‘Appy Pride! Seville Orgullo

23/06/18 – 25/06/18 – Seville

We’d heard that Seville was hot and had discussed staying in a hotel, but chose to test it out once there. Boy was it hot, reaching 43 degrees at its highest, so after taking turns to go and see the spectacular Plaza de España and surrounding gardens, we packed a bag, checked out of our Moho, and into a hostel. The pure reason for this was to benefit from the air con, so imagine how gutted we were when we were provided with a measley oscillating fan. Although it did work well enough to keep us cool, but more Importantly  Marley, who was struggling and at risk of getting heat stroke. The hostel was clean, quite quirky, and the lovely owner let us keep our bikes inside. 

We’d planned to be in Seville for the Pride celebrations that evening, which are hosted each year for the whole of the Andalucia region. At the hostel we were a short walk away from the parade starting point, so after getting a bit of colour and glitter on, off we went to to watch, support and have a dance. Of course it’s difficult to compare with Brighton Pride.. although a similar atmosphere It felt more family focused rather than a let’s get wasted and party feel. It was funny to see children eagerly catching condoms from one of the floats, and then passing them to their parents. Not quite as accepting as at home however as I didn’t observe once anyone holding hands, kissing or showing affection in public. 

We decided we’d grab a bite to eat and afterwards see the parade reach the Plaza de Hércules. I was eager to do it all, but Dan nearly cried when I mentioned just getting a snack. How would he survive on that! We found a lovely tapas restaurant called Tabern Alembique. The food was great and Dan still keeps talking now about how amazing the burger he had was. By the time we’d finished, we were too drunk and too full to carry on the Pride celebrations. I was disappointed as I wanted to party…..my mind was telling me yes…. but my body, my body (my feet actually) were telling me no! 

The next morning, Dan rode solo back to the Moho to grab the clean pair of pants he’d forgot and check all was ok, as for some reason we’d not been able to set the alarm. All was well, thank god, but on his return when we were about to eat breakfast at a lovely cafe, Dan realized either he’d lost wallet or it had been stolen. We jumped on the bikes, secured Marley in his basket and retraced his ride but sadly to no avail. He spent the next hour cancelling his cards, and later reported it to Seville Police who were really helpful.

We had back up debit cards, so before it got too hot for Marley, off on the bikes we went again (on Seville’s excellent cycle tracks). We started at the Torre de Oro, followed by a visit to the Seville Cathedral which was stunning inside and out, and on a grand scale – I believe to be one of the largest in the world. I’m not sure if it’s because it was early, or Sunday, but we got in for free – love it when that happens! Next we headed to the Metropole Parasol nicknamed las scetas (The Mushroom) because of its 6 parasols appearing to form a mushroom. The design is made from wooden panels and is quite impressive. We laid underneath it and admired it from below while Marley cooled down. Next we went to the gay friendly area The Plaza de Hércules and it was clear from the leftover mess and metallic confetti that there had been lots more celebrations. There were gay flags galore and lots of cool pubs, and bars. The area did look a little run down unfortunately but we still enjoyed some beers and food at El Badulaque. 

We had a funny bike ride back! I wasn’t paying enough attention and my wheel got stuck down the tram track. I came off, stunt-woman style without hurting myself at all (apart from my pride) to look up at Dan who was killing himself laughing. We spent the rest of the evening back at the Moho. Given it had become overcast and much cooler, and the forecast was the same for the morning, we decided to stay another night at our 10 euro carpark. We enjoyed seeing our Portuguese neighbours children petting and chasing after Marley. Cute! 

In the morning we rode to Real Alcazar palace that again had featured in the Game Thrones, as the city Dorne. I waited in the shady courtyard with Marley while Dan took the first turn to visit. Entry was 11 euros. Afterwards he told me it was beautiful and showed me photos, although it was quite similar to Granada’s Alhambra palace on a much smaller scale. With this I mind, and being budget conscious I decided against going in. We headed back to the Moho to make our way into Portugal after 6 and half brilliant weeks of being in Spain. Exciting!

Seville as a city to visit (especially on bikes and in the cooler season) is highly recommended by both Dan and I. It felt like it should be the Capital of Andalucia rather than Malaga. There is so much to see and do, we felt we could have stayed a month and still not seen everything. It reminded us in places of South America, particularly Argentina.  It felt like a romantic city and again it was a shame to leave but the heat was just too much.