Surprise of Spectacular Sevilla

Although I went to Spain in high school (many moons ago), I never made it as far south as Andalucia. I remember Barcelona as feeling very clean, and Madrid as very loud and busy. Sevilla, is a surprisingly clean and well organized city, at least in the downtown area. The architecture of Sevilla is accented everywhere with a combination of Catholic churches and Moorish arches and tile work. This part of Spain was the territory of the Romans for nearly 700 years (starting in 200 B.C). Beginning around the year 700 the Moors arrived and stayed around until the 13th century. From then on Sevilla and the surrounding areas were heavily influenced by Christianity and the Catholic Monarchs.

In general this part of Spain is the least developed, and this is evident as soon as you get out of the coastal resorts of Malaga and Alicante or the beautiful city that is Sevilla. I got a taste of both during my week long Spanish holiday.

This is a beautiful fountain in Puerta de Jerez, which is the beginning of the cozy downtown area and its numerous narrow shopping streets and busy (not until 10 pm) tapas bars (where we never ate anticipating the small plates would never fill up someone's hungry stomach :-)














This is a night photo of Giralda Catedral. The Moors built a mosque on this site in the late 12th century. The cathedral was built in the 14th century, taking over a century to construct.
















We hoped to visit the Catedral but like most old, big European churches of spectacular architecture and history there was an entry fee, a surprising 8 euros (thats about $12)! We thought we found a loop hole in paying this fee since students only had to pay 1.50 (euros). BUT apparently the student discount requires you to be under 26! Such discrimination! I was insulted and my euros were running out on my last day...so we skipped it. But I still like the photo.

Any trip to Andalucia must include a Flamenco show. Flamenco dancing originates from this region of Spain. A typical show involves a few singers playing guitar and a woman or two dancing in front of them in a distinct dress that flares at the bottom. The dance is very passionate and some may say forceful.

Shows in Sevilla can run up to 40-50 euros or more. Being on a student budget though we were directed to this place.





















It took forever to find this door through a labryinth small and un-named alleys but eventually, success! After getting a healthy portion of sangria and squeezing into a seat in the back of the house, it seemed we had found an authentic, secret, non-touristy place. Unfortunately, before the show began the back of the house was inundated with college students - seemingly from the US and UK. So much for authenticity, these guys even brought their own drinks (hidden in their jackets, classy huh?). And while the flamenco dancer was...not beautiful...the sangria was top-notch.

Another interesting point about this flamenco bar/club was when we left the place around 1 am I wanted to stop at the ladies room before the long walk (in heels) back to the hostel. Can you believe that despite the fact there were at least 300 people in that place that the ladies room was empty? No line? No wait? It was amazing, but also confirmation of my theory that Spainards don't use public restrooms. The other evidence I have to contribute to my theory is that it is damn near mission impossible to find a public restroom (at least in Sevilla)- incredible, and irritating for the thrifty traveller. So we found ourselves sneaking in and out of fast food places not to grab a burger but to use their rest room. Ironically, the only place we found bathrooms, were in El Rocio when we didn't need them!

One of the most beautiful places in Sevilla to me we Real Alcazar a royal palace built whose construction began in 1346. The palace and its gardens clearly demonstrate the influence of Moorish style on Sevillan architecture. Here is lil 'ol me in the garden.





















This is the postcard shot from inside the palace. A great example of the arches and Moorish detail work.





















All in all Sevilla is a lively, beautiful city. As could be expected Sevillians are very fashionable (I noticed a purple fashion trend strangely enough) and apparently don't eat very much in the evening. Most restaurants are completely empty at 8pm, starting to fill up a little around 9 and the tapas places are hopping around 10pm. Don't ask me how these people manage to get up and go to work in the morning. Being adjusted to Scandinavian living (where its dark at 4pm) this schedule took some adjusting to but in the end I survived ;-)

We spent New Years Eve in Sevilla thinking it would be good to spend the holiday in the big city. So in an effort to make the holiday a special day, I got all dressed up to go out for dinner. With all the numerous places I had noticed over the preceeding days, I didn't think to look for a place for dinner that night. This was utterly the WRONG strategy. Even the crappy looking Chinese place had a waiting line! The only place that it seemed possible to get a seat at was a Tex-Mex smokey sports bar. Not very festive for New Years Eve, or a place to go dressed to the nines. After an hour of wandering around in search of a decent meal, we gave up. We found a place selling pizza slices to go and beers, returned to our hostel, changed into more comfortable clothes, and enjoyed pizza and beer on the roof terrace of the hostel. Not exactly what I expected my new years to be like, but the Cruz Campo (local beer) tasted great!