If poetry was a city, it would be Sevilla

Sevilla is the capital of Andalucía, and capital indeed it is. I realized as soon as I got out of the taxi that took me from the train station to the hotel that I owed this visit to Sevilla to my dad. In the words  of the driver of that same taxi: "Es que Sevilla es mu' linda!" I can translate this expression to English (The fact is that Sevilla is too gorgeous!), but what I cannot translate is what it means to hear it said by an andalucian in love with his city. For that, you have to go hear it by yourself.

If you go in April, like we did, it is going to be hot. If you see t-shirts that read: Joé, qué caló! (Sh*t, it is hot!), those t-shirt makers were totally right, though I love their sense of humor. But if you are willing to stand the heat, and you can, you might be able to experience Holy Week in Sevilla, which is no small affair. Besides, it is about this time of the year that the orange trees of Andalucia are in bloom and the smell just embalms the whole region. 

We used Sevilla as the base to visit Jerez de la Frontera and Cadiz. I tried to coordinate trains to visit the cities but I did not have luck with the timetables to be able to do both cities in one day. But I found Pancho Tours, a great company for sightseeing, and my problems were solved. In Jerez, we wanted to taste the wine unique to this region. The initial intention was to visit Bodega de Pedro Domecq, but they were closed on the day we had for the tour. Bodegas Tío Pepe was another option and we really enjoyed the tour and the cellars. Cádiz was endearing; it made me reminisce of my native Havana and to talk like a local through the Mercado Central de Abastos talking to friendly sellers, it doesn't hurt that what they sell tastes delicious. 

if your wanders through Spain take you to the same places I visited, lift our glass of jerez and cheer for Andalucia and its capital: Sevilla.