The Hot Bastard of Sevilla

We had not realized how quiet and tourist free Jerez was until we arrived in Sevilla. We had the same experience in Barcelona, and expect we will see it again in Toledo and Madrid. Tourists in Spain, and most likely everywhere, seem to concentrate in a few really popular cities. The beauty of Sevilla is that it is quintessentially Andalucian, which even a herd of grazing foreigners cannot spoil. The highlights included our first flamenco performance, the cathedral, Plaza de España, the Alcazer, and a birthday!

Birthday rainbow

The birthday was the best part, with apple tart for breakfast, flan with lunch, cheesecake for a snack and no room for the chocolate roll cake after dinner. It had to suffice for breakfast the next morning. Birthday dinner was delicious, and authentically Spanish in food and time of day. Beginning at approximately 10:30 p.m. (about the time it starts to feel comfortable), we thoroughly savored a pitcher of Sangria, chicken with béchamel sauce, and pork sirloin with Roquefort.


Celebrating amongst the feast

Flamenco…Andalucia is famous for this authentic tradition and we were lucky to catch a glimpse at a local bar. The bar had no sign, no awning, pretty much nothing that would indicate it was an establishment. Two pieces of paper adorned the front door: “Please do not park in front of the door” and “Summer hours: Monday to Sunday, open at 20:00.” We cautiously entered, and were surprised to find an enormous space with two large rooms and a spacious patio. Soon, the flamenco began. A trio containing a guitarist, a singer, and a dancer. The singer ran the show, belting out passionate Spanish songs, sweat pouring down his intent face. The dancer added a lot of rhythm, clapping sharply and complementing the delicate and beautiful guitarist with vibrant percussion. Then at the end, she did her thing. So hard to describe, again intent, fiery, and rich with her attitude and love of flamenco. It was really amazing.

The Giralda from the orange tree filled patio

The cathedral is enormous, and astounding. Its vastness is hard to comprehend. The bell tower is a converted minaret, the Giralda, a 12th-century remnant of the mosque that stood here before the cathedral.

View from the bell tower ... roof top pools were unexpected

Early founders and architects reportedly decided, “Let us create such a building that future generations will take us for lunatics.” The cathedral contains the largest alter piece in the world, the Capilla Mayor, with more than 1000 biblical figures that took nearly 80 years to complete. It is very gold and very big.


Everyday life in Sevilla

Plaza de España was built for an international festival in the early 1920’s. It’s a large semi-circle, in the middle of a large park, and is rich with Andalucian tiles of every color, shape and design. The building surrounding it is now used for government offices, but is extraordinarily ornate. It is the kind of building that governments build when they want to show off. Thanks, guys! The plaza is also one of the more relaxing places to sit in Sevilla, as many tourists seem to miss it on their march.

Pretty...

As we entered the bus station for our departure, the temperature read 41 degrees Celsius, and with an average humidity of 73% we couldn’t help but dream of Seattle…