Sevilla: The Easter Processional

3 April 2015, Friday

At 8AM our driver takes us to the Granada RENFE Train Station where we decide to have breakfast and wait for the train to Sevilla. We eat Croissant Rellenio, an orange and two trusty cortados.The train is on time and boarding is simple and straightforward. We climb on Car #2 take our seats (#94 and 95) and settle in for the just over three hour trip. Alberto Garcia meets us for the ride to our hotel Becquer situated in the heart of the city between the historical quarter and the commercial district.

 Our room is not available, so we leave our bags and walk toward the Guadalquiver River following the huge crowd of Easter celebrants. We walk along the river for a time and then lunch at the Mercado Lonja del Barranco near the Triana Bridge. This building, a former fish market, was designed by Gustave Eiffel. It is made of steel and glass and is full of light. It has a huge terrace that looks on the River. Today the market is crowded with tourists hunting for tables and loud music is blaring. It is a party...


This fantastic market with gourmet stalls offers tapas, cheese, wine and beer, desserts, and coffee. We started with Salmorejo, a thick gazpacho-style soup, enjoyed an open-faced artichoke and ham sandwich, and closed with a brownie and a cortado. We buy an assortment of goodies for dinner including, six queso con pan, cigallas,  tomatoes, a fruit bowl filled with apple, orange, strawberries and kiwi as well as pepper chilies stuffed with a potato mixture. We will enjoy this with champagne and chocolate dessert in our room later as we watch for the Easter processional (and the crowd) that passes by our hotel room late this afternoon.

We return to our hotel and take up residence in our large room with modern bath and a PORCH! There are welcome gifts on the table: a chilled bottle of sherry, an olive oil pottery bottle, and Holy Week spiced cake. The stained glass window opens out to reveal the street below. This is exactly where the procession will pass!  As with all hotels, tea and coffee are supplied along with WIFI, TV, and minibar. But what is new is a Trouser Press! Never seen that before...
We unpack, sort laundry for cleaning and leave the bag for the maid service in the morning.
We notice the increasing noise and surging crowds outside. We move a chair, a stool and a small table to the porch and settle in to watch the spectacle unfold as we sip our wine.

The band horns are blaring and the penitents continue their long processional on the Calle Reyes Catolicos to the Catedral de Sevilla on this, Good Friday. Some penitents are wearing black, others purple but they all are fully covered with pointed hoods and long robes. Some carry large black wooden crosses. Finally the floats start to pass our perch and now the crowds surge to touch them as they pass. The first float is always Jesus on the Cross and the second is always the Virgin Mary. The floats are covered with fresh flowers and candle light. Carrying the floats are penitent men bearing the weight of the heavy structural beams across their necks. All the penitents come in different sizes and ages; including proud fathers accompanying their young sons on this solemn journey. Girls and women are more frequently in the processions nowadays. But, more often,  they take their more traditional place walking along the periphery dressed in black.

We decide to close the window and turn to our night's entertainment--another installment of Eagle. Then we sleep.