Road to Iberia V ...
... though much delayed for no good reason I will try to return to where I left off in Spain - Sevilla to be exact. So, we are back at 12 March.
A long day but a lot of fun. I did my best to figure out the shower (still stinking of wet paint). I only succeeded in shooting water all the way across the bathroom, soaking the door, which Carmen found absolutely hilarious. For some reason she seems to think I leave every place a mess within 10 minutes.
We went off to find breakfast, walking forever before coming back right to where we started at Numero 3 de Oro. We ate outside - I had fresh bread and Andalusian style ham and some coffee, all very good. While we ate we got to watch an entertaining episode of life on the streets of Sevilla: a very big truck came down the very narrow street we were dining by, stopped at the cross street, and then didn't have enough room to make the turn. The driver didn't know what to do. A few minutes later a delivery van came down the same street and, of course, was blocked by the first truck. The driver looked at the situation, shut off the engine, hopped out and went into the restaurant across the street. Apparently it seemed like a good moment to get some morning cafe.
We eventually all set off for the cathedral. It is an impressive mass. After wandering around for quite a bit we went up in La Giralda, the tower attached to the cathedral. Originally it had been part of the grand mosque of Sevilla. There was a fascinating series of displays as you walked up the tower ramps showing all stages of its history. It is a bit odd to think that Arabic was the spoken language of the town once. From the top you get an impressive view of the cathedral and the town.
La Giralda herself is at the very top of the tower. She's the saint on top who holds out a huge sail to catch the wind so that she turns as the wind blows. In fact, that is what Giralda means - "The Turning One."
After lunch we walked over to the Plaza de Espana. What an amazing place that is. It looks like an enormous 18th century palace, but it is really not anything. It was built purely to look impressive back for some international exposition - it reminded me a lot of the faux Roman ruins we saw in San Francisco last summer. They were constructed for the same purpose. Now the plaza in Sevilla is often used for shooting movies, including this one.
After all this I thought I wanted to wander off with Carmen on our own to see the Achaeology Museum. It was a good choice. The museum collection is not huge, but it is very well done. I enjoyed it for about two hours.
Went back to our little pension, too tired to change to a bigger hotel. After a short nap we went out to dinner. We could see signs of preparation for Semana Santa, the Holy Week. Finally picked a Middle Eastern Restaurant called the "Alcazar." It was excellent. A good end to a good day.
... though much delayed for no good reason I will try to return to where I left off in Spain - Sevilla to be exact. So, we are back at 12 March.
A long day but a lot of fun. I did my best to figure out the shower (still stinking of wet paint). I only succeeded in shooting water all the way across the bathroom, soaking the door, which Carmen found absolutely hilarious. For some reason she seems to think I leave every place a mess within 10 minutes.
We went off to find breakfast, walking forever before coming back right to where we started at Numero 3 de Oro. We ate outside - I had fresh bread and Andalusian style ham and some coffee, all very good. While we ate we got to watch an entertaining episode of life on the streets of Sevilla: a very big truck came down the very narrow street we were dining by, stopped at the cross street, and then didn't have enough room to make the turn. The driver didn't know what to do. A few minutes later a delivery van came down the same street and, of course, was blocked by the first truck. The driver looked at the situation, shut off the engine, hopped out and went into the restaurant across the street. Apparently it seemed like a good moment to get some morning cafe.
We eventually all set off for the cathedral. It is an impressive mass. After wandering around for quite a bit we went up in La Giralda, the tower attached to the cathedral. Originally it had been part of the grand mosque of Sevilla. There was a fascinating series of displays as you walked up the tower ramps showing all stages of its history. It is a bit odd to think that Arabic was the spoken language of the town once. From the top you get an impressive view of the cathedral and the town.
La Giralda herself is at the very top of the tower. She's the saint on top who holds out a huge sail to catch the wind so that she turns as the wind blows. In fact, that is what Giralda means - "The Turning One."
After lunch we walked over to the Plaza de Espana. What an amazing place that is. It looks like an enormous 18th century palace, but it is really not anything. It was built purely to look impressive back for some international exposition - it reminded me a lot of the faux Roman ruins we saw in San Francisco last summer. They were constructed for the same purpose. Now the plaza in Sevilla is often used for shooting movies, including this one.
After all this I thought I wanted to wander off with Carmen on our own to see the Achaeology Museum. It was a good choice. The museum collection is not huge, but it is very well done. I enjoyed it for about two hours.
Went back to our little pension, too tired to change to a bigger hotel. After a short nap we went out to dinner. We could see signs of preparation for Semana Santa, the Holy Week. Finally picked a Middle Eastern Restaurant called the "Alcazar." It was excellent. A good end to a good day.
posted by Clemens | 12:11 PM
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