Seville was kind of in the middle of our 18 days trip to Spain, on one side we were thinking that half of our trip is over and the next moment was like if we have had so much in last 8 days then there’s a lot to look forward to. After the thrilling experience of skydiving we checked-in in our hotel at around 2:30 prepared. It was already 5 by the time we had lunch and were ready to explore Seville.
We began our visit in the city from Plaza de España (“Spain Square”). It is known for its 180-degree colonnade structure, blending both Renaissance and Moorish styles together to create an absolutely stunning sight to see. It was only after I came back to India that I came to know that some of the Star Wars scenes were shot there. Plaza de Espana is the most visited tourist destination of Seville, it has a beautiful park park around it. You can see children’s playing with soap bubbles, many taking boat ride, clicking selfies with the colorful fountain, history buffs indulging in Moorish architecture. Its a perfect spot to spend your evening, walk around the Plaza, spend some time in solitude if you want to and soak in the Moorish architecture. The best part of the Plaza was that even though there are hundreds of tourists at any point of time but you will not feel crowded and will be able to find a spot where you can just sit and enjoy your moments.
Around 8:00 we were planning to head for dinner and just then to our surprise the parade of Simana Santa was passing just outside the plaza. Semana Santa is a celebration of Holy Week, each year it commences with Palm Sunday and concludes with Easter. Throughout Spain, penitents in Semana Santa processions typically wear a nazareno, or a cloak and hood with a pointed cap or capirote. The uniform has been in use since the Middle Ages, designed to let people practice penance publicly without revealing their identity. The penitents may walk the streets barefoot wearing chains or carrying crosses in imitation of Christ’s Passion. There were people everywhere; local Sevillians dressed up, visitors pouring in from all over Europe and travelers from the world. It was probably the best time to visit Seville as the city lightens us during the whole week of Semana Santa. We read somewhere that after the Semana Santa parade everyone goes to pubs to celebrate and the city turns to a party hub. As we also had to celebrate our first dive we decided to head towards one of the pub and have a couple of drinks. The atmosphere of pub was just awesome everyone wishing each other, enjoying and the surprising thing I found was on the road the Holy parade of Semana Santa is going on and just near that people are drinking and smoking, which is kind of impossible to imagine in India.
Day 2 at Seville was more like a rest day we woke up around midday, prepared out ready to eat meals and it was almost 4 by the time we left the hotel, we decided to keep the day short as we had a bus to catch for Albuferia at 8:00 am the next day. We started with Metropol Parasol as it was also one of the most visited landmark in Seville. Metropol Parasol is organized in four levels. The underground level (Level 0) houses the Antiquarium, where Roman and Moorish remains discovered on site are displayed in a museum. Level 1 (street level) is the Central Market. The roof of Level 1 is the surface of the open-air public plaza, shaded by the wooden parasols above and designed for public events. Levels 2 and 3 are the two stages of the panoramic terraces (including a restaurant), offering one of the best views of the city center. After spending some time at Metropol Parasol we decided to spend some time near the river. As said the best things comes at a time when you least expect them and to our surprise the river side had turned to a party hub, there were several groups of youngsters enjoying, playing music, dancing and what not. We also searched for a place nearby sat down for some time and enjoyed our time.
Although we were not able to visit a lot of places in Seville, we enjoyed each and every moment spend there. In the end Seville turned out to be refreshing halt just in the middle of our trip when it was most required.
The Itinerant Analyst 
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