This stage of our Andalusian trip
by Bwana_Brown
Previous to our visit to Sevilla, we had spent two nights in Granada with Sue's sister, where we toured the world-famous Alhambra. We left there for Sevilla late on a Sunday morning and further slowed ourselves down by stopping off in Antequera along the way for a few hours. It was well worth it to enjoy a look at this small and picturesque city as well as the rugged and amazing limestone rock formations of the nearby El Torcal Nature Park. On the map, this diversion was about where the 'orange' road from Torremolinos (Malaga) comes up from the coast and meets our inland highway.
As can be seen on the terrain map, the countryside from there to Sevilla is in a wide river valley and is not nearly as dramatic as the coastal and Granada areas we had seen so far in the trip, but it was still interesting just to see the differences! After our two nights in Sevilla, we headed straight south for our next stop on the Atlantic Ocean coast, just across Bahia de Cadiz from the city of Cadiz. This city rose to prominance as a result of Sevilla's Guadalhivir River to the Atlantic gradually silting up - eventually forcing the development of an ocean port on the coast there instead of the previous direct shipping route to Sevilla.
The Weather in Sevilla
by Redang
Sevilla is extremely hot in Summer, so, I recommend to avoid those months. In Winter, the weather is quite mild (at least when I went, Jan. '09), however, heavy rains can show up all of a sudden (as they did during my stay), so, check the Weather before you go.
Sevilla Tip
by ctv881
Sevilla is special for me as i was living (9 years) and studying my degree there. So, I´ve got a lot of memories.
Perhaps, the fondest memories are:
The happiness of people. They work to live.
The beauty of Santa Cruz District.
A very intense Nightlife.
The atmosphere of the city when Semana Santa and Feria holidays. Unique in world.
The image of Gold Tower seen from one of the several bridges of the City.
Arabic spirit of its arquitecture.
Funny bills
by tini58de
In quite a few tapas bars we noticed that the waiters wrote your bills on the counter! They added to it, when you ordered more, they wiped it out and wrote a new sum there and when you left, they would wipe it out completely - and get ready for the next guests! In the picture you see our bill at the Bodega Santa Cruz (the 1.10 € is for that last beer....).
Packing List
by Kay_C
Pack light. Don't carry a lot of bags, especially if you have rented a car and are staying in the Barrio de Santa Cruz as the parking lots are few and far between. I also learned not to use a lock on my suitcase - the airline lost my luggage and rather than delivering it to my hotel as they said they would, I had to go to the airport to unlock the lock so customs could check it - which took about 5 seconds. Comfortable shoes are a must. The streets resemble cobblestone and could be killer for heels.