Christmas in Sevilla

Last year, as we had not had a summer holiday due to my hip pain, we had our first holiday away for Christmas. On that occasion we took our car, by ferry to Majorca. This year we decided to go to one of the cities we have been wanting to visit, but not wishing to do so in the heat of the summer, Sevilla!

I have been to Sevilla before, on two occasions. The first was when I was living in the UK, my father and I took a mediterranean cruise. At that time, we were apparently on the largest cruise ship to travel up the Guadalquivir river. My father and I saw the cathedral, walked around the hypermarket Corte Ingles and had a coffee and cognac, and I remember my dad's surprise at the size of the cognac!

The next visit to Sevilla was on an educational tour. Whilst living in Garrucha, before I met John, I attended the Spanish Classes at the Mature Education Centre. One of the advantages of being on that course, apart from learning Spanish, was that we were students and therefore had trips that were subsidised.

The coach trip was to Carmona and Seville, and we visited all the important archaeological sites. I mention this because of a wonderful anecdote I have. We were at the gates to a beautiful building, which I believe was the Alcazar, while the guide was explaining that unfortunately we could not enter as repair works were underway. So, we stood at the gates and peered in. I said to the Spanish guide, pointing towards the trees lining left and right towards the building,

“What do you call the fruit of those trees?”

“Naranjas Amargas” which means bitter oranges.

“Do you know what we call them in the UK? Seville Oranges”

She was amazed and had no idea that kilos and kilos of the fruit was shipped to the UK in January to mid-February, for the British to make their marmalade.

So, the pet sitter/house sitter arrived on the Saturday and on Sunday morning, bright and early we set off on our journey towards Sevilla. We stopped the first night in Guadix, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas, especially the Plaza de la Constitución. The town was very busy in the evening, and there was a huge queue of people waiting to go into a park, my guess was to see a “belen” a nativity scene. The restaurants were extremely busy too, and we were lucky to find a table at a pizzeria. We finished the evening back in the Plaza de la Constitución, which looked beautiful with all the lights ablaze!

The next morning when we left Guadix, the temperature was 2 degrees C, and there was frost on the car, something I am not used to in Spain! However, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the car heater soon warmed us up.

Arriving at our hotel we realised how big Sevilla was, and how far from the centre the hotel was. However, as much as it would have been nice to be in a centre hotel, where we were we had free car parking and the hotel provided a free minibus every 15 minutes from the hotel to the local metro station. From there, a few stops brought us right into the centre.

Over the following days we explored Sevilla, with all its architectural delights, and interesting sites. Christmas Eve required a little pre-planning on our behalf as most restaurants are shut in the evening. Christmas Eve is the most important time and meal for the Spanish and businesses close so that families can unite and enjoy the time together. Even our hotel restaurant closed at 9pm!

However, we were organised and had a reservation in an Indian restaurant, with taxis to and from booked in advance. What a happy find, an absolutely delicious meal, one of the best Indian meals I have had.

Christmas Day was a delight too, as we met a fellow Barchetta owner, although we do not use our sports car for anything but our summer holiday. However, Alfonso was very friendly and we enjoyed a fabulous couple of hours in his company.

Our last day was spent “mopping up” the sites we had not yet seen. Sevilla has so much to offer, it is a really beautiful place. On our way back to the metro station we decided to stop for some tapas, and what a find that was! John had jamon iberico de bellota and I had rabo de toro, oxtail stew. The most delicious tapas.

The next day marked the end of another wonderful holiday, exploring the beautiful country we are privileged to live in. Where's your next trip? Ours is to the city of Almeria in April, to celebrate my birthday and our wedding anniversary.