Honeymoon: Spain Day 5 Seville

Seville is one of Mr Kwek's and my favorite city in Spain. It is the 4th largest city in Spain.

In Seville, we did much of the sight seeing on our own and met one of the most friendly Spanish around.:) Seville felt pretty safe even at night as the streets were still buzzing with lots of people.

Plaza de Espana is the most famous attraction in Seville. Sevillians are all very proud of this place and will introduce anyone to visit this place without hesitation!



Indeed, it is quite spectacular. Mr Kwek and I wandered around cam-whoring and thus, did not catch what the local guide babbled about this beautiful place. I shall let the photo do the talking!

Beautiful isn't it? :)

Next, we visited a very interesting place called Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza. That's the Bull ring in Seville! It is the oldest Bull ring and the site for the most well-known bullfighting festivals in the world.

The truth behind all bull fight is that the bull is first being stabbed behind its neck leading to weakening neck muscles and loss of blood. This is often done by the picador who rides on the horse to carry out his strikes more accurately. If the strike was successful, the bull will hold its head and horns slightly lower during the later stage of the fight.

Next, the banderilleros attempts to plant two sharp barbed sticks into the bull's shoulders. These further weakened the bull.

Finally, it is time for the matador to fight the bull. The matador often enters the ring with a small red cape and a sword. The cape is often thought to be used for angering the bull with its red color. Well, the bulls are color blinded!

In fact, the red cape is traditionally used to cover the bull's blood. Now, it is just a tool for the matador's performance. After multiple beautiful display of his bravery, the matador will attempt stab the bull between the shoulder blades and through the heart to kill it.

Rarely does the bull survive. However, should a bull pull off a good fight and survive till the end, it will be spared from killing. It will be sent back to its city and becomes a stud.

Even after the local guide reviewed to us the whole "truth" behind the Bull fight, deep within, we still hope there was a show going on that day so that we could catch one! *Oops!*

We headed to the museum to view some of the monuments of bull fighting.

This is the legendary rare FEMALE bull that survived the bull fight! *Cheers to all females!*

 One of the most expensive and fanciful matador's suit in Spain's history.

The alter within the bull ring compound that the matadors go for prayers before their performance.

The Seville's cathedral was closed when we were in Seville. Hence, here's photos of the cathedral's exterior:

 

Seville Alcazar was next on the tour. It is very similar to Granada's Alhambra which I blogged earlier in Day 4 Granada & Cordoba's entry. It is of Moorish roots however, it had been augmented over the years by the different kings. Today, the Alcazar looks as impressive as ever with its gothic and baroque styles.

  

  

 

 

After the site visit at Seville Alcazar, it was free and easy for the rest of the afternoon! *yay!*

Mr Kwek and I eagerly split ways with the rest and wander around the city on our own. We stopped for the famous hot chocolate and churros first and headed to the shopping streets after the little tea break.

The shopping streets were basking with many activities, pastries and cafes dotted along the streets  and people doing Christmas shopping. :) Things were not exactly cheap-cheap but is definitely cheaper than Singapore should you purchase Spain's local brands, such as, Zara, Mango, Desigual, Loewe, etc...

FYI, Loewe is at least SGD600 to SGD700 cheaper when bought in Spain, after tax rebate. So glad we found the shop!

After fulfilling my one and only want, we headed off the main streets to find the famous tapas shop we read about online. We managed to find the shop after some asking around.

Dos de Mayo is simply an awesome little authentic tapas shop. Here, we got to experience how the locals dine. Chaotic ordering, fast grabbing of empty seats, and simply just standing around eating their tapas and drinking their beer.

We had some difficulties trying to grab seats. As we didn't want to stand to dine, we waited for quite awhile before a very kind Spanish lady called out to us to take her seat as she left! Mr Kwek headed off to order food while grabbed on to the tiny table and stools.

It was eons before Mr Kwek returned. Apparently we were the only tourists there and it was difficult to catch the staff attention as: (1) those who do not understand English simply ignore, (2) the counter was so crowded, it was hard to squeeze in and order.

Dos de Mayo was kind of a self-service shop. The waiter who attend to you will remember your face and call out to you for the collection of the tapas when it is ready. It was not long before our tapas were presented to us for collection.

Iberian ham on bread

 Cod in tomatos

 Spinach with beans 

fried eggplant with honey

Every tapas tasted so good! We finished every tapas and were full to the brim! The meal cost a mere 15 Euros which we felt was extremely value-for-money! 

We made our way back to the hotel by the Metro, after the meal.

We headed back to our hotel to deposit our stuff before heading out to the shopping streets outside our hotel to explore.

Hotel Hesperia is situated in the new town area and is conveniently located just beside Nervion Metro Station and the main shopping streets. The room is decent though old -looking but the buffet breakfast and dinner was to rave about. By far the best meal we had from the tour (of course, it can't be compared to the meals we had ourselves!).

Another plus point, the hotel is located near Nervion Shopping Mall which is just infront of the Seville Stadium! Although it is not a popular stadium as compared to Camp Nou in Barcelona, soccer fans out there may still wish to catch a game should there be one during their stay. :)

There happened to be a game that night. However, we decided to give it a pass as we wanted to head back to the hotel early to rest.  

The shopping streets were dotted with many people once again, doing their Christmas shopping. As the shops were repeated, we wandered around for an hour before heading back to the hotel.

After washing up, we settle down to enjoy the King's cake that we bought earlier in the day. King's cake is only available during Christmas. You can easily google and read up on this traditional pastry. It has a long and interesting history. It tasted quite nice in my opinion though it was slightly too creamy (for me) and sweet (for him).

The King's cake is also very HUGE and so, you need to share it. Mission Impossible to finish it by oneself! 

One can find a little trinket wrapped in the king's cake. This is part of the tradition which I will not elaborate on. Do google it should you be interested! :)



We finished the WHOLE king's cake. Yes, I know, it is damn-ultra-maxified fattening. But, vacation is the only time you have an excuse to eat, right? :) We further FAT-DIED-OURSELVES by going to bed pretty immediately after that...We had no choice  (excuses again), it had been a tiring day and well, what's better to do than to sleep after filling our stomach? :) 

Honeymoon: Spain Day 1 - Barcelona

Honeymoon: Spain Day 2 Valencia

Honeymoon: Spain Day 3 Alicante & Guadix

Honeymoon: Spain Day 4 Granada & Cordoba

Honeymoon: Spain Day 6 Caceres & Salamanca

Honeymoon: Spain Day 7 Segovia & La Rozas Village

Honeymoon: Spain Day 8 Madrid & Toledo

Honeymoon: Spain Finale - Comerc 24