Friday 25th April - My 2nd week in Seville

Now that the crowds have left Seville after the week of Semana Santa, I have begun to appreciate how livable this city is.  Every morning when walking to my Spanish language school from the Santa Cruz area to the city centre, I am amazed at how the locals are either washing or sweeping the narrow streets on a daily basis.  Parents walk their impeccably dressed children to school or give them a lift on the back of their bicycles.  People cannot help acknowledging each other due to the narrowness of the windy streets.  I cannot stop taking photos because Spring has arrived in Seville & the trees are now sprouting deliciously green leaves & the pots of geraniums have sprung into life with their reds, pinks & purples.  The mornings are crisp but by lunchtime the weather has warmed up & every available footpath has some form of outdoor seating for diners to enjoy long lunches.  The tourists fall under the magic spell of Seville & rather than seeing hordes of groups being marched to all the sites, the tourists happily succumb to the long lunch ethic & either just potter around, getting lost in the Santa Cruz area or stopping for the zillionth time (like myself) to take yet another photo.  In about nine days' time all that will change when the Feria

comes to town - a non stop party for a week!