IgoUgo

Seville Journals

La Sevillana

A travel journal to Seville by HAP

Quote: An early midlife crisis struck (I'm only 34) and I've returned to Sevilla, Spain to try to escape from the hustle of the US and concentrate on living instead of making a living (much to my mother's dismay.)
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La Sevillana Best of IgoUgo

Overview

Quote:
Sevilla is one of those places that is fun to wander without purpose. Wandering around the city you'll smell wonderful flavors, see beautiful Sevillano patios, and hear flamenco. Besides the touristy stuff to do, Sevilla has a very active art scene and nightlife. Read on for more specifics.Quick Tips: *WALK, WALK, WALK*Visit in the Spring, but not during the festivals unless you know someone with whom you can stay.*Hit the small neighborhoods.*Find a small magazine (found in most bars) for the latest on nightlifeBest Way To Get Around: *WALK, WALK, WALK*Make sure that the taxi meter starts at zero*Excellent Buses (you can buy a BONOBUS which is 10 rides fo...Read More

Restaurant Chema Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Quote:
'Chema' is located in the bohemian neighborhood of Triana which is famous for its ceramics and is located on the other side of the Guadalquivir River than the city center. 'Chema' is one of my favorites in Sevilla and I have taken my parents and a good friend here and everyone left more than satisfied. Since the Spanish don't eat until way after my father's bedtime, we were the only ones in the place and had excellent service by owner Jose' Maria Chema who serves a delicious meal with humor and grace. Start your meal with a bottle of the house wine (which you can take with you for 800 pesetas = about $5 May 2001.) Both red and white are delicious and very inexpensive. Don't forget to order a ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on May 22, 2001

Restaurant Chema
C/Castillar in Triana
Seville, Spain

Semana Santa Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
The second week in April was Holy Week and Sevilla goes mad. It's a VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT holiday here. Each of the 54 churches spends all year preparing for the Holy Week march from their church to Sevilla's main Cathedral (3rd largest Catholic Cathedral). There are thousands of penitants (looking much like the KKK, but don't be scared) walking barefoot, carrying crosses, floats of the Virgin Mary and Jesus in gold, silver and jewels, spontaneous songs from people in their balconies proclaiming their love for the Virgin, G-d and Jesus, rosemary, trumpets, drums and zillions of spectators. It's really hard to conduct daily life because you can't go anywhere without bumping into a PASEO. They ta...Read More
Quote:
TODAY is the first day of LA FERIA DE SEVILLA (the Spring Festival of Sevilla) which is a huge week-long party and very famous in Spain. It originally was a big gathering of everyone from all of the villages who came to sell their horses and other livestock, but now it's famous for drinking FINO (a type of sherry) and dancing Sevillanas (a popular-flamenco-like dance.) This is the holiday where the women wear the flamenco dresses with lots of flounces in every color combination, pile their hair up in a bun and top it with a flower and the men wear bolero suits. Okay, not everyone dresses up like this, but it's also a holiday of posers. The FERIA takes place in a specific part of the city ...Read More

Observations #1 Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
I'm settling into a ''normal'' life here. The pace is much slower than what I'm used to, but that translates into a higher quality of life in most cases. I'm not talking about having more stuff, but having enough stuff and having time to enjoy it. Parents don't worry when their kids are playing out in the street corners and there's very little violent crime here. For you news junkies: watching the news is weird because instead of the 15 second sound bite, you have two minutes of sound bites from the president's press conference (although the editing sucks). News is actually news. Of course the broadcasts have a point of view, but at least they cover other stuff besides car chases and shootings...Read More

Settling in Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
The first week I was here, Michael (a friend) was visiting and we spent the weekend in Sevilla, then went to a small village called Aracena with friends of mine and then to Granada for a few days. Aracena is famous for its ham and we ate well. Ham here is much better than anything you'd get at Honey-Baked. It's better than proscuitto. Someone told me (don't know if it's true) that Spain ships its olive oil and ham to Italy where it is repackaged and sold as Italian Extra Virgin and Prosciutto. My friends brother showed us around Granada which was fabulous because he showed us things we never would have seen or noticed and told us the legends that belonged with some of the monuments. For ...Read More

About the Writer

HAP

HAP
Santa Monica, California

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