As I write this I understand that back home it is raining – a lot which makes the fact that it is about 20 degrees and dry here in Seville all the sweeter! I think this is the fourth time we have been here and that’s simply because it is beautiful and (usually) sunny.
The Greatest Hits
We’re here a few days but today is the only day where we are going to repeat anything that we have done before. We have chosen to spend the day visiting some of our favourite spots starting with a walk along the river to the María Luisa Park. The last time we came to Seville the park was closed due to the weather so we were keen to wander through it once more and make our way to the The Museum of Arts and Popular Customs within it. We had no intention of going into the museum but instead to get a picture of the fabulous front of the building reflected into the pool outside.
Next, it was a short walk to the Spain Square, somewhere that definitely sounds better in the native Spanish – Plaza de España. Today the place was heaving with people so we didn’t linger long only to take a few pictures before moving on.
We’ve done the Alcazar, Giralda and cathedral several times before and so didn’t go into any of them today electing instead to wander the pretty streets that line the area nearby. Seville reminds me of Rome in the way that whenever you turn a corner you stumble across something interesting.
The only place we went into and paid money for this time was Pilate’s House which is a bit of a hidden gem as we’d discovered on our last visit. I still would like to live there, although, it looked like it might be a little drafty!
The last stop was to the Metropol Parasol or mushrooms as we like to call them. This is a permanent wooden structure that you can wander under and, if you pay, across the top of for views of the city.
Ale-Hop
We also managed to fit in four trips to a Spanish chain of shops called Ale-Hop. I guess that the closest equivalent to it in the UK would be Flying Tiger where they have all manner of quirky odds and sods at cheap prices. Most of these visits were us checking out the stock and deciding whether we really wanted to carry around a couple of cute rubber ducks for the rest of the day!
I need to work up the courage to ask someone working there just how you say “Ale-Hop” as I cannot imagine it is said as you would say it in English. I’m imaging it to be more “Alay-hoop” but I really should endeavour to find out.
I’m your Private Dancer
Given the number of times that we have been to Spain and Seville in particular I’m surprised that we haven’t done this before but tonight we finally succumbed and went to that tourist trap that is the flamenco dancing show.
There are plenty of these dotted around the city but we opted for one who was willing to drop the price by €6 a person and throw in a glass (well, what turned out to be a plastic cup) of wine (which turned out to be more like sherry, apparently).
It was a tiny space holding no more than 30 people and was pretty full given that it is only February. On stage there came a singer and a guitarist who looked like Jonathan Creek holding a guitar designed by Le Creuset. He was excellent as was the dancer whose feet moved at an incredible rate. The singer was probably excellent too but the Spanish wailing is not particularly to my taste. All in all it was a good way to end a fine day.
Truly Amazing! One of these years I will visit that part of the world