Saturday 12^th April – Puerto Sherry (Feria de Abril de Savilla)

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Today we were up very early and off to Seville again, this time to see the famous Seville fair – Feria de Abril de Savilla – which first started in 1847.  We hadn’t thought we would still be in the area and so thought we would miss it, but the weather has kept us here and so we were pleased to have found the time for it.

When we first arrived we walked down from the railway station through Seville’s old town and saw some places that we hadn’t seen last time and we really loved the small narrow alleyways with small plazas.  We came upon the palace Real Alcázares and were tempted to go in but we felt we should get on to the fair.

So we walked down to the fair arena which is built specially for the occasion (nicely for us, it is close to the yacht club – Club Náutico Sevilla).  As we walked down, we wandered alongside many ladies wearing the traditional Andalusian dresses and when we arrived at the fair, it was great to see so many people had made the effort.  You enter the park through a large gateway which has a different theme each year – this year it is based on El costurero de la Reinal – the Queen’s sewing room.

For me there were the fabulous Andalusian horses parading around all day – most looking like they had been trained at the Jerez equestrian centre, plus many horse and mule drawn carriages.  For Richard there were the ladies in traditional dress.

The fair area (El Real de la Feria) had about 1,000 Casettas (tents or marquees with tapas, drinks and dancing) arranged in a grid system of streets (apparently each named after an important bull-fight figure).  At one end there is a very large fun fair and circus – the fun fair was very big considering it was not a permanent construction and had some very big rides.  We were a little surprised at one point to find a couple of carousels for small children with real ponies that walked around!

However, many of the casettas are private or corporate (with a security guard by the entrance), with only a handful of public ones which were naturally very full given the large crowds.  It was very difficult to find a casetta that would let you in for refreshment or had any space once you were in.  For the tourist, looking for a seat, it wasn’t very welcoming!

After 5 hours, we tired of it all (although the fair goes on until 4am in the morning) and we went next door to the yacht club where we were greeted by friendly staff and were finally able to sit down and have a drink and tapas, looking out across the river from the terrace !

I am pleased that I’ve seen the fair, if only so that I know not to go again – next time I will stay in Seville and go to the palace Real Alcázares!