Seville​

When we arrived in Seville and stepped off the plane there was a strong wind, you might think the wind would be a blessing in the blistering heat but at 40 degrees it was like stepping into a fan oven. You know when you open the oven door to check on your dinner and get blasted by the heat? Picture standing there for another couple of hours and you pretty much get the feel of it. I might just be being a woose though being from super rainy Scotland. My makeup was a total woose too and gave up right away, melting all over my face. By the time we reached the apartment, I looked like Claudia Winkleman.

In the 25 degrees ‘cool’ of the evening we went out and about to get the feel of the place.  The city is small, but it really is stunning. Two things permeate your consciousness right away, and that is Flamenco dancing and Bullfighting with statues of famous Matadors peppered around the streets and lots of flamenco tat everywhere you look, statues of dancers, aprons designed like their costumery, etc.

We did, of course, go to see a flamenco show, and it has to be said ‘it’s very stampy’ dance. In fact, it was so stampy and whirly that the female lead at our show lost her red flower and her ornamental comb flew right out of her hair and hit the guitar player. They clap a lot too, in fact, they clap constantly, and that’s got to take its toll surely. I once clapped too long for a singer at a concert and regretted it immediately as my hand smarted.  Stamping, clapping and they clicked their fingers too. When I was sure that no one was looking I had yet another go at finger clicking myself, but as always produced nothing other than a dull thud instead of a sharp clicking sound.  What happened to castanets?

Back to the city, there is the usual ‘hop on hop off’ tourist bus but even off season it was packed, and there was nowhere to sit or nowhere to plug in my bright red earphones. Instead, I stood cheek to jowl with a warring couple, and while my companions discussed the merits of the beautiful buildings and their use, I could only point to the tall grey haired man and say ‘his wife thinks he’s a blithering idiot.’ The bus takes a convoluted route, and it makes you think it’s a pretty big place but if you observe you’ll note that you end up passing the same structures again and again but from different angles. The next day we chose to walk and found that everything was well within walking distance, so my advice is to spend your €18 on a good guide book instead.

The cafes and bars are reasonably priced actually, at around €5 for three drinks. Look for the busy places because they’re busy for a reason, there are some dodgy tapas bars around and temporary bottle bars too that are a lot more expensive. On the subject of tapas, only try the warmed mature sheep’s cheese in oil if you’ve had it before and liked it or you like things that are proper funky smelling/tasting.

Everything, apart from bars, restaurants and large corporate chains, the shops close for siesta between 2 -5 o’clock. It’s for a good reason; the heat really is exhausting so have one yourself to be fit for the nightlife.

The shops open again for the evening shift, so you get another shot at them. Because of the staggered working hours most people there don’t eat their evening meal until about 9 pm. That’s a bit late for me but If you want to beat the queues you can aim to eat between 7 and 8 when it’s quieter. But if you have a less egregious stomach than mine, be like the Sevillians and eat late and long, taking you slowly into the night.

You wouldn’t look twice at the Hotel ?? other than to think it ‘that has comfy looking sofas here in the land of rock hard wooden chairs’ but you should venture in because it has a hidden gem in the form of roof terrace bars and an exclusive rooftop dining area.  It’s opposite the cathedral and gives you a super view of the city at night. It’s very trendy with impossibly good looking staff who don’t have a hair out of place. It is pretty pricey compared to the street cafes, but if you dine with them, they will give you a €9 voucher to spend in one of the three roof terrace bars. There’s a DJ too that very cleverly finds funky versions of old tunes to play, so, something for everyone. It’s loud enough to hear but not too loud that it drowns out your conversation. It goes on into the night, and If in your merry state you fancy an ice cream, there are kiosks near the Cathedral that are open to 1.30 am. I’m used to a bag of chips after the pub, so ice cream in the wee hours was a first for me.

Near the Cathedral is where it’s all going on. Troops of performers and street acts line the Main Street. It’s really buzzing and unlike Amsterdam, the trams are not looking to sneak up and scare the bejesus out of you, but just like some parts of Amsterdam the road and pavement are one,  and the spaces for use are marked by silver studs. The smallest lane is for walking; the next is for bicycles, and the largest is for the trams and cars. The cyclist ring their bells at you because it’s easy to meander into the wrong space, but it’s a friendly tinkle, not an aggressive volley like in Oxford where they would run into you sooner than look at you, all the while wearing their helmet cams in case the cars do the same thing to them.

There is a lot of beggars in the city and unlike Pokemon you can’t ‘catch them all.’ As a rule of thumb, the genuine homeless tend to have all of their belongings with them, so they are easier to spot and not part of the organised begging circles. There was a new breed of street bigger that I encountered for the first time, and these were well-dressed people sitting with cups out in front of them and placards telling their story of unemployment due to Spain’s economic strife and really old pensioners with no pensions to maintain them.

There are three main parks, and they are really beautiful and strangely peaceful considering it’s the only place you can find some shade in the heat. Bottled water is cheap there at around 50c to 1€, and you’re going to need plenty of it. After August the kiosks in the parks that sell water, ice cream, etc. close, so take your water and snacks with you.

The waiting staff in the bars and cafes don’t have that jaded attitude that the end of a long tourist season brings to some service staff in other cities like Rome or Paris; they are genuinely warm and helpful. Most places levy a 10% service charge so check your bill before deciding to leave a tip (given the aforementioned friendliness you might still want to show your gratitude).

A cab to and from the airport is around €30, and that is fixed price from any part of the city. The bus though leaves every half hour going either way, and this is a very reasonable €4, so look for the EA busses. Don’t save your money though to spend at the airport; the facilities are poor, the food is dreadful and the prices quite high, and that goes for duty-free too.

I’m certainly going to go back. The Ryanair flights are cheap if you’re happy to only take shorts, t-shirts, pants (of course) and a frock for the evenings.