Sevilla Diary - Day 2

Hello friends. We started our second day in Seville quite early. In the morning the weather was surprisingly bearable. That famous Seville heat had not fully shown itself yet. Thinking these were the best hours to explore the city, we headed out. Our first stop was the area around Seville Cathedral. We saw an open door and went inside, but very quickly realized that this was not the main part of the cathedral. Of course, at first glance everything looked extremely grand, but still something felt missing. While we were thinking that the main section was probably closed, we later understood that entry to the central part was paid. The area we tried to enter was either accessible only with guided tours or we had missed a specific entrance. There was another door, but it was closed as well. When we read the sign, we learned that it only opened during mass times. So the situation became clear. Even though it was just a little past 11, the area was already very crowded. The entrance fee to the main part of the cathedral was 13 euros. Honestly, that felt a bit expensive to me. When we stepped outside, the huge ficus tree we had seen the day before was right there again.

From here, it was possible to walk to Plaza de España, which was a nice detail. There were barriers around and it was obvious that some areas were closed for events. We had seen videos of evening events held there. Luckily, during the daytime the square was still impressive. Then we heard the sound of water. There really was water. In this heat, it instantly lifted your mood. We walked closer and looked around. The place was genuinely beautiful. Some people criticize holding concerts in historical and touristic areas. They say there are stadiums, so why choose places like this. They have a point, but the view was still striking. Instead of focusing on the beauty, your eyes kept catching construction panels. At least there was water, perfect for cooling off after a concert.

Plaza de España is not actually as old as many people think. If I remember correctly, it was built in the early 20th century. So it is not ancient, but it has aged enough to earn its character. Around that time, the weather suddenly became very hot. We had a flamenco plan for the afternoon. The show cost 25 euros per person and drinks were not included. In Cordoba, drinks were included in the price and I had not paid attention to that detail. So here it ended up being more expensive. There are many flamenco venues in Seville, but we chose one with lots of reviews and relatively close to the center. Its name was Stas. Another reason we chose it was that they had three shows a day. In Cordoba, there was only one show per day and it was quite late. We preferred the 18:00 session. That way it would be cooler and we could continue walking around afterward.

The venue was located near the structure known as the mushrooms. We had to search a bit because there were not many signs. The doors only opened 10 to 15 minutes before the show. At first, we accidentally went down to the basement. It turned out the entrance was at street level, through the northern entrance at the back. They seated us in the second row. There were different ticket categories, so the premium seats were probably closer, but at least we were not at the very back.

When the show ended, our feelings were very clear. It was not what we expected. The flamenco in Cordoba was much better. Here, there were serious synchronization issues. After about 30 minutes, they pulled it together a bit, but the sense of disconnection kept coming back. There were three female dancers. One of them was the main dancer and she was actually very good in the final. She carried the rhythm. Still, the dancer in Cordoba was overall far more impressive. We paid 50 euros for two people, with no drinks included. Honestly, for that money you could almost go to Cordoba and back. In the end, it was a completely touristic experience. The singer and the clappers were good, but overall it felt more like a job than a performance. I think it lacked emotion. On top of that, they tried to charge me 10 euros for a drink I did not even have. They came twice to ask and I had to say again that I did not drink anything.

In the evening the air cooled down a bit, but the humidity increased. We wandered through streets decorated with flags. Everything looked beautiful. No matter where we turned, a different view appeared. Neatly lined palm trees, old buildings, narrow streets.

We ended the day there. The next day we moved to a new hotel and there were still many more places to explore in Seville.