My flight home leaves Sevilla at 7:00 a.m. So rather than be the first of the group to leave, I opted to head home on Thursday, just in case there are any final issues to wrap up, and to make sure everyone makes it out of the hotel and on their way.

This also gives me one more afternoon to spend at the feria!

I will, of course, take the camera, but I may not end up with an enormous number of photos. Having been there a few times now, I’m realizing that the best way to enjoy the feria is to simply stand or sit, preferably in the shade, and soak it all in. A carriage ride through the streets offers a lovely view as well!

I was talking with several members of our group at breakfast this morning, and everyone agreed — now that they’ve seen it in person — that the feria is a spectacle that is difficult to describe, hard to comprehend until you’ve witnessed it, and nearly impossible to capture accurately in pictures.

There are the tree-lined streets, the colorful striped casetas (tents), the lights over the streets, and the paper lanterns over the sidewalks. There are the impossibly beautiful horses being ridden by impossibly elegant riders, and carriages of all types and sizes, full of festively dressed people who chat with each other, wave to friends, and drink sherry. There are rows of horses and riders stopped along the sidewalks in front of casetas, enjoying a snack and a drink offered by their friends. There’s the unimaginable, but seemingly never out of hand, gridlock of riders, carriages (from singles to five-in-hand turnouts), and people crossing the street on foot. There are women and girls in colorful, traditional outfits and men of all ages in elegant suits. There’s the rumble of iron wheels on cobblestones, the chiming of a multitude of harness bells, and the traditional strains of feria music. As a whole, it is truly a beautiful sight.

I will post some more photos, but you’ll have to see it for yourself to believe it!