Wednesday morning arrived, and we prepared to leave Faro for Seville, Spain, home of flamenco dancing. One street over from our hotel was a bus stop for Seville. However, there was no easy way to get there so we ended up dragging our suitcases around on the cobblestone sidewalks again. Fortunately we had checked out the location earlier as the bus stop doesn’t even have a sign there. The people standing around with suitcases were a big clue that we were in the right place.
Our tickets indicated certain seats for us, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to that. It was first come, first serve. We ended up at the back of the bus, but thankfully had seats together. The bus felt a little cramped, but otherwise it was fine. It seemed like we had a better view of the countryside from the bus. From our window we saw orange trees as well as other orchards we couldn’t identify. The trip to Seville was about two and a half hour.
Seville is a large city, and it was a bit overwhelming to be back in a crowded city again after our respite in Faro. A bus was our best public transportation option to the hotel, but with all our luggage we decided to take a taxi. We had to wait a bit, but it was worth it to not have to drag our luggage onto a crowded bus and down the street.
After settling into our hotel room, we headed towards the downtown area. The streets near the hotel were quite narrow in places with very narrow sidewalks if any at all. It was about a mile walk on the cobblestone streets to downtown.
The first place we came to was Encarnación Square. It was a bit of a surprise. Overhead was this large structure. It had a free-flowing shape to it and looked like it was made of cartons, but it was actually made of wood. It was impossible to get a picture of the entire structure as it was so large. One has to move around to get at different angles to see it all. They claim it is the largest wooden structure in the world.
The structure opened to the public in 2011 and was originally titled Metropol Parasol, but it became popularly known as Las Setas (mushrooms) de Sevilla. One can walk on the top of the structure and view the city from there. We did not realize that initially so we didn’t do that, but it looks like it would be a great experience.
We didn’t really have any plan for where we would go downtown. Our goal was mostly trying to get the lay of the city. We were wandering. We decided to head down a narrow street. Actually many of the streets were just walkways. We never saw cars on them.
At the end of this street we came to the El Salvador Church. There was a plaza in front of the church. It was a large church, and I might have gone inside to check it out, but they were charging to go in. After seeing so many churches already, I just didn’t feel like I wanted to pay to go inside another church. Across the plaza was the building that housed the Hospital of Nuestra Señora de la Paz.
We did walk around the church trying to get as many angles of the exterior as possible. Along the way we found an inexpensive take out Italian place and had some pizza for dinner.
One of the things which Seville is famous for is the flamenco dance. The female dancers wear a very specific style of dress which has ruffles at the bottom. This was apparent as we walked down the next streets. We saw store after store with flamenco dresses in the window. Silvette was fascinated with all the different colors and patterns of the fabric. However, she didn’t find any of them particularly attractive. She took all the following photos. See anything you like?
Then we saw a number of stores selling the fans which are quite decorative and used by the flamenco dancers. Some stores were also selling flowers for the hair which is the finishing touch for any flamenco dancer. While it might be interesting to see a flamenco show while we are here, our time is short, and the cost is high so we didn’t take that opportunity.
As we continued walking we came to one of the largest cathedrals I have ever seen. In fact it is considered the third largest church in the world. The Cathedral of Seville takes up a whole city block and more. There are plazas on two sides of it with monuments.
Then of course there is the very tall tower that really reaches high into the sky. It is called the Giralda. It was originally a minaret for a mosque. The mosque was converted to a Christian church but then torn down and replaced with the current cathedral but the tower remained. We walked all around the church trying to get a photo from all sides as there is so much detail to see. I think there were at least four massive doors to the place along with other smaller ones.
Some of the buildings facing the surrounding plazas were also very photogenic. This includes the Archivo General de Indias de Sevilla which contains records of Spain’s explorations of the new world including from many of the well know early explorers.
The cathedral also charges to go in, but I was willing to pay to see what is inside this huge church. We purchased tickets online and will see it tomorrow. I think this is going to be the problem with Seville. Many of the interesting places charge a fee to go inside. While they aren’t really that expensive, they add up when you do them all.
As we were finishing up our personal tour around the cathedral, we spotted a Starbucks across the street. We took the opportunity to have a cool drink and relax before heading back to our hotel. As we were walking back, we saw a group of young people at Encarnación Square dressed as if for flamenco dancing. The young women had their fancy dresses, and the young men were in black. We hung around a bit to see if they were indeed going to be dancing there. However, nothing was happening so we eventually left and continued walking back to our hotel.
The good thing about today was the weather. It had been forcasted to be in the 80s, but some high clouds rolled in with a bit of wind, and the day was actually quite pleasant. We are hoping for more of the same tomorrow.
Seville proved to be an interesting city to visit. Next week we will share more of what Seville has to offer. In the meantime feel free to share this post with your friends and on social media. Thanks for your support. If you have questions or comments, be sure to note them in the comment box below especially any thoughts on the dresses.
Credits: The picture of the bus and the one of me ordering pizza were taken by Silvette Lee as well.