enjoy going to the theme parks. I needed to cater for their needs as well as my own.
We also visited the Real Alcazar De Sevilla, a beautiful 10th century royal palace. The upper levels of the palace are still used by the royal family as their residence in Seville. It was also used as a location for filming the hit series Game of Thrones. The palace stood in for the water gardens of Dorne in various scenes for four episodes of season 5 and one of season 6.
The gardens were also breathtakingly beautiful and really pleasant to walk through.
Real Alcazar De Sevilla
For tickets I would recommend buying from the official website as I found many tour operators were selling them at inflated prices and not offering discounts for children. Children’s tickets from the official website were free and so were those for people with disabilities.
It was important for me to find halal places to eat whilst in Spain so on the first day we went to BBQ House which served chicken and lamb kebabs with fresh salad. They also had burgers which were good for the kids. For 8 of us though it did end up being quite pricey.
We also found a place serving halal burgers near to where we were staying and the burgers were both filling and delicious. It was wonderful eating outside, under the stars, watching the world go by. It was a hive of activity in the evenings as people enjoyed the cooler, balmy weather.
Next day we took a horse drawn carriage ride through the city. This cost 45 Euros for a 30 minute ride but it was a good way of seeing the city. As there were 8 of us we had to take 2 carriages so it seemed pricey but the kids loved it.
One of the highlights of my trip was definitely seeing the breathtakingly beautiful Plaza de Espana. If you ever visit Seville it is not to be missed. It is free to walk through the Plaza and to enjoy the gardens. Boat rides are available but need to be paid for.
We even managed to make time for some retail therapy. Seville has plenty of shops and quite a few boutiques and my shopping obsessed sister who was travelling with us was over the moon when she stumbled upon a Sephora store.
Noreen Roams 