AVE Sevilla + Cabalgata de los Reyes (15)

On this particular morning, there was no time lost; we were up and out for a 9am AVE train from Madrid to Sevilla.  Had brekky - including the typically Spanish freshly-squeezed orange juice - at the train station, and then went to board.

We were really impressed with the train system here.  Sorry, France, but it was significantly better than a TGV.  You couldn't even get down to the platform without a ticket, the luggage was scanned, there were staff waiting by each carriage to help you if you had questions, we even got free earphones to listen to the in-ride music and watch movies.  Oh, and they gave us a mantecado to snack on.

Polvorón/Mantecado: Spanish Christmas-time treat.

We could walk to our hotel from the Sevilla train station, and then went for a leisurely wander down the road.  After coming across a fairly typical-looking bar, we decided to get some raciones ('portions') for lunch.  Raciones are hard to describe, since a ración is basically describing the size of the meal, as opposed to what it is.  Anyway, they're normally enough to satisfy one person, but it's more fun to go with friends, each buy something diffferent, and share.  Here's what we got:

Sevillan raciones: fish, chickpeas and spinach, and meatballs.

As a digéstif, we decided to hit the narrow, winding maze of streets that make up the old town, with the goal of heading in the direction of the Plaza de España to catch the Cabalgata de los Reyes.

Near the Giralda (tower of the cathedral), Sevilla.

One really interesting thing about Spain is that they have different Christmas customs to, for example, France and New Zealand.  While they do now celebrate on the 25th of December, too, with Father Christmas, the real tradition is to have the Reyes Magos (3 Wise Men) come on January 6th, bringing presents with them.  And they don't make a discreet entrance, either: on the evening of the 5th of January, there's a huge parade for them, with floats, lollies, and music.  

Cabalgata de los Reyes in Sevilla.

Serendipitously, we arrived back in Spain on that very day, so I decided we had to experience this important part of Spanish culture.  Although the floats were pretty amazing, and there was certainly a festive atmosphere, it turned out to highlight many of the aspects of Spanish culture that I'm not too fond of.   

Float in the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla.

Giralda in the background as we watch the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla. 

Float in the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla.

For instance, we got there quite early, and were politely waiting, in our Anglosaxon way.  Of course, the next people came along and just stood right in front of us.  If you don't elbow your way in, pushing it to get almost into the path of the floats, you're never going to get a good viewpoint.

People lining the streets, waiting for the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla.

Also, Spain not having the best reputation for being on time, it was a bit of a long wait for it all to start.  Then there were the mothers, pushing and shoving, so they could follow their kids along as the floats progressed, screaming out their names, as if they'd won a Nobel Prize or something of the like.

When we were tired to begin with, this soon became altogether too much.  So, we decided we would go home.  Alas!  We needed to cross the very road that the parade was going down, so the best we could do was head a few streets back in the opposite direction, away from the rabble, and wander slowly, waiting for the parade to pass.  Fortunately, it soon did.

The mass exodus after the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla.

 The parade had barely passed when the street sweepers began their work...

Street sweepers after the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla.

 And thank goodness for that because, even after their passage, some of the streets still looked like this.  That explains why some people waiting for the lolly scramble put plastic bags on their feet...

Left-over lollies from the Cabalgata de los Reyes, Sevilla.

Once we did get back to the hotel, we didn't really feel like leaving it again.  Consequently, it was dinner in the hotel, and an early night.