Tripping around Spain and putting our feet up in France: seh

What a beautiful city Sevilla is .... my first visit here but certainly a city I would put on my list of "would visit again". City of flamenco and bullfighting. Right off the bat I'm going to confess. Henry and I didn't go to a flamenco dancing show or a bullfight. Our days are very busy and our nights well, we save for sleep. We've both seen flamenco dances and confess to being neophytes as it relates to the story being told through dance. I personally have seen bullfights .... on TV. That's close enough for me. I find the method of killing of the bulls cruel. That being said, bullfights don't start until May..... sigh of relief.

Sevilla has soul and is located in the south of Spain (Andalusia). It is small, compact and visitor friendly. Sevilla has had its ups and downs. In 1992 Sevilla hosted a world's fair leaving the city with a sound infrastructure. In 2007 the main thoroughfares were pedestrianized (Avenida de la Constitution).

Sevilla buzzes with festivals (we missed Easter thank God....) and we preceded the upcoming spring festival at the end of April - largely for locals and not for tourists unless you befriend a local. We noticed that in many of the local shops that sell traditional Spanish riding gear (hats, vests, chaps) were busy with locals purchasing attire. Seville is a combination of history, flamenco, bull fighting and art. The city is also very cosmopolitan and although small, from window shopping, the city is a fashion mecca.

Paseo - walking around. Traditional in Spain.....the big courtyard for the community. Slow motion stroll in the main plaza.... Tapas are generally served in pubs pre-dinner between 7:00 and 9:00 pm. Spaniards who don't want to eat late usually partake of Tapas. Raciones are small plates (or portion) which usually serve two people.

What became readily apparent to me is that the paseo is the parade of their bambini. Outfitted in their finest and bedecked from head to toe, both babies and parents held court. I could have taken pictures of their beautiful prams, lovely and gorgeous outfits however feared being labelled a pedophile....an outfit for a newborn could easily exceed 102 Euro (that's about 2 weeks worth of wear) and that's only the romper without the camisole, shoes, tights, hat and elegant blankets!

Ahhhh....lunch. We've been wandering the Barrio Santa Cruz and it's about 2:00 pm (our new lunch hour) when we spotted the El Librero Tapas and the smells emanating from this establishment called to us. It was a narrow (aren't they all) quiet street but we opted to eat inside and Tapas were on our mind. Our selection included braised pig cheeks, mushrooms and young garlic (as opposed to "old" garlic) meat de balls and tomato sauce and anchovies in vinaigrette along with some Jambon Serrano.

YUM YUM! One would think that would have been enough other than there was an elderly (even older than us) couple munching and yummying over their dessert. They had two mousses..... so creamy. One with Walnuts and one with figs.... dripped with honey..... oh it was so good and sublime. Photography is the last thing on our mind when food is in front of his so apologies, we well into the dessert when we remembered our friends and family......

p.s. we found out later that this establishment is rated 240 of 1,700 restaurants in Sevilla.... not too shabby...... Also, I've learned that Jambon Serrano and Iberia are expensive hams (jambon); the blacker the hoof the better the ham.

The major sites are few and simple for a city of this size (Pop. about 700,000). Its' cathedrals is
Spain's largest and the Alcazar is a famous royal palace.

Both were amazing, just a few snaps of our visit to both sites.....

Alcazar Gardens...

Alcazar Gardens

Originally a 10th century palace built for the Moorish state, the Alcazar still functions as a royal palace...Today, the Alcazar is considered a park for the locals who "allow" the Royals to still occupy it. The Alcazar is free to locals as part of the agreement after the revolution overturning, and then reinstating (on their terms) the royalty of Spain....

I must tell you, we've got HUNDREDs of pictures and to limit them to just a couple almost impossible.... We'd be happy to share them when we get home.....

Naturally, after all that site (sight) seeing, we needed more sustenance. We had our eye on a local Tapas Bar right by the hotel but it was usually too busy. Today was our lucky day! Locals arrived and to their disdain and apparent surprise of the management, there were no seats available... Thoroughly enjoyed! Also, always love to picnic and because we were tired, with no desire to leave our room we had this.....