La Feria

Starting on Monday night/Tuesday morning at 12 a.m., feria began in Sevilla! Our semester ended on Friday, so we have all of this week off and all students do because it is a week long holiday for Sevilla. Some people still have work, I know, because my host mom has to work. Everyone had off Monday though, and she took off Tuesday and Wednesday to be able to join in on the feria fun. :)

Feria is the fair that takes place every April in Seville. It is well-known world-wide and the population usually just about more than triples an size for this attraction. This year it is actually in May because of how late Easter was this year. There is one week in between Semana Santa and Feria every year.

We went to the fair on Monday night because at midnight - when feria officially begins - they light all of the lights and the huge entrance to the fair. It was almost like waiting for midnight to turn on New Years Eve.

These pictures aren't very good because the street lights were causing a glare/blurriness. This is the huge entrance to the fair though. It changes every year and is based on a new theme. There are lights covering this entire thing, so it's gorgeous once it's lit up!

Loved it! It was so pretty. Not only did this light up, but all of the lights that lined the streets through the fair grounds lit up. A lot of people were up on top of buildings and stuff so they could see the view of the entire area lighting up.

These little tents are called casetas and they line the streets of feria. They are all mostly privately owned and you have to know the family or friends of the family that own it to be able to enter.

This picture shows a little bit of the inside of the caseta and how all of the people would hang out outside of them as well.

All of the streets were so pretty lined with the lights - I loved it.

Here are more casetas that you can see inside of. They are all very nice and are basically just restaurants with a full kitchen and everything. Once it gets late enough they turn the floor into a dance floor and close the flaps of the tent for a party where everyone dances Sevillanas - a traditional flamenco-type dance.

This is a few of us with Juandi, one of our Spanish friends here. We were at his family friends' caseta for a while. His family actually owns the bar that we go to every morning for our tostadas and cafe con leches. :) We've actually gotten to know the whole family fairly well. Juandi was also one of the tutors that we got to know towards the beginning of the semester.

These are jarras of rebujitos. It is a mixture of manzanilla, a sherry, and sprite. It is a typical sherry drink and is usually served in pitchers like this and drank out of tiny little cups.

This is me and my beautiful host mom, who I'm going to miss SO much, before she went to feria one day. She is wearing a traditional "feria" dress, which is basically just a flamenco dress. I loved it and wish I could have bought one for myself. :) They're all so pretty!

I've finally caught up on posts again! Three in a matter of two days. I'm spending today packing my life for the past four months into two suitcases. I can't believe my time in Sevilla has actually come to an end, but I can't wait to come back one day and reminisce on this amazing chapter of my life. :)

Next stop: Italy and then HOME SWEET HOME!

All my love to Texas,

Paige