When Patina asked me somewhere new I'd recommend for her and her sister to visit in Spain and checked the dates, my first thought was Sevilla, Feria de Abril - yes!! Of course this was assuming that I was being invited (I sort of invited myself) and was between tours (I was). So although I've now been to Sevilla many times, this was the first time I was going to go to Feria, something I've always wanted to do - and it was on the list!
What exactly is the Feria de Abril or Feria de Sevilla? Basically it's a 6 day party held each year - those Sevillano's really know how to throw a good shin-dig. The public gathers in a large enclosure called the Real de la Feria, streets adorned with lanterns and pop up casetas (marquees), where riders and horse-drawn carriages circulate during the day and through which approximately 500,000 visitors pass daily. And yes, I'm fully aware that although it's called the Feria de Abril, this year it was on in May - it's a days after Easter thing and Easter was late this year.
The party began with the "pescaíto" (yep, because all parties should begin with fried fish) dinner on Monday, 5 May, followed by the official lighting at Midnight, then it was 6 days of Sevillanas, dancing, flamenco dresses, rebujito (the drink of the feria), horses and casetas until the following Sunday at midnight with the traditional fireworks (that apparently went for a full 25 minutes). Then it's all packed up and preparations begin for the following year.
So after my couple of days in Faro, it was time to hop back on a bus (I spend my days on buses) and head back over the border and to Sevilla. When I arrived, Patina and Tamika had already checked in and were diligently working their way through tapas and sangria in the old town. So after dropping my stuff off at the hotel (glass of rebujito on arrival? Don't mind if I do), it was off in search of the girls. Easy. They were literally 5 minutes away from "my hotel". I gave them a tour. Then it was off for more drinks and a visit to one of my favourite places, Plaza de España. They were suitably impressed. Lots of girls dressed in beautiful dresses taking pictures, so we couldn't resist the corny stand behind the prop dresses and pretend shots. Gotta be done and it was a bit of fun. We ended up spending the day playing tourists and wandering around Sevilla deciding that the following day we would hit the feria.
And so the following day, we headed off for breakfast before pre feria beverages and preparations back at the hotel. Now, I would have loved to have frocked up in a full Sevillana dress, but these things are expensive and heavy, so not an option. I had already purchased the 3 of us a shawl, earrings and flowers. With simple black dresses, at least we had made some effort in getting into the spirit of the day! Lots of giggles and it was time to hop on (what else) a bus. Short walk to the fair grounds (it's massive, with over 1,000 casetas and of course a fairground). In Sevilla, the majority of casetas are private, but we managed to find a few of the public ones and have a few drinks and nibbles. It was awesome just being there and wandering around watching the horses and carriages and seeing everyone dressed up. So much colour and joy and not a single bit of aggression to be seen. I did spot two abuelas eying off the last prawn that had a fight to the death edge to it, but the crisis was averted when cute 2 year old granddaughter came over to one and required cheek pinching and much gushing over dress. The other beamed happily as she munched on the last prawn and all was well.
We did head over to the fairground and decided spinny rides were out, ferris wheel was in. It was a great view from above and bonus points to the operator who let us off after the standard rounds before we had to make the decision on which corner we would pee in. A story for another day, but memories of Krakow came up.
All up, lots of fun and very happy to have at least attended Feria to get at least a feel for the whole thing. I would love to buy a dress and do it again another year. Ole!
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