Morocco to Spain and Portugal Day 9: Sevilla

We’ve been here several times before, but what I’ll remember about Sevilla this time is the strong, beautiful scent of orange blossoms. It was everywhere.

We had a guided walking tour through the city. It’s the traditional mixed with the very modern.

This next picture is at a convent where they bake the communion host. You put the coin on a lazy Susan and they replace the coin with a bag of the leftovers from stamping the host. I found myself surprised that even the smallest remnants of something so sacred would be sold so freely.

We had coffee and treats on a rooftop our tour director recommended. An artist was sketching nearby, and I pulled out my watercolors. I’m new to painting and know I’m not very skilled yet, but he was so kind—he asked if he could see what I was working on. Then he showed me his own (professional) work and generously praised mine. It absolutely made my day.

It’s Lent, so although we didn’t see the penitentes—the hooded figures that can look startlingly like the Ku Klux Klan to outsiders—there were beautiful sugar models displayed in every bakery.

In the Christian tradition, penitentes are participants in Holy Week processions, especially in Spain. Their robes and covered faces are meant to symbolize humility, repentance, and anonymity before God. Rather than drawing attention to themselves, they point to a deeper spiritual reflection—walking in remembrance of Christ’s suffering and expressing a desire for forgiveness and renewal.

We did a delicious tapas tour.