We’ve accustomed ourselves to beach Christmases living in Mexico, so we weren’t really sure what to do with ourselves in inland Sevilla.
We did know, however, that this both historic and modern city of 700,000 (mostly Catholics) would not let the season go by unnoticed.
Our Euro-African Journey (So Far...)
There’s always a mad dash between the boys to hit the front door unlock button when leaving our apartment building.
When Noe caught wind of me taking his brother to El Corte Inglés to peruse the huge and fancy Christmas section, I knew we’d need to make a second trip. This sort of thing is not usually a part of our Christmas experience.
With Lori back on her feet, we finally made it out to the Nervión suburb where she lived with a host family for four months over twenty years ago.
On the way out, we got what must have been the most talkative Uber driver we’ve ever had. I’m quite certain he didn’t take a single breath for the whole twenty-minute drive. His Spanish was almost impossible for us to understand, but it really didn’t matter, as he never paused long enough to clarify or answer his questions.
One bit of advice Lori did manage to glean was grabbing a couple of montaditos (small, open-faced sandwich) and a beer at 100 Montaditos around the corner. Never mind it’s only noon—in Spain, the montaditos are optional, but the beer is obligatory.
After a quick bite, we set off to follow Lori on a grand tour of her old stomping grounds. For years, she’s said she remembers passing a big El Corte Ingles department store on her way to catch the bus to and from the Centro. So, we started there.
From here, it gets murky. We wandered… And wandered… And wandered.
But nothing really rang a bell.
In retrospect, it was poor planning on our part. If we had been thinking ahead last summer, Lori would have dug out her old photo albums and taken a trip down memory lane. With no digital photos or access to her email at the time, we’re pretty short on hints and contacts.
I think the boys and I were more disappointed than Lori. After walking in circles for a while, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, sorry guys,” and that was that.
In Lori’s defense, it didn’t sound like she had a stellar relationship with her host family, and she was out with mononucleosis for half the time. Plus, she’s visited some 30 countries since then, so we didn’t give her too much of a hard time.
Another busy Saturday out and about in Sevilla.
And, back home…
The bar below our apartment has been shuttered for months, but all of a sudden sprang back to life today. This would be an absolutely terrifying discovery in Mexico, but so far, people seem to be a lot more subdued here in Sevilla, even late into the night.
We’ll see how living over a bar that’s open until midnight goes in Spain.
Around the holidays, there’s a big light and pyrotechnics show that goes on along the waterfront. Tickets aren’t cheap, and they even close the bridge so spectators can’t steal a view. Across the river is another story.
We headed down to the waterfront in Triana with the boys after sunset to see what we could see. Wasn’t quite the same as sitting in the stands across the river, but still a pretty impressive show.
We’re always looking for little day camps to send the kids to. They usually have a blast and it’s good for Lori and I as well to have some grown-up daylight time.
Lori found a five-hour art camp up the road a ways. The area wasn’t the most convenient, but it came recommended from one of Lori’s expat mamas connections and the price was right. The boys were very excited.
Here at the end of the year, Lori’s workload is light, so we got a day out in Sevilla together.
We decided to walk the 45 minutes back from the camp into town, passing the famous Basílica de la Macarena (made even more famous by the 1990s song of the same name).
We would have liked to have stopped for a look, but we had an appointment in the Centro.
While researching things to do with our day sans kiddos, Lori found some ancient Roman-style baths set in a 2,000 year old Roman crypt beneath a 16th-century Mudéjar-style palace. It was an experience we couldn’t pass up.
No cameras allowed inside the baths, so the central terrace (above) and entryway (below) are the only pics I have. All in all, we thought the 90-minute grown-ups only aquatic experience was more than worth it.
Next door, there are a handful of excavated Roman columns as well.
After our relaxing 90-minute aquatic experience, it was off to enjoy some tapas and drinks with a view of the Cathedral’s famous bell tower.
We first headed to Bodega Santa Cruz where we tried to go on our first night in town but it was too busy.
Lori ordered up a couple of montaditos, but unwittingly ordered anchovies for one of them (she saw the word anchoa and mistook it for ancho, which is a dried poblano pepper). It wasn’t my favorite, but something we hadn’t tried yet.
In true Spaniard spirit, we ordered one cold beer and one hot coffee and enjoyed sipping our beverages without being hurried by kids.
Next, it was on to another Sevilla institution, historic Casa Morales (founded in 1850), to try their signature Manzanilla Sherry and chicharrones, which are markedly different than the Mexican “pork rinds” by the same name.
Afterwards, we did some quick Christmas shopping before returning to fetch the kiddos.
We had a great time, but the boys have had better. In all of our drop-in kids camp experiences over the years, we’d never had a less than stellar review from the boys.
But this particular one turned out to be geared to much younger kids, and our boys were the oldest ones there, which made it a bit of a challenge.
Signs of Christmas in Sevilla. These people love their local Cruzcampo beer. It’s next to impossible to find people drinking anything else in town.
Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) has finally arrived!
Eating dinner out is a long standing tradition for us on Christmas Eve. In Mexico, this has always proven a challenge, and Spain was no exception. Most places in town are either closed or offer expensive set menus for the occasion. Ironically, the one place in town we found to be both open and offering their normal menu was this Mexican taqueria, which had a good little crowd.
Everything about the street tacos were surprisingly authentic (except for the price). And super delicious. They also had Mexican beer and even did a pretty bang up Michelada. Christmas comfort food.
Most of Sevilla felt like a ghost town, except for the brightly lit thoroughfares around the cathedral, which were abuzz.
One last Christmas Eve tradition before bedtime—‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
The boys were super excited to get up to see what Santa brought them (though our boys don’t have any problem waiting until around 8am, which I don’t think is the case for most kids).
Riley was even more excited to find a reply from Santa to a letter he left him.
Stocking time!
No matter where we celebrate Christmas in the world, Santa somehow always knows to bring the same beloved surprises (along with a few local novelties), year after year. I’m not really sure how he does it.
On to the presents!
If you’re curious how we do Christmas knowing that everything the boys get needs to fit inside their carry-on size rolling suitcases, the answer is—gift vouchers for experiences along our route (and a few ultra-portable items like Legos).
Time to get out and enjoy the Christmas Day sunshine!
What do people in Sevilla do on Christmas Day? Eat and drink at sidewalk cafes, of course! Admittedly, Lori and I thought they might take a break today, but nope. They were out in full force.
