Weather in Sevilla

Although I have already provided a map of Sevilla, they do no justice to how gorgeous this city is- particularly the historical district. Here are some aerial views of the city from La Giralda- the tallest tower of the Cathedral, and the tallest point of the city:

Here is the bull-fighting stadium:

And the Alcazar, or the royal Palace of Seville:

Unfortunately, I am here for the coldest part of the year in Seville. Temperatures have been averaging a blistering 55 degrees in the last few weeks, and the people of Seville are all bundled up in their winter coats for fear of freezing. Luckily, I was born and bred in Chicago so I've been able to survive such dramatic cold. But it has been rough. Of course, on nicer days when the sun is shining it's quiet hot out and everyone starts peeling off layers- they call this onion weather (get it?). Because of the mild winter temperatures, Seville actually has two orange crops per year. This city is known for its citrus, which can be seen on almost every street in the city- trees upon trees of oranges.

Another side-effect of the mild temperatures is that everyone is always outside. Because of the high cost of living, most apartments are small and it is rare to have friends over. Instead, everyone hangs out outside all of the time. Every cafe, bar and restaurant has outside seating. There are also tons of parks and benches for enjoyment. People even enjoy bottles of beer or wine outside by the river at night before heading to the discotecas for the night. Below is the Triana Bridge, one of the popular nightly hang-outs for the youth of the city. 

Because they tend to spend all of their time outside, walking and biking are the most popular forms of transportation. An hour walk is typical, but if it's more than an hour people consider biking instead. In addition to privately-owned bikes, there is a public bike system in Sevilla known as Sevici. I have already subscribed and I am loving it. Almost every sidewalk in the city has a green bike path set aside for our use. The bikes are extremely heavy and old, but they work and they have cut my commute to class in half. Plus I just enjoy biking around the city in our brisk winter weather.