Our three-week stay in Jerez de la Frontera was relaxed and always interesting. Why would we want to leave, even for a day? One of the most important sites in Spain was a day trip away: the Alcázar in Seville. The Alcázar is the oldest royal palace still being used by a royal family in Europe and has the distinction of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We decided to devote a full day to seeing the Alcázar – and what we might discover.
We started in the garden with our friends, Jo and Pam, and took the usual photo in the most perfect of settings. Love that bench!
We wandered through the garden and enjoyed seeing the plantings, the maze, the birds, but discovered it was the people watching that we became most interested in.
In one of the small garden buildings, we caught a glimpse of a couple who had been posing in their wedding finery.
We delayed exploring the main buildings at the Alcázar when we noticed a staircase leading up to a raised walkway.
The views out over the garden were splendid.
Looking down from above, we admired the sculpted bushes and plantings. It was a delight watching the children play as they (kind of) kept up with their parents. But who was that with a long white jacket on the path by the fountain?
A dark-haired woman came into view carrying a canvas in one hand and a coffee in the other. Where was she going?
The dark-haired woman headed straight back to stand by the blond woman in the long white jacket. We couldn’t see the canvas, now displayed on the easel. “Just move over,” we muttered under our breaths.
And just then, as if she had heard us, the dark-haired woman did move and we saw a canvas with tall palm trees and a turquoise blue sky. The mystery had been solved.
It was an interesting morning: viewing the formal gardens of the Alcázar and trying to understand its grand design, while at the same time, observing other visitors and trying to understand their interaction with the garden.
Next up: stepping inside the Alcázar of Seville…..to be continued….
October 2017
simpletravelourway 
We’ve visited the Sevilla Alcazar twice and could easily be talked into a third time – it really is magnificent! And, as your photos show, the gardens and tile-work are exquisite! Anita
Hi Beth & Joe, the bench & the tiles are fantastic. Enjoy your travels as I do enjoy reading them.
It’s funny how often we come across wedding groups when we travel. This would be a beautiful venue for special wedding photos.
It’s such a beautiful garden. Thanks for the tour.
I just finished listening to Dan Brown’s new book The Origin. Quite the media blitz for this one. The whole book takes place in Spain and involves the royal family. So there are Barcelona palaces and gardens used as setting. Not exactly great literature and not just a bit overhyped but it was interesting to read a novel set in Spain and heavily involved with the machinations of the Catholic Church and the after effects of Franco’s rule. I’ve been wonder how the Spanish people are reacting to the divisive nature of his plot line. A few years ago we were reading The Inferno (also by Dan Brown) when visiting Florence where most of that story took place. It was fun following the story around the museum and into the Boboli Gardens.