Spring in Sevilla

Sevilla!!

Sorry for the big glaring typo in my last post title!  Clearly we were on 'Spring Break' and not 'Sprink Break'!  Needless to say, I was completely embarrassed and fixed it ASAP.  Forgive my horrible grammar and lazy proofreading, dear friends!

Gorgeous patios are all over the city

Sevilla is in the south of Spain, and is such a romantic city.  Our hotel was in the old part of the city, with crazy winding streets, hidden patio gardens, and orange trees everywhere.  We were lucky enough to be there while the orange trees were blossoming, and the scent throughout the city was divine. 

Me and my favorite girl at the Alcazar 

I can still smell the orange blossoms! 

We took the high-speed train from Barcelona on the Saturday before Easter, and I had read in the travel guides that Sevilla would be really crowded due to the Holy Week festivities.  We headed out of our hotel in time to watch some of the parade, and were amazed by the thousands of people lining the streets. 

Semana Santa parade float

The floats tell the story of Jesus's death and resurrection, followed by marching bands playing somber music, and hooded and robed penitents carrying candles.  It was such a treat to see this special tradition of the Easter celebration in Seville.  It occurred to me that such a religious parade would probably not happen in the USA, where parades are very secular events.

Plaza de Easpana

We did all the typical tourist things, such as visit the Cathedral, wander around the Alcazar (which was a royal palace) and Plaza de Espana (where parts of Star Wars II was filmed), tour the bullfight ring and museum, and go to a flamenco show.  I really loved the flamenco show, and the kids agreed it was great, but after ten minutes into the hour-long show, they started to ask when it would be over.

Just because we are smiling doesn't mean we endorse
animal cruelty. 

We were grateful that the city was a lot less crowded after the Easter holiday, and we had a chance to relax and wander at our leisure through the city.  The waiters in the restaurants were also a bit friendlier after the crowds left.

View from the Cathedral tower

We such a fantastic trip to Spain, and it was a good balance of activities and relaxation.  I really laughed when I read my son's school essay about his spring break where he wrote that he did all these fun activities, but had to go on really boring tours of the bull-ring and church!  I suppose that it is normal that he was a bit bored, after all, I do get bored sitting at playgrounds all the time.