During half term, a group of third year boys visited Seville. Read the report below by Geordie Anderson and Samuel Dominic:
Monday 18 February
A crowd of 30 Abingdon boys along with their teachers set off for Seville. After the flight which lasted over three hours we made our way to Hotel Murillo where we left our bags and with the weight quite literally off our backs we headed to El Rincón de Murillo restaurant, where we had our first delicious meal. At around 10pm we arrived at the hotel tired and excited to see what Seville had in store for us over the next few days.
Tuesday 19 February
After a great night’s rest and our wonderful all you can eat buffet breakfast, we were ready to set out into Seville and were lucky enough to have a guide taking us around called Carmen who was a Sevillian and gave us a great insight into the city. Carmen enlightened us on the complex history of Seville and the many wars between the Arabs and the Christians which made Seville what it is today. That is why the streets in Seville are not wide, as it is intended to be hard for enemies to invade.
After a very interesting tour we had our packed lunch outside the University of Seville, which as Carmen told us, was an ex-tobacco factory and is now regarded as one of the top universities in Spain. In the afternoon we visited the shopping area Calle Sierpes and also for those who could find it El Corte Inglés, which is like a Spanish John Lewis. After we had finished visiting the shopping area we went back to Hotel Murillo to relax and had another delicious evening meal in El Rincón de Murillo. After our first day we got some much needed rest in our rooms ready for another day in Seville.
Wednesday 20 February
On Wednesday, we had an early get up to fit in all the activities as we had a jam packed day starting off at Palacio de las Dueñas, where there was breathtaking scenery. The gardener there offered us some of Seville’s famous sour oranges which were tiny and were eaten by some of the braver boys with the skin still on.
In the afternoon we got to the La Real Maestranza, Seville bull ring. After a large discussion over whether bull fighting was morally correct we began the tour learning all about this aspect of Spanish culture, including the fact that bull fighting was originally used as military training and was only developed into a show around 900 A.D.
After another exciting day of Spanish culture we headed back to the hotel and then across the road to El Rincón de Murillo where once again we had a lovely meal. We finished the day with a surprise long walk, which allowed us to get the best night sleep yet.
Thursday 21 February
On Thursday we had our busiest day starting off by collecting our packed lunches after a lovely breakfast. We met up with Carmen at the Plaza de España, where apparently the Star Wars Attack of the Clones Naboo palace scene was filmed. While there, we were lucky enough to witness the start of the tour de Andalucia bike race.
From this amazing Plaza, we went back to the city centre and saw one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, la iglesia del Salvador – we were all very respectful and silent, as there were lots of people praying.
Then, came one of the highlights of the trip, the cathedral. La Cathedral de Sevilla is the third largest cathedral in the world after the Vatican and Saint Paul’s cathedrals. However the cathedral in Seville is the largest gothic church in the world. In the cathedral, not only did we admire a massive beautiful wall of 24 carat gold but we also saw a huge tomb, which is home to Christopher Columbus – but they only have 250 grams of him.
In the afternoon we went to the Arts and Traditions, the Archeology and the Science museums – all interesting and gave us an insight into this beautiful city. We finished the afternoon with a stroll in Parque de María Luisa. This was a great but long day, so after another nice dinner, most of us went to sleep straight away.
Friday 22 February
Sadly it was the final day of an amazing trip. We started the day with a visit to the local market, followed by an exciting visit to the Seville FC Stadium. Unfortunately our tour was cancelled due to unexpected circumstances at the club. Having said, that they allowed us to get into the stadium and not only that, we were given a free Seville FC scarf each.
We then spent some time in the nearby shopping entre Nervión Plaza, where some of us bought presents for our families. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel for the last time and picked up our bags, which was very sad.
When we got to the airport we had or second lunch then boarded the airplane. At the airport, we had out dinner before boarding and after a pleasant British Airways flight back to England; we saw our parents, thanked our teachers and went home.
