Seville, the vibrant heart of Andalusia, is a city that captures your senses from the moment you arrive.

With its passionate culture, historic architecture, and irresistible cuisine, this Spanish gem offers an unforgettable travel experience. From exploring iconic plazas to tasting world-famous tapas and witnessing age-old traditions, here’s your ultimate Seville travel blog to plan the perfect getaway.

Plaza de España — The Jewel of Seville

No visit to Seville is complete without stepping foot in the spectacular Plaza de España. Built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, this grand semicircular square showcases tiled alcoves, ornate bridges, and graceful fountains — a masterpiece of regional architecture.

• Stroll along the canal on a rented rowboat
• Discover the colorful ceramic tiles representing Spain’s provinces
• Capture iconic photos against the majestic colonnade — perfect for Instagram
• Plaza de España truly embodies the elegance and charm that make Seville unforgettable.

Tapas Culture — Eat Your Way Through Seville

In Seville, dining is a social experience — and tapas are king. Tapas bars line every street, serving small plates of bold flavors that reflect Andalusian tradition.

Popular local tapas include:

• Jamón ibérico — Spain’s prized cured ham
• Tortilla Española — hearty potato omelet
• Salmorejo —

Welcome to Madrid, the dynamic heart of Spain where history meets modern flair and life is lived with passion and rhythm.

As the country’s capital and largest city, Madrid is more than just a destination — it’s a mood, a lifestyle, and a place where every street corner tells a story.

A City That Never Sleeps (and Doesn’t Want To)

Madrid pulses with energy day and night. Whether you’re wandering through centuries-old plazas or dancing till dawn in hidden bars, you’ll quickly understand why locals live by the motto: "Madrid me mata" — Madrid kills me (in the best way).

Here, time stretches. Lunch starts at 2, dinner might not happen till 10, and nightlife doesn’t begin until the stars are well overhead. It’s a city where you can sip vermouth at noon, admire a Goya painting in the afternoon, and catch a flamenco show before midnight — all in one day.

Culture on Every Corner

Madrid is a haven for art lovers. The Golden Triangle of Art — consisting of the Prado Museum, Reina Sofía, and Thyssen-Bornemisza — houses some of the world’s most important works by masters like Velázquez, Picasso, and Dalí.

Don’t miss:

• Prado Museum – Home

Nestled in the heart of Andalusia, overlooking the charming city of Granada, stands one of the most iconic and breathtaking monuments of Islamic architecture in Europe — the Alhambra.

A masterpiece of Moorish art, this palatial fortress complex is more than just a historic site; it's a living testament to centuries of culture, conquest, and craftsmanship.

A Glimpse Into History

The Alhambra’s story begins in the 9th century as a modest fortress, but it wasn't until the Nasrid Dynasty in the 13th century that it transformed into the architectural marvel we know today. Under rulers like Muhammad I and Yusuf I, the Alhambra evolved into a sophisticated citadel, complete with lavish palaces, serene courtyards, intricate gardens, and powerful defensive structures.

When the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella reclaimed Granada in 1492, the Alhambra was repurposed but preserved, with Renaissance touches added alongside the existing Islamic artistry. This blending of styles gives the Alhambra its unique character — a place where Moorish poetry meets Spanish Renaissance elegance.

Architectural Wonders

The name “Alhambra” comes from the Arabic Al-Qal’a al-Hamra, meaning “The Red Castle,” a reference to the reddish hue of its fortress walls at sunset. Inside, the beauty only deepens.

Nasrid

When it comes to American whiskey, few names resonate as strongly as Jim Beam.

Nestled in the picturesque rolling hills of Clermont, Kentucky, the Jim Beam Distillery stands as a testament to the rich heritage and craftsmanship that defines bourbon. With a legacy that spans over two centuries, Jim Beam has become synonymous with quality bourbon, making it a must-visit destination for enthusiasts and casual visitors alike. In this blog, we’ll explore the history, production process, and experiences that await you at the Jim Beam Distillery.

A Rich History

The story of Jim Beam begins in 1795 when Jacob Beam first started distilling bourbon. His dedication to producing high-quality whiskey laid the foundation for what would become one of the most iconic brands in the world. The Beam family has been at the forefront of bourbon production for generations, navigating challenges like Prohibition while maintaining their commitment to quality and tradition.

Today, Jim Beam is owned by Beam Suntory and remains a family-owned operation at heart. The distillery has grown from a small family business into a global icon, producing a range of bourbons that cater to various tastes, including Jim Beam White Label, Jim Beam Black Label, and more

Washington, D.C. is always an interstring place to visit. I love museums, and there's plenty of them!

In the 80’s I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with this group of people. It was a very affordable trip – just had to chip in a few bucks towards gas and buy most of my own food. We stayed in Hostels and different Church places along the way. It was a group of non-denominational Christians, and a couple people I went to school with where along for the ride.

Over all it was a fun trip – I just had to tolerate some praying and Christian music. Bible tracts used to be a big thing, I’m not sure if they still are since I haven’t seen one in years – but some of these tracts were great. By great I mean ridiculously great – almost comical. They had boxes of these things, and it was fun reading because nearly all of them threatened burning in hell for all of eternity. A lot of them had to do with the beast, or the mark of the beast. The Antichrist was a great way to strike fear in the hearts of sinners,

Kennedy space center was opened on July 1 ,1962. Named after John f. Kennedy it is located on Merritt island, Florida.

The Kennedy Space Center spaceport and launch complex has been the site of many historic space missions, including the launch of the Apollo missions to the moon, the space shuttle program, and the upcoming Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2024.

The Kennedy Space Center was established in 1962 as a response to the Soviet Union's early successes in the Space Race. The center was named in honor of President John F. Kennedy, who had set the ambitious goal of sending a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Today, its a popular tourist destination, with millions of visitors each year. It is open every day of the year, except for Christmas and certain launch days. Last time I was there it was October, the weather was not too miserably hot and the crowds were smaller.

When you visit there are a wide variety of exhibits, displays, and attractions related to space exploration. The main visitor complex includes the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, which features the retired space shuttle Atlantis, as

Girona is 101 Kilometers (little over a 1 hr drive) north of Barcelona. A beautiful city full of well-preserved medieval buildings.

We were on a day trip to Figueres and Portlligat, and stopped in Girona for a little while. I would love to go back there when I could spend more time.

We started the day in Girona, which is a historic city in Catalonia. We checked out the Cathedral of Girona, but did not have enough time to explore the Jewish Quarter. Our guide told us that taking a stroll along the Onyar River and visiting the Museum of Art, Archaeology, and History of Girona are also things popular things to do.

From Girona we headed to the town of Figueres, a town in the Alt Empordà region of Catalonia. The main attraction here is the Dalí Theatre-Museum, which houses a collection of works by the artist. The museum holds one of the greatest Dali collections in the world. And I would have to assume the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg Florida would be the second best. If you are a Salvador Dali fan you would love this museum – every square inch of the building had the touch

Just a 45 minute drive west of Barcelona in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is the Freixenet winery, and the birth place of the worlds best Cava!

Freixenet produces more than 100 million bottles of Cava each year. 3 types of white Spanish grapes are used (Macabeo, Parellada and Xarello), but Freixenet uses only one type of yeast to ferment all of their Cava.

The winery was formed mid-19th century when two winemaking families joined. The Ferrers owned La Freixeneda, and the Sala family who had been exporting wine to South America since 1830. The granddaughter of the founder of the Casa Sala wine company married Pedro Ferrer of La Freixeneda. The company they formed took the name Freixenet.

Unfortunately also during the mid-19th century the Great French Wine Bligh occurred which eventually spread to Spain. In 1872 phylloxera hit Spanish vineyards. Phylloxera is a microscopic insect – like an aphid, that eats the roots of grapes. These insects were unknowingly introduced by French wine makers when they imported American grape vines to be more competitive. According to Levi Gadye: “the phylloxera preferred the leaves of imported American vines, and the roots of local French vines.” The solution to this pest problem

There are many beautiful buildings in Barcelona, but some of the most unique and distinctive structures including the Sagrada Família Basilica were designed by Antoni Gaudí.

Born in Reus in 1852, Antoni Gaudí received his Architectural degree 26 years later. From the beginning his designs were a radical departure from traditional construct. Gaudí took his inspiration from nature and his work developed an organic style inspired by natural forms. The flow of water, grain of wood, the way tree branches grow and spread out, the symmetry and also randomness of nature – all can be seen in his work. He normally didn’t draw plans but rather preferred to create models and sculptures so he could feel the work taking shape in 3 dimensions.

Most of Gaudí’s work is in Barcelona, including his masterpiece, the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Sagrada Família Basilica), originally started in 1883 but as of 1915 he was completely devoted to working on up until the day he died. The Basilica should be finally completed in 2026.

He also used color to a much greater extent than his contemporaries, using broken pieces of ceramic which normally would have been discarded, stained glass, and

Thanks to SpaceX, a new era of human spaceflight has begun.

On May 30^th we launched Astronauts from American soil for the first time since the final liftoff of the space shuttle program July 8, 2011.  The Falcon 9 rocket carried the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.

I remember watching the old Sci-Fi films and even the Flash Gordon serials where they always had spaceships that could take off and land but now it feels like that technology is closer than ever with the SpaceX reusable launch system development program.

Science fiction authors have always set the goals for science and technology.  After all, if you can’t image something how can you create it?  There are the people who dream and there are the people who make those dreams reality.

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku is an interesting book that explores the “science of the impossible”.  Things now that we take for granted over 100 years ago would have been dismissed as fantasy. Kaku gives examples of and discusses different technologies and the science behind them.  He uses Science Fiction

One of the things that really blew my mind when I first saw Dali’s work in person was the scale of the paintings. 

It one thing to look at a plate in a book on art, but when you stand before a painting in a gallery it’s a totally different experience. It’s like the painting is suddenly a real thing and not just something left over in your imagination like fragments of a dream.  When you are looking at a photograph of a painting in a book you subconsciously imagine the size of the painting (at least I do).  And even though there is usually a size under the image,  I still had all of these predetermined dimensions in my head.   So, when I saw my first Dali paintings I discovered some that I had imagined were a couple feet wide were actually inches across, and others like The Hallucinogenic Toreador were up to 13 feet tall.

I’ve met my share of people who are disgusted by Dali, but I believe the man was a genius. Everything he did was on a grand scale – from the seemingly minuscule where he used a small brush with all but a couple

New Orleans is one of those cities I wish would never change, and to a certain extent it hasn’t changed all that much. 

There’s something about the people in New Orleans, their friendliness and generosity – it feels different from most other cities.  It’s a town where just about anywhere you find yourself, you soon feel at home. 

I first visited New Orleans in the early 90’s, and immediately fell in love with it. A couple times I even almost considered moving there.  Talk about a place with history, French and Spanish Creole architecture, phenomenal food, and great music!  Other than Nashville I can’t think of another place with so many musicians per square foot.

In 1999 I was lucky enough to catch Glynn Styler and Royal Fingerbowl at the Mermaid Lounge.  That year was also the 30^th anniversary of the Jazz festival, and the musicians that year included Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Branford Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Santana, The Isley Brothers, Dave Brubeck, Los Lobos, Little Feat and Dr John.  Jazz Fest is three days full of music held at a race track in the middle of New Orleans.  2 major stages where the larger acts perform, and then

For me, one of the highlights of the Kentucky Bourbon trail is the Maker’s Mark Distillery. 

Makers has been my go-to Bourbon for years now – and it was a cool experience to visit the distillery and take the tour.  Since then I’ve become an ambassador and have my name on a Barrel aging there, so in a few years I’ll have a palette of makers I guess. 

I remember my grandfather drinking a lot of Jim Bean and Old Grandad when I was young.  The story goes that when I was a baby and they wanted to stop me crying, they would give me a spoonful of bourbon and honey. Maybe that’s when I first started developing my love of bourbon.  When I was fresh out of high school everyone drank Jack and coke.  We weren’t old enough yet so we’d find one of the old bums that hung around by the train tracks and have them buy a bottle for us.  We just had to give them enough for a pint or a couple Jumbos of malt liquor. 

For a lot of years I was a fan of Wild Turkey, and when I started Bartending around 1991 that

In 1923 a 5 ft. tall 100 lb man named Edward Leedskalnin started building a Castle using large chunks of limestone weighing several tons.

The original castle was in Florida city, and in 1936 Ed decided to move to a new location. It took him 3 years to move his coral castle to its new location between Homestead and Leisure City. It took almost 30 years to complete. He continued to work on the castle until his death in 1951, and to this day nobody has been able to figure out how he accomplished it.

He worked in secret mostly at night using old farm machinery parts and homemade tools. The coral pieces that are part of the newer castle were quarried on the property only a few feet away from the castle's walls. The pool and the pit beside the southern wall are quarries.

Ed used to tell people he had figured out the secrets used to build the ancient pyramids.

The grounds of Coral Castle consist of around 1,000 tons of stones in the form of walls, carvings, furniture, and a castle tower. One of the structures - an 8 ton revolving is carved so that it fits

Back in 2007 a couple friends and I planned a trip to Tulum Mexico.

Being that we had to be at the Fort Lauderdale airport early in the morning – we drove from Sarasota the day before and stayed in a cheap motel that night. After a night of loud neighbors, a fight in the parking lot, and a 3:30 a.m. heroin overdose in a room below us – we made our way through fire trucks, and ambulances and headed to the airport.

The very first thing that indicted the trip would be interesting was arriving in Cancun and experiencing red light green light. Basically, as they let you into the country there is a completely random system of green and red lights – green light you pass through, red light you get searched. I got the red light and got searched. No problem – I had nothing illegal on me – just a bunch of camera equipment and electronics, but it’s always a strange feeling watching someone rifle through your belongings.

On that trip we stayed with a crazy German expatriate who lived close to the beach in Sian Ka'an. Sian Ka'an is a biosphere reserve in the municipality

On the southern coast of Puerto Rico is the city of Ponce.

Outside of San Juan it’s Puerto Rico’s most populated city. Ponce is names after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León.

Founded in 1692, Ponce is full of magnificent architecture and is considered one of the most beautiful places to visit in Puerto Rico.

Some of the highlights include From the Plaza Las Delicias, the Parque de Bombas (an old fire station which has been converted into a museum), Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Serrallés Castle, and Museo de Arte de Ponce.

In the Plaza Las Delicias sits The Ponce Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe) which dates back to the 17th century. The centuries old plaza is full of vendors selling food, coffee, and different crafts. At night it is full of live music.

The Serrallés Castle was formerly the home of the Serrallés family, owners of the Don Q rum distillery. As I’ve found during my many trips to Puerto Rico , Don Q seems to be the favorite rum of Puerto Rico. On my last trip I enjoyed much Vermouth Cask Don Q which was

Formed along with the Great Lakes as the last ice age glaciers melted, Mackinac Island covers a little over 4 square miles.

The Island is on Lake Huron between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Fort Mackinac was built by the British during the American Revolutionary War. And the island was also the site of a couple battles in 1812 before the U.S. eventually took over.

Most of the original buildings on the island have been preserved or restored and the entire island is listed as a National Historic Landmark. There are no motor vehicles allowed on the island except for an ambulance and a fire engine. I think there about 600 people who live on the island year-round, and over 500 horses. Horse or Bicycle are the mode of transportation there.

The first time I visited Mackinac Island was in 1980 and it was a school trip. Also, in 1980 the film Somewhere in Time was shot on location at the Grand Hotel – Staring Christopher Reeve who was also in Superman II that year. Being 14 Years old at the time – I saw Superman II at the theater but didn’t watch Somewhere in Time until a few years

La Boqueria is a world famous market in Barcelona on the edge of the Barri Gòtic. 

It’s located in El Raval with an entrance to the market right off La Rambla.  An incredible place full of just about every kind of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat cheese and fish you could imagine.  One table even had 30 different kinds of eggs – everything from Quail to Ostrich.  When I go back to Barcelona I will not stay in a hotel again, instead I’ll find an apartment somewhere near the Gothic quarter where I can pick up fresh food and make it myself.

I did manage to do quite a lot of tasting while I was there – different kinds of ham, sausage and cheese. Prosciutto hams hanging over my head while enjoying a cold Estrella Damm - Little wax paper cone cups attached to the bottom of the hams so the warm liquified fat doesn’t drip on peoples heads.  

The fresh seafood was amazing, oysters the size of baby heads, razor clams oozing out of their shells, hundreds of fish lined up on ice looking almost too beautiful to eat.  The Market is huge and it’s easy to spend

The Arc de Triomf is a triumphal arch in the city of Barcelona, Spain.

It was built by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. The arch crosses over the wide central promenade of the Passeig de Lluís Companys, leading to the Ciutadella Park that now occupies the site of the world fair.

The monument is classical in shape and proportions and features ground-breaking sculptural and decorative finishes replete with symbolism. It has become one of the city's iconic landmarks. The frieze overlooking the Passeig de Sant Joan depicts Barcelona welcoming the nations and the frieze facing the park shows the city presenting medals to the exhibition participants. There are reliefs on one side symbolising agriculture and industry, and commerce and art on the other. At the top of the arch the shields of the 49 Spanish provinces are presided over by the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona. Parc de la Ciutadella Barri Gòtic:

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, also known as El Morro, is a fort that was built in San Juan in the 16th century when Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule.

A trip to San Juan isn’t complete without visiting this iconic structure. Castillo San Felipe del Morro is named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The fort was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan from enemy ships.

In 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War, the island changed hands from Spain to the United States. El Morro was designated as part of Fort Brooke and actively used as a military installation during the First and Second World Wars.

In 1961, the US Army retired El Morro, passing it on to the National Park Service to establish as a museum. And in 1983, El Morro and the walled-city of Old San Juan were declared Unesco World Heritage Sites.

The Gate of San Juan The main entrance of Old San Juan when it was entirely walled in is a giant doorway carved right into the city wall. From there you can head right to Paseo