How to Spend 1 Day in Sevilla w/ 1 Husband, 2 Sons and their GFs
Sep 10th, 2009, 04:53 PM
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How to Spend 1 Day in Sevilla w/ 1 Husband, 2 Sons and their GFs
This will be a short and sweet account of our one day in Sevilla, Espania…
In August, all of us spent a week in the Algarve region of Portugal (Tavira) and decided to make a day-trip to Sevilla. We already rented a car with a GPS navigation system at the Lisbon Airport from Avis because they would allow us to take the car into Spain (note: Avis does not allow their cars to travel by ferry to Spain). We left nice and early (for us) in the morning, 7:30 a.m. to be exact. Spain is an hour ahead of Portugal. Total travel time should be approximately 1 ½ hours but we apparently travel slower than most so it took us 2 hours. After parking at an underground packing facility, the first thing we did was go to a souvenir shop to pick up a map of the city. After that we needed to get a quick breakfast treat for my boy to cure his morning crankiness. Does anyone know how to say “butter” in Spanish?? lol
What we did:
<b>Plaza de Toros de Sevilla</b>
https://www.plazadetorosdelamaestranza.com/
As luck would have it, we parked right across the street from the bullring. Our timing was perfect and we only had to wait 10 minutes for the 11 a.m. tour – the first tour of the day. If you plan on touring the ring, this is the perfect time to do so as it was not crowded with tour bus groups (when we left the line was long and it was packed). Our tour guide spoke both Spanish and English – first she would give information in Spanish and let the people go and then she would translate for us in English. We were able to ask lots of questions. We were all surprised by how much we enjoyed this tour and the artifacts displayed in the museum. The history behind bullfighting and this particular bullring was interesting. We learned that bullfighting was not a competition but rather an exhibition – we really thought otherwise. And the bull never wins. As a remembrance, I purchased a fan with a picture of a Matador on it,
<b>Catedral de Sevilla</b>
http://www.catedraldesevilla.es/
What a breathtaking place! Seville’s Cathedral is the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic building in Europe. The Alter is ornate and stunning. The Sepulchre of Christopher Columbus was surrounded by people taking pictures. The highlight of our visit was heading to the top of the Giralda or the bell tower – 36 stories – thankfully no stairs but the ramps were steep! The views from the Giralda were spectacular! I noticed lots of swimming pools throughout the city, lol – it was a very hot day. Anyway, at one point the bells tolled and scared the heck out of me! Just be prepared… especially if you have a weak heart.
<b>Museo del baile flamenco @ Sevilla</b>
http://www.flamencomuseum.com/
This was our last stop of the day – the girls were especially anxious to visit this museum. The museum is a combination of exhibition dance, video presentations, and artifacts. Parts of the museum were air conditioned and other parts were sweltering hot. Watching both the videos and live dancers were mesmerizing. It was one of my favorite moments of the day. For my birthday, my “kids” surprised me with a lovely painting of a Flamenco dancer which they purchased at the gift shop – a very unique gift.
The people at the museum were especially friendly. DH and I were tired and very hot from the day. We decided to head back to the entrance of the museum which was slightly cooler and had a fan. A nice man, who we thought to be the manager of the museum, came to us and asked us if we spoke Spanish. We didn’t so he continued the conversation in English. He told us to follow him and that he would take us somewhere “to cool off”. He led us to a courtyard and I was wondering why he would take us outside when we were so hot – I was expecting perhaps an air-conditioned room. He told me to take a seat and take my shoes off! I looked at DH, shrugged my shoulders and did just that! The nice man picked up the water hose, turns the water on, and then hoses my legs and feet! Oh. My. Goodness! The water felt amazing! DH husband stood there with this grin on his face and laughing. I tell him to take his shoes off and sit down and so he joins me. Here we are, our legs and feet soaking wet and we’re moaning and laughing like two little kids when our kids stop dead in their tracks wondering what we were doing! Before you know it, they joined us. It was just delightful.
The End.
In August, all of us spent a week in the Algarve region of Portugal (Tavira) and decided to make a day-trip to Sevilla. We already rented a car with a GPS navigation system at the Lisbon Airport from Avis because they would allow us to take the car into Spain (note: Avis does not allow their cars to travel by ferry to Spain). We left nice and early (for us) in the morning, 7:30 a.m. to be exact. Spain is an hour ahead of Portugal. Total travel time should be approximately 1 ½ hours but we apparently travel slower than most so it took us 2 hours. After parking at an underground packing facility, the first thing we did was go to a souvenir shop to pick up a map of the city. After that we needed to get a quick breakfast treat for my boy to cure his morning crankiness. Does anyone know how to say “butter” in Spanish?? lol
What we did:
<b>Plaza de Toros de Sevilla</b>
https://www.plazadetorosdelamaestranza.com/
As luck would have it, we parked right across the street from the bullring. Our timing was perfect and we only had to wait 10 minutes for the 11 a.m. tour – the first tour of the day. If you plan on touring the ring, this is the perfect time to do so as it was not crowded with tour bus groups (when we left the line was long and it was packed). Our tour guide spoke both Spanish and English – first she would give information in Spanish and let the people go and then she would translate for us in English. We were able to ask lots of questions. We were all surprised by how much we enjoyed this tour and the artifacts displayed in the museum. The history behind bullfighting and this particular bullring was interesting. We learned that bullfighting was not a competition but rather an exhibition – we really thought otherwise. And the bull never wins. As a remembrance, I purchased a fan with a picture of a Matador on it,
<b>Catedral de Sevilla</b>
http://www.catedraldesevilla.es/
What a breathtaking place! Seville’s Cathedral is the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic building in Europe. The Alter is ornate and stunning. The Sepulchre of Christopher Columbus was surrounded by people taking pictures. The highlight of our visit was heading to the top of the Giralda or the bell tower – 36 stories – thankfully no stairs but the ramps were steep! The views from the Giralda were spectacular! I noticed lots of swimming pools throughout the city, lol – it was a very hot day. Anyway, at one point the bells tolled and scared the heck out of me! Just be prepared… especially if you have a weak heart.
<b>Museo del baile flamenco @ Sevilla</b>
http://www.flamencomuseum.com/
This was our last stop of the day – the girls were especially anxious to visit this museum. The museum is a combination of exhibition dance, video presentations, and artifacts. Parts of the museum were air conditioned and other parts were sweltering hot. Watching both the videos and live dancers were mesmerizing. It was one of my favorite moments of the day. For my birthday, my “kids” surprised me with a lovely painting of a Flamenco dancer which they purchased at the gift shop – a very unique gift.
The people at the museum were especially friendly. DH and I were tired and very hot from the day. We decided to head back to the entrance of the museum which was slightly cooler and had a fan. A nice man, who we thought to be the manager of the museum, came to us and asked us if we spoke Spanish. We didn’t so he continued the conversation in English. He told us to follow him and that he would take us somewhere “to cool off”. He led us to a courtyard and I was wondering why he would take us outside when we were so hot – I was expecting perhaps an air-conditioned room. He told me to take a seat and take my shoes off! I looked at DH, shrugged my shoulders and did just that! The nice man picked up the water hose, turns the water on, and then hoses my legs and feet! Oh. My. Goodness! The water felt amazing! DH husband stood there with this grin on his face and laughing. I tell him to take his shoes off and sit down and so he joins me. Here we are, our legs and feet soaking wet and we’re moaning and laughing like two little kids when our kids stop dead in their tracks wondering what we were doing! Before you know it, they joined us. It was just delightful.
The End.
Sep 13th, 2009, 11:44 AM
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Hello seetheworld. I so enjoyed your descriptions of your time in Seville as I have a friend who was born and raised there. She married a man from the US but when he retires they are planning on moving back to Seville as all of her family is still there. She has said they will do an "escape" however during the very hot season as she can't handle the heat anymore. Now I am off to look at your pictures.
