26 W E S T W O R L D A L B E R T A | S U M M E R 2 0 1 5 simon boucher-harris/renegade photography
Insight's tours, with restaurants handpicked
by the company's savvy tour directors. On
each tour, one night is reserved for what the
company calls Dine-Around, when the main
group breaks into three, based on a trio of res-
taurant options selected by the tour director.
But all of our meals on this trip have been
incredible, from the Lagareiro-style (baked,
then grilled), garlic-crusted octopus we had in
a tiny, candlelit bistro in Lisbon to the crispy-
fried cod and pomegranate salad we ate at
rustic Sem-Fim Restaurant in Monsaraz, over-
looking pastures and olive groves.
Myth
#
6, Drowned in Wine
and Laughter:
You don't have meaningful experiences.
Our fleet of horse-drawn carriages is making
its way through Seville's Maria Luisa Park – 40
hectares of botanical gardens, bowers, ponds,
tiled Moorish fountains, pavilions and stone
monuments along the Guadalquivir River. We
wheel slowly past soaring palms, Seville
orange trees and fragrant jasmine blossoms.
As we turn into the Plaza de España – the
park's centrepiece, a massive, semi-circular
plaza bordered by a neo-Moorish brick pavil-
ion and 500-metre canal – the sun is just dip-
ping beneath the building's spires.
We exit the park and continue along the
Paseo de las Delicias, the waterfront boule-
vard, past Seville's famed bullfighting ring, the
Plaza de Toros. Our carriages come to a stop in
front of El Patio Sevillano, a well-known
tablao, or f lamenco theatre, where we're
shown to our seats and offered sangria.
A flamenco dancer performs at El Patio Sevillano,
a well-known tablao, or flamenco theatre, near the
Guadalquivir River in Seville.
