Day 3- Sevilla

We got back to the condo about 1 am on Sunday night & caught our second wind. After staying up too late, we slept in Monday morning & then headed off to Sevilla. Though we had directions to the hotel & the town puts up directional signs to each hotel, we still got a little lost (many twisting roads that don't have street signs). Luckily, Cecilia's Spanish saved the day (have I mentioned how lucky we were to be traveling with Ross & Cecilia?) The Hotel Alcantara is tucked up in a little pedestrian alley. A nice clean, centrally located hotel. It was perfect (and parking was around the corner).


We started off having lunch (of course). Cecilia & I thought the waiter was suggesting that he would bring us a selection of tapas for the table. Instead, he brought everything on the menu. $80 later, lunch was over & we knew not to order the spinach tapas (but the cabra - goat cheese - was divine).



We took our time & wandered the streets. It was HOT! Sevilla is a great pedestrian town - clean, beautiful, friendly. We did some window shopping, meandered through Calle Sierpes & ended up at a fabulous bakery. Feeling like we earned a rest, we ordered caffeine & sugar.


It was enough to keep us going. We decided against seeing the Cathedral or Alcazar since we were taking a tour in the morning & weren't sure what was included. I'm glad we were able to slow down & really enjoy the city.


Besides, the window shopping was fun!



That evening, we went to a flamenco show. Our hotel tried to steer us toward a longer, more expensive show, but we opted for the cheaper, 1 hour show. Luckily, we noticed early in the day that every other person in town was using the same Rick Steeves guidebook so we bought our tickets early (it sold out quickly). Even getting to the line 45 minutes before the show started, we didn't get seats immediately in front of the dancers. The dancers were truly amazing - I would have loved to watch them longer.



After the show, we planned to explore the neighborhoods by the water for a place to eat dinner. But, it was pouring. So, we changed plans & found a restaurant that wasn't too busy. We ordered what could have been our favorite tapas of the trip - solomillo al whisky (whiskey pork).


Since this was our only night in a hotel, we wanted to try a night spot - preferably something with some ambiance. La Carbonería sounded perfect - and it was once we found it an hour and a half later. The guidebook suggested that we start from our hotel. But, someone in our group didn't think that was necessary. What is a trip to Sevilla if you don't get lost in the winding, unmarked streets? It was fun seeing the guitar players, singers & local dancers. But, we were all so tired from the trek, we only stayed for 1 pitcher of sangria. Cecilia directed us back to the hotel in less than 5 minutes.

It was a fabulous first day in Sevilla - so much so that we decided to extend our stay by a few hours the following day.