Three Days in Seville

April 23, 2024 to April 25, 2024

Unexpectedly, I had three free days in Seville - two more than I’d thought. I'd originally planned to spend a day in Cordoba visiting the mosque-cathedral, which I’d hurried through on my tour of Andalucia last spring. But when I arrived in Seville I found myself too exhausted to coordinate train schedules and booking slots with walking times to/from the various train stations. The upside is that it gives me yet another reason to come back to this area.

The second bonus day occurred when I booked my return ticket back to Paris - I must have thought I’d need an extra day in case I had trouble packing up Vivien George. I never booked a hotel for that extra night, nor did I carefully look at my return ticket until after I'd arrived in Seville. Eventually I got everything sorted out and the net result was three days to entertain myself in the wonderful city of Seville

I've decided to compile everything in a single post and rather than giving a daily account, I’ve organized it by activities/themes. Though it necessarily eliminated much of what I did, it's still a bit long and photo heavy - so buckle in.

On the Maillot Trail

Including last spring’s trip and this tour, I’d now spent two months cycling in Iberia and I sorely wanted a bike jersey to commemorate my journeys. Since I’d decided to forego the trip to Cordoba, my first task was finding a bike store that sold an appropriate maillot, a cycling jersey that at least mentioned Spain.

The first stop turned out to be a bike repair shop only, but I was directed to the La Flaca café along the river that was home base for a local bike club. Off I went. It looked promising from the outside, and inside there was a dedicated space filled with bike memorabilia and a rack of jerseys. Unfortunately, the only La Flaca gear were some long sleeved jackets and caps. I bought a cap and went to lunch.

My search continued the following day. After looking more closely at online images of various bike shops, I decided my best bet was Fairebikes - they showed a selection of jerseys on their website. The store was located out beyond the Santa Justa train station, about a 30 minute walk. I arrived fifteen minutes after the 10 am posted opening time but found the place all locked up. The florist in the neighboring store assured me that the owner would be by soon – and he was, arriving about 10:30. Sadly, he informed me that he carried only brand named jerseys, but he was quite confident that a shop across the river, Ciclo Triana, would have Seville jerseys.

Like many retail stores, Ciclo Triana was closed between 2-5 pm so I was hoping to make it over there before the 2 pm closing. A complication was that I needed to change hotels (another story I won’t go into) and the new hotel had a 2 pm check-in time. However, things were breaking my way - my new room was ready at 11:30 so I checked out of the first hotel, cycled over to the new hotel, dumped VG in my room, and headed across the river. And voila! They had a Ciclo Triana jersey in my size, with the store logo as well as the Seville skyline over the back pockets. Sold!!

The bike repair store had no jerserys, but a member of La Flaco cyclng club sent me to their home café along the river

Café La Flaca certainly looked promising from the outside

Lots of bike memorabilia in La Flaca Cafe, but alas no jersery. I left with a cap

Fairebikes was all locked up when I arrived. They had no maillots for me, but did give a tip on where I might find one

Ciclo Triana, located in Triana across the river from central Seville. Looks small, but the sign says accessories

It seemed their main focus was on bicycle repair

But there was a small display rack with jerseys. I was drawn to the black and white jersey but I didn't like all the advertisement on the back

Edouard and I both loved the Seville skyline on the back pockets of the blue jersey - and it fit. Mission accomplished!

Streets and Eats in Seville

One of the most striking impressions on arriving in Seville was the rich color palette of the city. It contrasted the mono- and dichromatic colors of Alentejo and Extremadura, and reflected the vibrancy of the city. This included a more diverse food scene than what I experienced on tour, and I took advantage.

Over the course of three days, I passed through many small streets, pedestrian zones, and plazas and share below a sampling of sights that caught my eye.

The area around Alameda de Hércules plaza has a bustling night life and is home to students, artists, musicians, and other "creative types"

Bar 1987, one of the hopping nightclubs in Alameda de Hércules. I recognize David Bowie, but am clueless as to who the mural on the right represents

One of my upscale meals was at La Disparate, located on Alameda de Hércules plaza. Grilled red tuna with grilled rice and veg - one of the best meals of the tour

Oysters to start, tuna to follow, marinated mango and coconut ice cream to finish

Plaza de la Pescaderia - location of my second upscale meal in Sevilla at Tradevo. The grilled prawns were the best I've ever eaten but the fried fish medley was a little one note

I was also enchanted by the murals painted on garage doors, many of which caused me to conjure up stories of the contents and their owners

Touristing

The two biggest tourist attractions in Seville are the Real Alcázar de Sevilla and the Cathedral de Sevilla. I’d visited the Cathedral at the start of the tour, and walked past it many, many times over the past three days, often snapping pictures of the exterior or details of the façade. This was my first visit to the Real Alcázar, a 6 pm slot that was one of the last openings during my time in Seville. The late afternoon sun was dropping and with not much time to visit, I spent most of it trying to capture the expanse, intricacy, and beauty of the outdoor gardens.

Real Alcázar de Sevilla - the Monteria Courty

Real Alcázar de Sevilla - Maiden's Courtyard

Real Alcázar de Sevilla - in the Jardín del Retiro del Marqués

Today's ride: 1 mile (2 km)
Total: 858 miles (1,381 km)

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Jacquie GaudetNice jersey! I've pretty well given up trying to find souvenir jerseys for myself. Good ones are hard to find; it's challenging even for Al and he doesn't need to find a women's size.
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