Our Lovely Adventure: Christmas Break 2023: Seville Day 1-2

We drove from Granada to Seville on New Year’s Eve. In Granada I had purchased a bunch of grapes in preparation for the Spanish New Year’s tradition of eating 12 grapes, one for each clang of the bell at midnight. I have heard from several people that the tradition began in a time when there was a lot of poverty and not enough food. One year there was a huge grape harvest. Not wanting to waste any food, they decided everyone would eat 12 grapes at midnight to celebrate the New Year with food and hope for a better year. Now they say that if you eat one with each clang, you will have good luck for the year. No wonder the lines at the lottery ticket offices were so long after New Year’s Eve, ha!

We arrived in Seville in the afternoon, wound the car through the very narrow streets of the old town to find our little apartment, dropped our stuff off, and found a parking garage to leave the car for a few days. After making some dinner and laughing uproariously at a show called “Grand Prix” where towns compete in completely ridiculous contests, we wandered out to where we heard everyone was gathering to ring in the New Year, at the Plaza Nueva near the Town Hall. It was completely packed and we had to wander down to the Seville Cathedral and climb onto the steps to find a spot to watch. Waiting expectantly for the New Year with our 12 grapes tucked into our pockets, we enjoyed the spontaneous singing and watching the clock. The crowd cheered at midnight and we ate our grapes, although there were no bells clanging to check our progress against; we are going to assume we ate them within the 12 clangs and will have good luck of this year.

The next day we got a late start and decided to spend some time exploring the city by playing an exploration game though the city, pairing a fictional mystery to solve while following the clues through the city and getting some history as we wandered. It was a great way to motivate the kids to explore areas we may not have been able to otherwise, seeing the Seville Cathedral, Al Alcazar, the Jewish Quarter of Santa Cruz, the balcony that inspired the “Barber of Seville,” churches, palaces, and Las Setas (which I will explain later).

A little clip of "Grand Prix," the completely ridiculous show that I highly recommend you watch if you are in need of some laughter.

It was very crowded.

Settling into our spot in the crowd.

Ready with our grapes.

The crowd getting excited moments from midnight.

Mouths full of grapes, gonna have great luck this year!

Hello 2024!

Watching fireworks and enjoying the first ice cream of 2024.

This gal wins for best photobomb! I love how she has the same expression as Darrell.

She and Darrell high-fived after this one, it was so good!

First glimpse of the impressive Seville Cathedral.

Searching the Red Gate of the Alcazar for a clue to our city mystery tour.

Passing through the archways between the Alcazar and the Santa Cruz Neighborhood, the Jewish Quarter.

I love that there are apartments and businesses in places I would not expect, tucked into ancient corners of the city and archways like this one.

Passing out of the archways, we came across this beautiful passageway with a fountain between the Alcazar and Santa Cruz.

Looking for clues in the tiny streets in the Santa Cruz neighborhood.

Found a clue and looking for the next one. I love all the patterns and mosaics on the floors. There is art everywhere here.

Lots of arts have been inspired in Seville, and we came across this as we were walking in the Santa Cruz neighborhood.

And the Spanish hero surfaces again, Washington Irving! Griffin read his book "Tales from the Alhambra" and really enjoyed it.

The second story balcony that everyone is photographing reportedly inspired "The Barber of Seville."

At the Bellas Artes...Halfway done with our Seville city mystery tour!

The other side of the Seville Cathedral. Here you can really see the origins of this building, which were Moorish, and after the Reconquista, the Catholics converted it into a cathedral.