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SEVILLE IN DECEMBER
NEW & UPDATED

- Movies - theatres, online tickets and more!
- Weather - daily forecast and more
- 5 new and 4 updated photo albums!
- Conversions page
- Preview my new book store (in progress)

EVENTS & EXHIBITS

Art & History: Anniv. Casa de Contratación (Dec. 11 - Mar. 1)
Photography: Segunda Republica en Sevilla (Dec. 9 - Jan. 21)
Art: Miguel Pérez Aguilera Paintings (Dec. 12 - Jan. 11)
Christmas: Exposición de belénes (Nov. 28 - Dec. 23)
Sculpture: El Giraldillo Exhibit (Oct. 22 - Dec. 21)

LATEST NEWS

Taxi fares increased 25% for Semana Santa (Nov 29)
Museum struggles to keep all exhibits open (Nov 29)
Christmas Lights in Seville (Nov 20)
Columbus DNA analysis begins (Nov 17)
Bus strike on December 4th? (Nov 14)
130 million Euros for green space in Sevilla (Nov 14)
Archivo de Indias auctioned off? (Nov 10)
Cirque du Soleil coming to Sevilla (Nov 1)

(more stories)

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Welcome to Exploreseville, where you can find helpful information for the visitor, student or expat. I highly recommend you read the site guide to locate whatever you're looking for. If you're looking for pictures but don't have time for all the photo albums, you can take a quick photo tour of Seville. Keeping you informed means more insightful and original content - every day! There's always something new so keep an eye on the New and Updated panel just below the photo. This week it's sections on movies and the local weather. To keep you informed about what's going on in Sevilla check out the Latest News and Events sections to the left for more daily updates.  

My goal is to give you an insider's view of Seville with (almost) everything you need to know for your stay, whether you plan to visit, study or live in the city. In the case that you can't find certain topics I hope you'll discover information on Seville through my links page or in some of the travel forums. Locating what you need or preparing for your journey can be a lot of work and I give you my promise to answer every email I receive in English or Spanish should you have a question. Hope you enjoy the site...

The holidays have arrived in Seville and the Christmas lights are illuminating the streets. Not seeing a belén, or nativity scene, while walking through the center is almost impossible. We just finished celebrating the Día de la Inmaculada Concepción, where the university groups, or las tunas serenade la Purisima, a statue of the virgin next to the cathedral. Every day the streets are more and more crowded as people shop for Reyes. La Liga, Spain's first division soccer league, is in the home stretch for the primera vuelta with Sevilla F.C. edging ahead of Betis in la tabla. La marcha returns to the warm confines of the center as the action heats up in the bars and pubs.

 

THE BASICS


I love Seville. I always called it Sevilla until I started this page, so forgive me if I go back and forth with the spelling. After visiting several times and telling everyone I know for 10 years I wanted to live in Sevilla I finally decided to do it. I sold most everything I had, packed up what I could and came here with all my savings. If you want to see what everyday life is like in the city (or at least my everyday life), check out the daily entries section below.

The Cathedral from the Patio de Banderas

I began to research Seville tourism and travel information on the web. I found some good sites but none that mentioned the bars and restaurants I frequented nor the hotels and hostals where most people I know stay. And while these pages offered tourist information about attractions, sites and culture in Seville (certainly helpful) they often didn't offer travel advice or insight into how things really work or the cultural differences you should expect.

This is where I think you'll find my site helpful. Along with some basic travel information and recommendations I've tried my best to offer advice about the differences in daily life you'll encounter and the obstacles or issues you may face during your stay in Seville. I hope this helps you spend your time discovering what Seville has to offer and worrying less about making all the little decisions. I hope you'll have a great vacation, study experience or extended stay.


PHOTO OF THE WEEK
HELPFUL INFORMATION
DINING OUT

If you've been to Sevilla over the last four years and thought you saw the Giraldillo (the weather vane woman standing atop the Giralda) you're likely wrong: that was a copy! After 600,000€ and four years El Giraldillo has finally been restored and is ready to perch above the Giralda again, with the Archbishop's blessing of course.

Unlock a little of the mystery of Sevilla's most famous "woman" and see the process of restoration as it was documented along the way. The exhibit is in the Reales Atarazanas, located next to the Hospital de La Caridad near the river. I liked this more than I thought - great place to see it, too. The exhibit ends on December 21st.

 

 

From money to mobile phones, accommodations to the sites, or technology and the internet, you can read a little about it all on my page, Exploreseville.com

You'll find some useful information about Seville. Some of my general observations have been put together to help you understand some of the quirks and differences of life here. Some conversion information on the Euro (€), kilos, commas and decimals should come in handy as well.

I've also included sections on transportation, shopping and nightlife (la marcha), as well as where to buy food when you're sick of eating out.

I know I can't cover it all when it comes to Seville, and with this collection of recommended books and some helpful links I hope to assist those of you looking for more information on some specific topics.

Finally, if you want to get out of town check out my section on side trips to steer you in the right direction.

I frequent many bars and restaurants in Sevilla, hoping to discover a few surprises hidden in the back alleys. There are a few I've listed that you'll find in guidebooks - they are quite good after all - but many you won't. I've also recently added international and vegetarian options. Some notes on the list of places to eat:

  • Many are places where actual Spaniards eat, so don't expect a lot of English when you go.
  • Except for a few marked with "$$" these are affordable. I don't make any money with this page, so my dining out is generally on a realistic budget, not a Fodor's budget.
  • Every dish listed is a recommendation and I've tried every one of them. I don't weigh 300 lbs. yet but I'm working on it!
  • I'm not taking any advertising money so these are all fairly impartial unless you consider my personal tastes.

Here you will find several reviews of restaurants and tapas bars in Seville. This list will continue to grow as my stomach does.


MY LIFE HERE (some daily entries)

Saturday, December 6th

"A new client; Family in town; Christmas lights; Discovering some new places; Umbrete "

Aside from this page with which I spend half my life I do have another job developing and marketing web pages. They look much better than this one...really, they do! It helps that I work with someone who can design nicer pages, too. We have a few clients but picked up another e-commerce client which will be nice for a change. There's a real market for what they sell and a good chance for improving sales and continued success. The money we received to start the project is also good. Work begins later tonight, even though it's a long weekend.

We've been busy with leisure activities as my mom is in town. She's been here at least 10 times, so things are pretty easy and much of what we're doing is just walking around and stopping for a tapa or beer every now and then. We've had to accelerate the Christmas shopping a bit so we can send some gifts home with her, too.

Speaking of Christmas last night they turned the lights on throughout the center. With the cold and a little bit of rain it's the holiday season is truly upon us. They're slowly changing the lights to newer ones in the Sevilla, though it will be some years until they've upgraded them all. So in some places you'll see a style of lights reminiscent of the 70's and 80's, while others are much nicer. Just about every street from the Alfalfa down to Plaza Nueva, San Eloy and Plaza del Duque have lights of some kind. Add to that the guys roasting chestnuts and the market for the nativity scenes and you have Christmas in Sevilla.

Yesterday I spent the morning working, then a meeting in Nervión and a long walk back through the rain. After lunch we did a little shopping, trying to find a coat suitable for more formal occasions. In general upgrading my American coat to a Spanish one acceptable for going out to some nicer places every once in a while. While I didn't manage to buy a coat we did find a jamónero for about 7€, so we will buy our a jamón - the inexpensive kind - for the holidays and eat well for 10-15 days. Last night we also semi-discovered a new place on Calle San Esteban. I had been there for a coffee and a very informal meeting this past week but had never tried the food. Looking for a place close to home we wandered in for dinner and everyone ended up loving the place. Recently renovated, there's plenty of light, wood and some interesting yellow walls. We ordered calabacin fried with ham and cheese - it was amazing. Then rollitos de solomillo con bacon, which was even better. The food is amazing here, and we're glad to have discovered a new place which I'll add to my list of restaurants just as soon as I can confirm the name (I'll also update the entry here once I do). On our way home we saw our friend who works in El Rinconcillo who has offered to show us how to properly cut jamón, and art form which requires skill and practice. He also recommended a good place to buy a paleta for cheap. We dropped off our stuff and headed out for one last beer at a new place on Calle Gerona. We thought it was a bar, but turns out it's an asociación cultural for young artists. They also allow young DJ's and musicians in for nights of electronica, something I am not too fond of. The place is brightly lit, a contrast from most bars open later. Upstairs is very cool - 4 rooms which have been turned into a gallery displaying different artists from Sevilla. Nice works and a different atmosphere from your normal bar de copas. I will also be adding the name here once I have noted - but if you know where El Rinconcillo is then just head down Calle Gerona and it's on your right about 50 yards away.

Today we head to Umbrete for lunch in the pueblo (and in the rain). We're celebrating Granada's mother's birthday and most of the family - ours and hers - will be out for what promises to be a very large and long lunch. Afterwards we'll head back and order the Betis match on pay-per-view and will likely call it a night. We'll get rest for tomorrow night and what should be a lot of festivities in the street with the tunos playing guitar and singing throughout the center (check out my Events and Festivals listing above).

 

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