"And what really struck me was how much the architecture reminded me of Paris."

Yes, it's Baroque. I love this style and when I visited Madrid I "gorged" myself. This is why Madrid is now my favourite city. And like Lincasanova I got hooked on the fried whole baby squid - Chopitos. Thanks for the trip report - very informative. After my trip I too have a Spain addiction.

Fantastic report! Thanks for covering the little things as opposed to "the catedral was wonderful" and "there were a lot of people on Sierpes!"

I have not been to Sevilla during Feria and would love to know more about how a tourist gets to enjoy it. I understand about the casitas but is it possible to get access to the "casita area" without credentials? Can I walk down the streets of the Feria area? Is there food, entertainent, etc oriented to those without casita credentials but who are simply walking the streets and gawking in the tried and true tradition of tourists?

Of my travels, Semana Santa in Sevilla is very special.

Wow, thanks for all the great responses! It's great to have a forum to discuss my love for Spain with others!

lincasanova - Thanks for the info on the patatas bravas - so I was pretty close. I wasn't sure if I would like them, but you're right, they're delicous (and dangerous!). ha ha

wayne - Glad you found my report & hope it's helpful. I'm so jealous you still have your trip coming up. I can't wait to hear your thoughts once your return.

dcd - I noticed the same thing! And meant to talk about it in my report, but forgot. I definitely noticed how everyone dressed very nicely in Spain- men, women & children. Most people always looked very stylish & well-put together. That took me by surprise. I never thought of Spain as a fashion hot spot, but I was sure wrong!

worldinabag - Thank you for describing the style of architecture - baroque. Yes, it's beautiful. I wonder if there are other cities where this is common? I'd love to go to those too!

Weber - Let me see if I can describe Feria a little bit better. You can definitely enjoy Feria without being invited to a caseta. It's held in a huge fairground type area that anyone has access to.

The casetas are just set up in rows and rows. There must be hundreds of them. They're just private little booths where family & friends eat and socialize. So obviously you can't intrude on those unless you know someone there. One interesting thing I noticed was a few casetas even had "bodyguards" at the entrances. I guess those really must have been the good ones!

Anyway, you can walk down the rows of casetas & just people watch & see all the flamenco dresses. Some men are also dressed up too. Plus there are lots of horses & carriages driving people around. It was such a cool atmosphere!

So you have all the casetas, then you have a whole carnival area too. Complete with rides, game booths, food - very similar to a US carnival.

The area of Feria is huge, with plenty to see. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you happen to be in Seville during that time. I really enjoyed the whole spectacle of it. And I felt like one of the few tourists there, it was mostly locals. So that was pretty cool to see how the people of Seville celebrate.

Weber, if you want, I can email you some pictures of Feria to give you a better idea.

So now that I've been to Madrid & Seville, where should I visit next in Spain? I want to start daydreaming...

Lolly,

Now that you have fallen in love with Spain, you will not able to stop! Why don't you look at going to Northern Spain?I love Santiago de Compostela and Galicia. Also the Picos de Europa area.

Lolly100
I am loving your report - very easy to read and fun to follow.

I am so glad you fell in love with Spain! My parents were totally in love with it, and we visited as a family several times, but it wasn't until 2005 when I returned that I fell in love, too (a certain cute Spanish man has something but not everything to do with that!). I was mostly in Madrid this time, and really got to know the city and feel more of the essence of the place...

I agree about the clothes shopping in Madrid -- I am not a huge shopper and I am older than you, but I also had a blast buying cute tops and unique inexpensive accessories in many of the fun boutiques and at el Corte Ingles.

I also visited the Thyssen for the first time on this last trip and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the collection there. At the Prado I more or less bee-lined to what I was interested in. And I liked the modern art at the Reina Sofia - Spain's modern artists are intense!

The Retiro was my escape, too. Met some fun in-line skaters there.

And, as a solo traveler for part of the time, I also felt comfortable and welcomed and I am so glad you did, too!

Re: Toledo -- you saw a lot of Spain, so next trip you can explore the areas around Madrid and to the north -- walled towns and castles! (I did the day public bus to Toledo, which was not complicated and only about an hour, I think.)

Someone on this site was just recently asking about the Room-mate hotels, so if you come across their query, could you let them know about your experiences?

Lolly100 - I feel your pain regarding the Atocha station. This had to have been the most frustrating part of the entire trip and the only real downer. The lines in the Madrid station were so long and so slow. We had the same trouble that you had, except that we were able to get tickets to Toledo. Next time I visit Spain I will purchase tickets somewhere, anywhere other than the train station.

Hope you return soon. I loved Toledo! While there I bought a wonderful chef's knife that I use daily. It is one of my favorite European purchases of all time.

My wife just saw a hotel package that included car rental. Personally I feel like I would rather not drive around Spain, not to mention constantly looking for parking.

Any thoughts on this?

a car is not necessary for point to point travel,nor in large cities (parking, directions, etc.) but to get out to the outlaying villages and experience some spontaneity, i find it is the way to go in MOST countries.

Lolly100,

Thank you for your easy-to-read and pleasant trip report. My bf and I are leaving to Madrid in less than a month, and we're looking forward to it!!! Thanks for the tips on the train to Toledo, because we thought about doing that as well!

Thank you Lolly! Just picked up your response to my post, and happened to already have downloaded your trip report to review! I am SO looking forward to this trip, and appreciate your report. Can't wait to read it! Thanks again for posting.. it'll be a help to narrow down what we see! Sam

About Sevilla's Feria, there are a number of public casetas, where everyone can enter (very few, indeed, I have heard there are from 15-20 public casetas). They are mostly the ones from public instances (Ayuntamiento de Sevilla, Junta de Andalucía, Diputacion) and political parties...
Most probably they are not so cosy and nice as the private ones, but they might be useful for a tourist to try "rebujito" and some tapas.

ttt

Bookmarking :-)

bookmark

Feria is the very best time to visit Sevilla!

Regarding the public casetas, we went to one sponsored by the PSOE for lunch and to rest our legs. There aren't many spots to sit at the fairgrounds in Los Remedios, other than the churros area. The chocolateria across the street is overpriced.

Lolly100 - thank you for your lovely trip report/wonderful little details. So glad you enjoyed. It was good to revisit places with you & hear about places I did not get a chance to see. Spain was my first solo trip to Europe too and I think you did great! I did not see Feria, so thanks for sharing.
I loved Toledo - and like tammylouky, I bought a chef's knife- so reasonable, well used & never even been sharpened yet! You can look also forward to lovely & affordable jewelry in Toledo.

bookmark this. thanks