Family trip to Sevilla

The atmosphere inside the stadium was amazing and the Sevilla fans didn’t stop singing from the start of the game until the finish | Richie Prior

Richie PriorPalma27/10/2023 15:45
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As soon as my team the Arsenal qualified for the Champions League I said to my two boys that if we draw a Spanish team then we will definitely go to an away game. When the draw was made I knew we had a pretty good chance because there were five Spanish teams in it. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Real Sociedad and Sevilla were all in the hat and any one of those would have been a great day out. I’d already seen Arsenal before at the two Madrid teams and at Barcelona so although they would have been great again a trip to Sevilla in the South or Sociedad in the North would be something different. We ended up drawing Sevilla and so the hunt was on for tickets, hotel and flights.

I was moaning last week about the lack of low fares from the low cost airlines but we are lucky here on the islands as we get discounted travel. That’s only if we’re travelling around Spain and its islands. The Spanish government subsidises 75% of the fares of scheduled air transport for all EU citizens who are residents of the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla. For us Brits living in Mallorca it means to qualify for the discount, you must be a permanent resident, either with the green NIE stating ‘permanente’ or with the TIE card. You also need to get a resident certificate from the municipal council where you are registered. I got ours from one of the tourist information offices. So our return tickets to Sevilla were 75€, not each that was for all three! Now the airlines have been accused of putting up their prices to compensate for the discount especially around the holidays so you need to shop around or book as early as you can.

The hotel I got was called the Torre Sevilla and it came on recommendation from a friend. It is the tallest building in Andalusia and in Seville and provides a panoramic view on all of city. Seville is the capital of Andalusia, the city has the world’s biggest gothic cathedral, which is the resting place of the World famous explorer Christopher Columbus who we celebrate in Spain on October 12th commemorating the first time that Columbus sailed for America in 1492.

If you’re interested in experiencing Spanish tapas culture, then there is arguably no better place to do this than Sevilla. Going on a tapas crawl can lead you from historic old bars serving up traditional Sevillano dishes to hip new eateries putting modern spins on old classics. We went to another recommendation called Bar Pelayo which I can pass on as a great place to go.

I am really grateful to a friend called Jeff who sorted our tickets for us. To be honest we couldn’t have been any closer to the pitch. We had the Arsenal technical team in front of us and the academy team a few rows behind us. Also just two rows behind us was Arsenal legend Ian Wright who was happy to pose for photos with anyone who asked.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was amazing and the Sevilla fans didn’t stop singing from the start of the game until the finish. Arsenal played well for 60 minutes and were cruising at 2-0 up. But the home side pulled one back and the last half hour was very nerve wracking but we held on for a 2-1 win. We all slept well that night and flew back to Mallorca the next morning. A great experience for all of us and hopefully we’ll be able to repeat it again soon. I said to my Wife we really must make more of the residents discount and see more of the mainland. Galicia, the Basque region and Rioja are three places that are on my list. Maybe we could tie it in with a Real Mallorca away game? Or maybe I shouldn’t mention that?

Take care everybody and enjoy your weekend!