Feria de Abril Parte 2

It's been more difficult than I expected to actually sit down and type this. How's everyone? This week I had an orange so large that peeling it made my hand hurt and coffee with a Canadian guy I follow on Twitter who happened to be in Spain. I also had an encounter with what I can only describe as a zombie cockroach and have nearly fallen asleep in 3 lectures. A mixed bag, really.

Feria feels a lifetime away now so I should crack on with writing this second part to my post. I'll continue in the gushing fashion of the last one and go on and on about how wonderful it all was :) 

Feria by Day

There are a number of things to do at Feria if you go during the day, the most popular of which is to be uncomfortably hot and stand in the shade. Daytime shows the very traditional side of the festival, with horse drawn carriages parading up and down between the rows of casetas and riders slowly going past and really loving the attention. 

The women on horseback were as elegant as those in the brightly coloured flamenco dresses, something about Feria just has everyone looking their absolute best. Everyone is looking at everyone else, and it's no surprise. A lot of money goes into those dresses, if ever there was a week to show off status in Sevilla it was this one. Obviously as a glorified tourist still, this was all a fun novelty for me but it is understandable that less well off Sevillanos might find it a bit tiresome or stuffy. 

There were a lot of families around during the day at Feria and it was lovely seeing so many little girls, some still babies, dressed in coordinating dresses to their mothers'. Outdated, maybe, but charming and harmless. 

Feria by Night

The atmosphere of Feria changes when the sun goes down. The carriages leave at 8pm and that's when the party starts, and it doesn't stop until 6 the next morning. Young people, both in traditional dress and just done up to the nines in general, come to drink the manzanilla and dance, and just have a good time. Like in Cádiz, though that was certainly a little more of a casual affair, there were very few people out of control and it was a fun atmosphere all night long. 

manzanilla, a type of sherry, drank with sprite during Feria :)

Sitting in a Mexican restaurant at 4am one morning we couldn't help but notice how not 'worse for wear' everyone looked, and on the bus home around the same time everyone, young and old, was civilised and orderly. Seriously, the Spanish know how to keep it together. I suppose you wouldn't want to fall over in the dust in a dress that cost upwards of €500. That's just not sensible.

 There was quite a strong police presence as well, which probably helped to keep things in check. Once again, Feria felt safe and was never so crowded you'd be in real danger of losing your group. Two thumbs up.

Hasta pronto amigos x

Feria de Abril Parte 1

The entrance to the Feria is lit up at midnight on the first night to kick off the week. This year the puerta was based on the Plaza de España.

Hola todos, you're looking well. This week was the most exciting and fun week I've had on Erasmus, hardly surprising given that it was the biggest week in the Sevillan calendar. The Feria de Abril is really when the party comes to town, and we were lucky enough that summer arrived with it. We have our fingers crossed that we'll only be seeing a bit more rain until the end, as opposed to the seemingly endless downpours of February and March. The Feria de Abril is also called the Feria de Primavera (spring) but we seem to have bypassed that season altogether. No matter, the sun is here.

Some of the smaller, private casetas. 

Originally a livestock fair, Seville's Feria is loud, busy, and colourful. It's when a large fairground is set up just outside the city centre (this year it was in the south-western area of Los Remedios) with rows and rows of casetas, the best way to describe them is as tents. Mostly small with some larger ones, the majority of these tents are privately owned, and you need an invite or a connection to get in. These are set up and paid for by families, companies or clubs.

The Communist Party tent

 Others were run by the city council or political parties and they were open to the plebs such as myself. Having visited both public and private casetas I have to say that there wasn't much difference in the amount of fun I had. I think the privately owned ones would be more enjoyable for the older crowd, so they can sit and have a chat with their friends without tourists wandering in and out. People come to drink, dance, and be seen.

There was also a funfair with a surprisingly large selection of attractions, a lot of which were for children. We only went on one, a relatively tame yet terrifyingly jerky and creaky rollercoaster. I would have liked to have gone on the ferris wheel but it honestly looked like it was going about 60 miles an hour and I really think a big wheel is no place for a thrill ride.

Lots of young women were happy to show off their new (expensive) dresses

Even the children were in on the act.

The real draw of the Feria are the fabulous flamenco dresses worn by a large amount of the Spanish women, and I believe quite a few foreigners as well. It really was amazing to see something so traditional, and ostensibly old fashioned, continue to be so popular with young people. I've felt really lucky this week to have experienced something so unique to my Erasmus city, and I know that in 30 years if I'm asked what it was like that time I lived in Seville, Feria is what I'm going to remember. In part 2 of this post I'll talk a bit more about the difference between going to the Feria during the day, and during the night. Hasta luego x

Mercado Romano (ah sure why not)

I said some time ago that there always seemed to be something going on in Sevilla. Sure enough, there's something going on right now. The other day a friend tipped me off to the existence of a Roman themed market in the Prado de San Sebastián. I was supposed to go there with said friend but you know how it is when you decide to do something the next day while you're out and then it just does not happen. Sorry Friend (I know she's reading this, she's one of the only ones reading this.) It was only on for 3 days so I toddled on down to it myself yesterday afternoon.

herbal remedies for all your maladies

sweets

Like the Fiesta de Naciones last autumn the market took the form of a number of stalls, some selling foods and others handicrafts and jewellery and the like. As soon as you came in the gate you were greeted by a large grill selling meat, had I not been alone I would have tucked in but there's something about eating sausages alone that just seems sad so I passed. There were large tables selling various fruit flavoured and herbal teas as well, the smell of which made me want to go back to Granada again.

At this point you may be wondering why there was a Roman Market in Seville. To be honest I have no idea. I realise the city has Roman era history, learned that in the Antiquarium which I never got around to writing about. But why now? Why a market? Why was there a man doing falconry and a woman bellydancing to bagpipes? I find in Sevilla it is best to not question things like this and just move on. Buy some cheese or some tea and just enjoy the ride. 

It was like a Renaissance Fair only with Romans.

Some other issues I had with the market were the slightly anachronistic Medieval torture devices dotted around and the extremely anachronistic novelty t shirt stand. But, to probably quote some famous author, if you don't indulge in a bit of nonsense from time to time you're going to lead a very dull life. Things don't have to make sense to be fun. 

You'd be mad not to.

Ye Olde Deep Fat Fryer

In other news, Feria is this week (more on that later) and summer has quite suddenly arrived in Sevilla. It's to get up to 30 degrees Celsius this week, I can feel the discomfort already. Enjoying a smug moment and an ice cream outside Mc Donald's at 11pm last night, my friend was in the middle of saying something about how we could never enjoy such an experience in Ireland when a cricket grasshopper monster did a kamikaze style leap from a nearby tree directly into her ice cream sundae, causing us all to leap up screaming. Ah, Spain.

Hasta luego x

Irlanda and Semana Santa

The Kane in Ire-lain-d (didn't really work) appreciating Europe

Hola guapos, back again. We had a week off college for Semana Santa (Holy Week before Easter) so I returned home to the nest to witness the tail end of the coldest Irish March in quite some time. I was feeling worn out so a week home, mostly spent on the sofa, was just what the doctor ordered. It was nice to see family and friends again and even though saying goodbye is always tough, it's the last time I'll be leaving them for Seville! Tomorrow marks 7 months here and with only 3 left, the whole thing will be over in no time. Completely unbelievable. 

My homeland being pretty

Necessary though going home was, in doing so I was missing one of the biggest events on the Sevillan calendar, and certainly something the city is very well known for, the insanity of Semana Santa. I was only back in Seville for Easter Saturday and Sunday so I missed most of it but I have never seen a bigger deal made of Easter in my life. Apparently, although celebrated all over Spain, it is at its most flamboyant in the South. Andalusian pride strikes again, there's no chance they'd ever be second best at anything ;) According to my friends who were around to see it, the city came to an absolute standstill. Even on Saturday, supposedly the quietest day of the week, there were still enormous crowds lining the streets and around the Mushrooms, and it was almost impossible to go anywhere. 

PEOPLE

A friend who lives in the centre of the city was essentially trapped in her apartment and one night was refused admission into her street due to blockades. The ceremony of Semana Santa is down to the processions which fill the city, led by almost sinister robed figures and brass bands and containing large statues of the Virgin and Jesus telling the story of Easter. While I found the two I saw interesting I agreed with my friends when they said I was lucky to have been missing on Thursday and Friday. There were so many people and so much noise I'm not sure I could have hacked it! Many of the main streets were closed off to ticket holders who had paid for expensive seating to get the best views of the processions, and as you can see many people decorated their balconies for the occasion. 

spooky

Apparently it is considered quite prestigious to take part in the processions, and I certainly saw what a big deal it is. People come from all over to see them. If you don't like crowds this definitely wouldn't be for you. Not all Sevillanos enjoy the week, however, and apparently many use it as an opportunity to take a holiday out of the city. I can understand how seeing the same thing every year could get tiring and why you'd appreciate the break seeing as you'll get nothing done in Seville anyway! Semana Santa seems quite a solemn event, but in only a fortnight's time the other big social event of the year takes place in Seville; the Feria de Abril. I'll definitely be writing about that so until then, hasta luego x