Spring 2013 Trip, Days 10 & 11: Sevilla

I have been in Sevilla, my last destination in Spain before moving on to France, for the last day and a half. Without a doubt it has been my favorite place in Spain. In particular, Sevilla is a vibrant and beautiful place at night. It reminds me very much of Rome in that regard, and in fact I would say that Sevilla’s nocturnal beauty and character rival Rome’s. Rome has the edge as the best place in Europe after dark, but Sevilla is close (and Paris is also very much in that conversation). I stayed out late last night walking around the Santa Cruz neighborhood, up and down both sides of the Guadalquivir River, and had a tapeo dinner at a few different bars in the Triana neighborhood. I made my way home around midnight, and the Sevillanos were still out strolling, having drinks and tapas, and enjoying the perfectly warm, clear evening. The whole city is gorgeous after dark, especially along the banks of the river and in the old Santa Cruz neighborhood. The beautiful buildings, orange trees and flowers everywhere, nighttime lighting, and people filling the streets and squares, make for a run, relaxed, and enchanting evening ambience. When you’re out late in Sevilla, you feel like you’re part of the party, doing exactly as the locals do and feeling welcome to join them.

The streets of Sevilla at night

The Guadalquivir River (apologies - the iPhone isn't very good at night or distance shots)

The Torre del Oro, Sevilla

A bartender performing the venerated ritual of slicing the jamón

But before all of that, I attended a flamenco show at a great place in the Santa Cruz neighborhood called Auditorio Alvarez Quintero. I walked around to several different places to scope out the scene before settling on the place I went to, picking the one that seemed the most serious and least gimmicky. They have nightly performances of traditional flamenco song and dance with performers changing frequently, and while it is a bit touristy (the majority of the attendees were tourists like me), the performance was outstanding. It started with a guitar player and a singer on stage performing an introductory duet. The singing was almost like impassioned wailing, and the guitar work was masterful. I have heard some really good classical guitarists in Spain, but that guy was absolutely the best. After the introduction, a male and female dancer came on stage along with the singer and guitarist. In that first dance the male dancer helped to provide rhythm by stomping and clapping with the music while the female dancer did her thing. Later, they switched roles and the male dancer took center stage, after which in the finale they danced together. The dancing was incredibly impressive. The dancers’ focus was intense, and as the performance went on you could see that it was very physically demanding and technically challenging, and yet both executed their routines with remarkable grace and skill. While it was a performance largely for tourists, I got the feeling that it was very much a legitimate and high-quality example of traditional flamenco. The artists were clearly absorbed in their performances, exuding the soul and passion – el duende – that typifies great flamenco. While I was a little bit skeptical beforehand, I was very impressed by the end and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The flamenco performers taking their bows

So like I said, I was out fairly late after the flamenco show last night and therefore got a somewhat late start to the day today. I was still feeling the effects of the bar grub I had eaten for dinner the night before (nearly everything I ate involved frying in some way), so I skipped breakfast. I had arranged to go on a walking tour of Sevilla’s historic city center, so I walked to Plaza Nueva where the tour was supposed to start at 10:30. On the way I stopped by Starbucks for a coffee. Starbucks in Europe is exactly like Starbucks at home, and while I feel a tad guilty for patronizing a huge international chain when I’m traveling, my desire for the familiarity of a Starbucks cappuccino outweighed my guilt this morning. When I got to Plaza Nueva I found the tour group forming. It was about twenty people, mostly Americans although also with some folks from Israel and New Zealand, led by an excellent local guide named Alfonso. For nearly two hours he showed us around Sevilla’s old town, pointing out little places and things that you would never see or notice without a knowledgeable local to show you. I learned about how Sevilla was originally a Roman city called Hispalis, one of the oldest (established in the 3^rd century BC) and most important cities in Spain during that time. Later after the Roman Empire collapsed the Visigoths ruled Spain and Sevilla for three hundred years, after which time the Moors from North Africa crossed the Mediterranean and conquered Spain, ruling here for five hundred years until finally the Reconquista brought Sevilla under Christian rule from the 13^th century onward. As a result, like much of the rest of southern Spain, Sevilla today reflects the cultural diversity of its history, and the tour really brought that history to life. After the tour I felt like I knew and understood the culture and history of Sevilla immensely better than I would have otherwise. The tour cost me 15 euros, and I consider that money extremely well spent. While most of the time I think tours and guides and things of the sort are best avoided, because often they are more interested in extracting money from you than in helping you to understand what it is you are seeing, on occasion you find tours like Alfonso’s that are extremely worthwhile, adding invaluably to your understanding of the place you are visiting.

The streets of Sevilla in daylight

After the tour I stopped in a bar near Plaza Nueva for a quick plate of paella for lunch, and now I’m back at my hotel taking a bit of a break before going to see the Alcazar and the Cathedral. After that I’ll try to get to bed as early as possible, because I need to get up at 5:00 in the morning to catch my flight to France (I should have planned that better). Tomorrow I will be in the Dordogne region of southwest France, so for now I bid Spain, and you all, adios and au revoir until next time. Thanks for reading.