We were sitting on a bench, overlooking a line of people that wanted to visit the Real Alcazar. The line looped here and there, went behind a building and we couldn’t tell how far it would go. This was our last day in Seville and I had wanted to visit the Alcazar, since it’s one of the city’s highlights. The other days, we hadn’t been able to make it. On Monday, we were tired from our trip so we decided to have a quiet day in the Maria Luisa park. Later, we discovered the Alcazar was crowded in the morning, so then we wanted to go on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, but it turned out we were too tired or rather wanted to spend an afternoon chilling at the pool. So, we set out Friday morning to visit it. But then we saw the line…

We were contemplating if we wanted to stand in it. The time we sat there, it didn’t move an inch. Was it worth it? It would probably be super crowded inside as well. We decided we could come back another time, and see a different palace this time. We ended up visiting Palacio de las Duenas. There wasn’t a line there, and only a handful of people were inside. And it was truly gorgeous, and quiet. I’m glad we made this decision.

We ended up not visiting the Alcazar on this trip, though I had really wanted to. But the line just wasn’t worth it.

I read an article about slow travel in Flow Magazine when we were sitting at the pool on Wednesday. About not running from highlight to highlight, but actually taking time to see the things you want to see. Not walking past painting after painting in a museum, but taking the time to closely study one you really like.

We always have the feeling we have to rush to tick off everything that’s on our list, instead of enjoying everything that is around us. On this trip, I know I will remember wandering through the park with my boyfriend, since it was so lovely and romantic. I’ll remember being happy, just relaxing and swimming a bit and I’ll remember the amazing quiet palace. But I probably won’t remember walking past a pretty building, taking a picture before moving over to the next. Traveling is about making memories and having new experiences, not about seeing what everybody wants to see and taking  a quick picture.