Getting around the center of Sevilla is best done on your feet. Making your way around the outlying neighborhoods is easy when you take the bus. While the price for the bonobus, (a 10 trip ticket) just went up, it's still a good value. Over the past year Tussam, the city bus company, has worked to install video monitors on all buses so you not only can keep up to date on current events, but know when your stop is coming up. That's made things easier on the tourist and new arrivals in general. To learn more about the city bus system and the rest of your options for getting in and around Seville check out the Transportation section.
It's a night of drunken frat boys in Sevilla! Just kidding, although technically that may be correct. Los tunas are members of different fraternities which dress up with one purpose in mind come midnight on December 8th: serenade the Inmaculada, the Virgin whose statue can be found between the Alcázar and the Cathedral. Thousands crowd into the plaza to watch. Before and after you can catch the groups around Barrio Santa Cruz, breaking into a little song for anyone who may be nearby. We found the most action close to Bar Las Columnas, where these fellows above played for about thirty minutes.
Found this fellow, who was surprisingly quiet, getting some time "outdoors" on Calle Santiago. Walking around my neighborhood I am now getting to know certain dogs from afar, many who bark at just about everyone who walks by their roost. While it seems cats are less common as pets, dogs can be seen just about everywhere, as well as evidence of their trails unfortunately left on many sidewalks (despite the law on picking up after them). If you have a dog in Seville you can now bring him to a dog park, especially designed for them to run without a leash just across the Puente del Generalisimo which takes you to Los Remedios.
It was a treat to see thousands and thousands of fans from Oporto and Celtic here for the UEFA championship. Although Sevilla is still in the process of cleaning up from the mess they left it was well worth it. Those from Celtic quickly adopted one home team here as many fans were seen wearing the green and white striped jerseys from Betis. Aside from the drinking and singing we also witnessed many shirtless fellows (an easy way to spot a Celtic fan) as well as an influx of Euro coins from outside of Spain.
Two things you can expect to see around Sevilla are posters for bullfights (especially en El Arenal) and motos. Thankfully the motos are becoming less and less noisy, although a few will make your skin crawl with their high-pitched sounds.
A change from some of the graffiti you'll see around the city, this is part of a small wall mural on a narrow street between the Alfalfa and Santa Cruz.
The invasion I thought I would never witness has landed and, unfortunately, landed right next to the Cathedral. As if some 10 Cafe de Indias (another chain) locations weren't enough for coffee drinkers we now will have a Starbucks right next to the biggest monument in Seville. It's a sad day for me, really, when we must import a coffee house in a place where coffee is simply better being simple. I enjoy not looking at a menu when ordering my coffee. I don't need 20 flavors and 30 variations for my coffee - I'm not ordering a mixed drink here! I know I may be a tired old stereotype but let me join the many, many others in saying I wish Starbucks would just stay home and leave us alone.