Running up to Reyes, around the 5th of January, the Mercado de Artesania is open in the Plaza Nueva. You can find all sorts of original gifts for friends or yourself! There is plenty of variety: jewelry, ceramics, children's toys, leather goods and more. We always find a few gifts here.

Posted by Jeff at 10:14 AM CET

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Our nephew Angelito is in his first year of colegio. This was also his chance to be a part of his first Christmas play as an enano - an elf or dwarf. He was dressed in green which helped us identify him from the others!

The play was of course filled with chaos.

Setting up, some of the elves are not sitting in their place.

Pirates! Each group of children visited Joseph and Mary to leave them gifts. Many of the characters in the play, such as these pirates, I don't remember from the bible. But maybe I just didn't read it carefully enough.

Joseph, Mary and Jesus. The angels look bored.

Our elf is sitting next to a small Santa.

Looking back to find mom and the two grandmas.

Still distracted, but having fun...

Posted by Jeff at 9:42 PM CET

Updated: Friday, 18 December 2009 9:51 AM CET

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Every year by "chocolate artists" in La Campana:

Posted by Jeff at 10:39 AM CET

Updated: Friday, 18 December 2009 9:41 AM CET

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Every year we celebrate the traditional company Christmas dinner. This year was in Bar Santa Marta.

On the way from the office to the dinner we stopped for a drink

Inside the dining room of Bar Santa Marta

The other side of the dining room

A few drinks before the dinner starts

Dinner starts, with plenty to eat. We had a traditional Christmas meal which included starters of jamon and cheese, then gambas (shrimp). Next were croquetas and an assortment of fried fish. The main dish was swordfish or solomillo (pork loin).

Angelito was one of the smaller guests...

During the dinner

At the end a toast to the holidays and the new year.

Posted by Jeff at 9:54 AM CET

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December 4th was the first night for the Christmas lights to be turned on in Seville. It also marks the start of a 4 day weekend with the holidays on Sunday and Tuesday. We took a stroll around the city.

In La Campana we found a replica of La Giralda made entirely of sugar

A few blocks away was this belen in the trunk of a car. This guy shows up during Semana Santa and Feria as well, with something similar in the back of his car.

El Corte Ingles also changed their lights this year

We turned up Tetuan / Velazquez

Then back on Calle Sierpes

The corner of Sierpes and Sagasta

Now towards the Plaza Nueva

Tables ready for diners, although it is quite cold

The Ayuntamiento, or Town Hall, nativity scene

Adjacent was the Christmas tree

In Plaza Nueva everything was lit up and included a sculpture exhibit

More of the Plaza Nueva

And more of the Plaza Nueva

A look back

And on our way home people were still in the Plaza Salvador

Posted by Jeff at 9:50 AM CET

Updated: Saturday, 5 December 2009 10:38 AM CET

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People can mistake Seville for being spring like: all orange trees, blue skies and sunshine. And while the climate is of course relatively mild don't be surprised if you feel a chill during your visit in the late fall or winter months. And it's not always the outdoor temperatures which will chill you the most. Plenty of my German and American friends who come from colder climates complain of being cold wherever you go, especially in their own houses. The majority of apartments have no central heat. And everything has been built for warm weather: smaller windows don't let the sun in, central patios keep the building unpleasantly cold. Plus marble floors and cement or tile walls radiate cold instead of heat. I think I get most of my warmth outside in the sun. And outside is where I notice the milder climate unless it is raining. So don't be fooled. We get cold in Seville, too!

Posted by Jeff at 11:25 AM CET

Updated: Saturday, 5 December 2009 10:37 AM CET

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A quick post as I've finished up some new photo albums of towns and cities in Andalucia. This include some recent trips as well as some older ones I have been meaning to post for a while - new places include Vejer, Medina Sidonia, Punta Umbria, and others I've forgotten now. I've also launched the Holidays in Seville section to get you up to date on all the activities which are just around the corner.

Posted by Jeff at 2:54 PM CET

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We wanted to thank Anita & Bertil for the excellent and wonderful spread for Thanksgiving. Just walking into a house which smells of turkey and pumpkin would have been enough. But we were lucky to share it with new and old friends, and even take in a little football at the end of the night. And for the second year in a row a certain dog (I will not name names) tried unsuccessfully to rob us of the turkey.

Posted by Jeff at 7:08 PM CET

Updated: Friday, 27 November 2009 7:25 PM CET

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The idea of a Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz film does not excite me. Nor does the name! Either way, it took over the center of Seville for several days, with some merchants complaining about the amount of compensation they received. Surprisingly we did not see much of either star although their doubles made the news on several occasions. I have heard reports of car chases and a crash with the tram but nothing has been confirmed. As it is a movie the limits of reality are always going to be stretched: apparently a running of the bulls scene was also filmed in Seville.The filming then moved to Cadiz where several bulls escaped on a Sunday and ran through parts of the city. Eventually they ended up at the beach! Unfortunately two people were injured and the production was suspended for a day while they reviewed security.

Not many films have used Seville as a backdrop, although recently the numbers are going up. "Mission Impossible 2" had a brief scene where they mixed Semana Santa with some kind of pagan holiday in a representation which likely offended most sevillanos. "Kingdom of Heaven" used the Alcazar for a scene. A recent film called "The Limits of Control" was probably the best for seeing a lot of Seville, but don't be fooled that Bill Murray is in it. Just a brief scene at the end. But there are a lot of street scenes in the city center. Finally the movie version of "Carmen" was filmed in Seville as was "Lawrence of Arabia" many, many years ago.

Posted by Jeff at 11:45 AM CET

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I've spent the last week being and overcoming being sick. In between I've launched a lot of new photos albums of Seville's churches. These are photos I've had for a long time as you can unfortunately tell by some of the older images (when my camera was on its last legs). Soon I'll be adding photos of different towns and cities as well as some updates to the side trips section.

As the holidays near I felt I should also update the shopping section of the site. You'll find plenty of new categories, my recommendations for stores and places to shop, and more. It took many more hours than I had planned. This seems to be the case with everything recently.

Finally, many of you have given me some positive feedback about the 57 Things to do in Seville section. In response I have added many new items and it's now 85 Things to do in Seville! These are activities and ideas for diversion which are often overlooked. I have tried my best to keep them to original things and stay away from the obvious like "see the Cathedral", etc. A few more ideas have popped into my head and I hope to make it to 101 things!

Posted by Jeff at 11:37 AM CET

Updated: Sunday, 29 November 2009 12:27 PM CET

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