After our back-to-back day trips to Jerez and Cordoba, Claire and I were looking forward to staying put in Sevilla from Sunday until leaving for Portugal on Wednesday morning. It was a wonderful mix of relaxed and action packed.

Before returning to Sevilla after six years since my semester there abroad, I was worried it would have changed, and all of my memories would be sweeter than the real thing. I'm happy to report the city is as sweet as in memory, and that for a city as ancient as Sevilla, six years isn't many.

#Sunday ##Triana

We started our Sunday walking through Triana, the neighborhood across the Guadalquivir river from the center of the city, and the neighborhood in which I lived when studying there.

We started at the Plaza de Triana, and quickly explored the Traina Market.

From there, we walked around the neighborhood. Triana was once the hub for Sevilla's ceramics industry. While increases in rent have driven most of the factories to city suburbs, the neighborhood is still proud of its craft.

We walked up and down the city streets, admiring the architecture and enjoying the people watching on a Sunday early afternoon. "The old Spanish ladies are really out in full force", Claire kept saying. We made it over to Cien Montaditos for lunch.

From there we picked up beers and made our way to a classically Sevillana way to kill time - sitting by the river.

Hanging out on the banks of the Guadalquivir

We crossed back over to El Centro from Triana and made it over to the old river-adjacent spot I used to hang. It was just like old times, but this time with my fianceè.

I played guitar and took glamor shots of my Cruzcampo while Claire read and enjoyed a Cruzcampo Radler.

La Bascilica de la Macarena - the Holy Week Museum

I studied in Sevilla during La Semana Santa, Holy Week in English, and Claire wanted to go to La Bascilica De La Macarena to experience a bit of it herself. During the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, the city of Sevilla basically shuts down to carry large statues of different Catholic saints across around the city. La Bascilica has the holiest of holy, the Virgin Mary float that's paraded around the city, as well a museum devoted to the week at large.

We biked along to Bascilica, which is in the Macarena neighborhood, and went in to see the Mary float.

Claire went into the Semana Santa museum, while I waited outside. Heads up - it is customary for the people carrying the saint floats around the city to dress up in robes and hoods. These people are called "Nazarenos", and their outfits are where the Kluh Klux Klan got inspiration for their robes.

Claire snapped some good shots of floats while inside the museum.

A Night Out in Triana

At T De Triana the night before, Paco invited us back the next night for a Flamenco show. We'd already seen fantastic flamenco, but couldn't say no to Paco's invitation. We grabbed dinner at Las Golondrinas, a restaurant near by. The restaurant was full when we showed up, but were able to snag a table downstairs by the bar, having to order from the bartender. We ordered an assortment of tapas, from mushrooms with cream sauce, pork loin on bread, sherry and oil suatteed carrots, grilled octopus and jamon iberico. I ordered an oloroso sherry, after our Jerez education, and Claire had a glass of wine.

We walked over to T de Traina after dinner, right as the show was about to start. The show began, and Claire and I were hooked. The show was incredibly intimate and educational - we were immediately in front of the stage, and the lead dancer stopped between songs to educate us on the songs to come, both in Spanish and in English. In addition, the singer was one of the best vocalists I'd seen in person.

While the show Claire and I had seen prior was glitzier and more rhythmically technical, this show felt more raw and culturally authentic.

It was a beautiful blast from the past to be back at T de Triana, and the Flamenco show was exquisite. Claire and I had planned on late night Churros, but the place was closed by the time we'd arrived. It was okay though - the day was sweet enough.

Monday

a Run and Walk to Plaza De España

Claire encouraged me to go on a run with her, and I mapped the route. We ran from Plaza Neuva up to my old study center, ran through the gardens to Plaza de España, and then along the river back to the AirBnB.

We then got ready for the day to walk back to Plaza De España.

Plaza De España

Plaza De España is a plaza that was built for the 1929 Expo held in Sevilla. It is a breathetaking building, and I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

There are available paddle boats, for a fee, that you can take around the plaza. While we didn't take one out, we spent an enormous amount of time watching people in boats.

We ran around and took photos.

Lastly, for those who read my Jerez post with regards to the art - the below is a tile representation of the Catholic Kings of Spain conquiring Granada. The sherry maker in Jerez had the original painting that this tile work was based off of.

We left the plaza and ate at our favorite sandwich shop.

Shopping & Market

After the plaza, we went shopping. I'll keep this short, but popular Spanish clothing has weird English stuff on it.

One category of clothing we saw a lof of was "City and Date."

Bodega Morales

Claire and I had been trying to go to Bodega Morales for days - just blocks from our AirBnB. It was the perfect combination of cheap, authetic and delicious. All available tapas were written on old wine barrels, and the sherry menu was extensive.

Tuesday

Alcazar

On Tuesday, we saw Chari!! Chari is a friend of mine from when I studied in Sevilla, and she now runs a Alcazar tour company. She was kind enough to give us a free tour on her day off! Claire has a separate post on the Alcazar, so I'll keep this section short. Thank you, Chari!! Until we meet again :-)

After the tour, we went to a place close by for tapas and caught up. Tortilla in Whisky sauce, friend cod, pork sandwiches, Cruzcampo and Orange Wine. Mmmmmmmm

Setas

Claire headed over to El Corte Ingles for a duffle bag, and I got a haircut. Afterward, we went back to Las Setas to go up to the top for a view. It was about an hour before sunset, so peak shadows time over the beautiful city.

We received a free drink with our 3 euro ticket at La Sureña next door. I got a Cruzcampo, classic, and Claire enjoyed a Tinto De Verano (red wine with Fanta Limon. Hecka popular in Spain)

Bar Morales

We returned to Bar Morales for dinner, and had another lovely meal. The Patatas Bravas were some of the best.

Leaving Sevilla

We left Sevilla on a bus to Faro, Portugal on Wednesday morning. While it was sad to leave, this trip filled me with comfort that the city will always be there. Sevilla has my heart, and it was a dream come true to show it, nearly identical is it was when I first found it, to my future wife. I hope to one day roam its streets with all the amazing friends I made when I first studied there. We'll change with age, but Sevilla will be there.