This post is part of a multi-part series on my recent trip to Spain and Morocco. You can read other posts here and here.  Thanks for following along!

Entering the Alcazar was like stepping centuries back into a beautiful moment in time.  A time when craftsmanship was everything, and every detail was constructed with intention and purpose. A time when beauty was valued, so much so, that constructing a building was a lifetime process.

What’s pretty ironic is that I just stumbled upon this place, not knowing just how significant it was.  I was completely oblivious to the fact that the Game of Thrones was filmed there. Or that it is still a residence for Kings to this very day.  All this I learned later after we had left Sevilla.  If you remember from my Malaga post, this whole Spain thing was the most unplanned trip I’ve ever done. I did minimal research, so whatever we explored was pretty much by chance.

We hit the Alcazar at the end of our day, about an hour before closing time, after the lines had subsided. One of the first things that caught my eye was the tile.  It was the perfect combination of Spanish and  Moroccan details. Southern Spain is known for its Moorish architecture.  Being located so close to Morocco you can definitely see the Islamic influence and style.

The palace was the equivalent of a human size maze. Each room was a completely new color palette with surprises waiting.  I pretty much spent the entire time obsessing over the tile patterns.  Although, the door and ceiling details were equally as mind-blowing.

This was my favorite room in the whole palace. I struggled to get the perfect shot for a while. With it being so close to closing time, I kept waiting for everybody to get out of my photo.  It was kinda funny because I kept getting irritated that inevitably someone would walk across while I was trying to snap the photo.  Like I own the place. The photo below is the best one I took – with just one shadowy figure in the doorway.  I may photoshop them out.  Clearly, it still bothers me.

My favorite exterior space was the courtyard.  Those arches and the relief patterns…*sigh*.  The experience was just so beautiful. I could have spent all night here. I’m pretty sure we were probably one of the last few to leave.

No palace is complete without a ridiculously maintained garden area.

The outside of the building kind of had this tie-dye effect, which I totally fell in love with.

I’ll leave you with this view of the ivy and a bench. Because I mean, just how cute is this??

Is Spain on your travel bucket list? If not, it should be!  It never was on mine but now I’m just dreaming of the day I can go back.