Day #37 - Seville, Spain

Horse-drawn carriages were everywhere

People walking from tent to tent

One of the 1,000 tents

Shaded streets lined with decorations

Flaminco dancing

Tuesday, April 20th

I took a really early bus out of Faro, Portugal to Seville, Spain. I knew going into Seville that they were having some sort of a celebration festival. Supposedly, Seville has some strong religious ties and has serious prayer sessions nightly during the Easter season. 2 weeks after Easter Sunday, this festival of celebration breaks out. The festival is called Feria. For 1 full week, they celebrate like there is no tomorrow. The festival started today, April 20th and runs through April 25th. The first day of an event like this - that sounded like a place I needed to be.

I walked around the city for about an hour before I found anything of significance. Finally, I started seeing all these women dressed out in these elaborate full-length dresses. They were all walking with a purpose in 1 direction. I thought: "Wherever these women are going, that's were I need to be" A few people turned into hundreds, convoying to this area of town. We walk through this gate - similar to a fair ground. Inside - It was amazing. Thousands of people. All the guys dressed in suits, all the women dressed in full-length floral dresses. Tents lined the streets. I learned that there is over 1,000 of these tents. All tents are invitation only - as it's a privledge to get invited. Each tent has tapas, drinks flowing, music, dancing, etc. Horse-drawn carriages filled the streets with passengers going to see the crowds. There was the famous "flamenco" dancing going on everywhere. This type of dancing involves alot of turning, hands and arm movements and hip rotations. This place was a mix between the Kentucky Derby (minus the infield), and 'The Grove' at Ole Miss. It was a classy and sophisticated atmosphere, but had a wild undertone. I was carrying my bag and was WAY out of place. I decided that I would stay overnight in Seville because I needed to take this in.

I found a hostel - 22 euro - dumped my bag, put on my 1 and only dress shirt - and was off. I still was woefully underdressed - but it would have to work. The pictures should show the atmosphere. It was awesome. I had a ton of fun just walking around interacting with the locals. I could have used a couple buddies as wing-men today - this was an amazing atmosphere.

Very good day. This is an event that I would highly recommend. Called it a night and will catch a train early tomorrow to Cordoba, Spain.