The third stop on our Spanish tour was Seville, the fourth largest city in Spain that’s most known for it’s Flamenco and Bull Fighting. Lets begin there.
Flamenco is part dancing, part music and part art form. It is intense and extremely passionate. We attended an evening show at the Museo del Baile Flamenco and we were blown away by the near 1 hour display of dance and song. The show began with a single guitar followed by singing that most resembles Muslim chanting. Then came clapping and stomping feet from the singers just in time for three dancers to fill the stage. Their feet never stopped and I couldn’t keep my eyes off their faces as they went from smiling wide to complete sorrow. It was a unique experience that we’d do over again! Photos were not permitted during the show which is a bummer because the costumes were fantastic.
During our stay in Seville we also visited the Real Maestranza de Caballeria where the bull fights happen. There weren’t any scheduled bull fights while we were in town which gave us an easy out from attending an event. We were warned about how violent it can be - the whole point of the fight is to kill the bull and while I’m all for experiencing local traditions I’m not sure how well I would have done with that one. Instead, they offer a museum tour that ends with getting to stand in the center of the ring. You follow the footpath of the bull fighter as he enters the ring lead by an audio tour guide. It was a neat experience and I think a great replacement to an actual show.
We did get lucky, however, that Seville FC had a home game while we were in town. Jeff is a huge soccer fan and after seeing a game during our trip to London we knew we had to jump at the chance to attend another game. The tickets are extremely hard to score but thanks to the diligent planning of Jeff we were able to not only see the game but also see them win 2-1 vs. Celta Vigo. There’s nothing like the atmosphere inside of a futbol stadium. It’s infectious!
After the game that night we wandered the Jewish Quarter in search of food and drink and found a great place not too far from the Seville Cathedral. For the first time during our entire trip we ordered giant salads which aren’t too easy to find in Spain. It likely meant we had found ourselves dining at a popular tourist location but our taste buds (and our guts) needed the break from all the meat and cheeses we’d be eating. After dinner we walked around the Cathedral which was beautifully lit for the evening hours.
We also did round two of bike rentals during our trip using Bunny Bike. We covered a TON of ground using the bikes around the city and were able to see a lot more than we would have had we been walking. We crossed to the other side of the river opposite to the central downtown area and found a fun place for lunch in Triana, Seville’s colorful old quarter. Here we also walked through the many ceramic stores that the area is known for, grabbed chocolates in the market there and found a spot for wine/beer along the riverside.
Later we biked through Plaza de Espana, the 1929 location of the World’s Fair. The plaza was surrounded by huge gardens that were full of people picnicking, walking, biking and taking rides in horse drawn carriages. The weather was hot and it was the perfect day to enjoy biking outdoors.
After two days in Sevilla (and many tapas later), we were ready for our fourth and final stop on our tour of Spain, Madrid.
