We arrived in Seville on Monday, the 26th. We got here by train. We left Barcelona shortly after 9 in the morning and arrived at the Seville train station just before 4 in the afternoon. I often comment on plane and train trips and whether they went well or poorly. In this case, our trip went smoothly, although it was long. The last leg of the trip was from Madrid to Seville. You may have heard about a terrible train accident in Spain this morning, the 28th. That accident was along the same route we were on on Monday. That news was retroactively scarry for us in addition to being truly sad for the people involved. We were fortunate; they were not. So many things, good and bad, come down to accidents of timing.
When we arrived at Plaza Santa Cruz in Seville, our host, Mariano, and his friend Georgia met us. The location of the apartment is perfect for us. Mariano is justly proud of his apartment. He wanted to be sure we understood everything and that he answered any questions. He thinks his English is not up to the task, which is why he brought his friend. His Ingles and my Español, we agreed, were both deficient (poor) but his English was much better. We had a very good time being shown around this really comfortable apartment and we have been more than happy with the accommodation.
We have stayed in the Santa Cruz area several times and are familiar with (more or less) the labyrinth of streets around us.
It only took us a couple of hours to get all set up for our stay. In the evening, we had a real treat. We went to a flamenco show. Yes, yes, you know we go to flamenco shows all the time, but this one was special for us. Madison Olguin, daughter of one of our friends from Albuquerque, now lives in Spain. She studied at the National Institute of Flamenco in Albuquerque and performed many times there. She won a major competition which included a scholarship to study in Spain for 2 years. She has finished that scholarship and now she performs in Seville! Monday night she was performing at Casa Azahar which is just 2 corners away from Plaza Santa Cruz. We were able to see someone we saw as a young student in Albuquerque performing as the bailora in a tablao in Spain. Better still, we had time to speak with her before the show and we were so impressed with what a competent, confident young woman she has become. We admiretet how she has worked to capitalize on opportunities with her talent and work ethic.
While we were in Barcelona Patricia was not feeling well and we did not do most of the things we had planned. I am pleased to report that she is improving and that we have been able to enjoy the bright sunny days in Seville.
On Tuesday morning we found a breakfast place just a few minutes away from the apartment. I say “breakfast”, but the name is Moya Brunch, and we got there at a brunch-ish time. I took a walk by myself in the early afternoon covering a lot of ground while looking for a store that sold bathtub mats. [Don’t ask. But I can tell you that home supply stores don’t seem to carry anything like that at least within 16,00 steps.] Later on, we both went out for a walk and covered a good bit of ground. It was a nice afternoon and we sat in a small park and ate ice cream. On the way back, we stopped at a restaurant we have been visiting for years. It is close to the Cathedral, and we like to sit outside and admire the view. Unfortunately, we had to sit inside—no view—and the pizza we always have was disappointing. Other than that, a really good day, so we can’t complain.
This morning, Wednesday, we found another breakfast place. There are so many to choose from. But this one ticked the box for one important thing: it served churros with chocolate, which I had. We explored (or revisited, I suppose) streets around the Cathedral and the Royal Alcazar before taking a late morning break. In the early afternoon we took a walk with a purpose: selecting where we planned to eat in the evening. You probably know this, but some people feel that it is important to visit a restaurant in advance to examine in detail the menu, the setting, how the staff looks, etc, instead of simply going to close-by place or looking up something on Google maps (restaurants near me open now works for me). So we hunted and checked and decided on a couple of places. But we are a little out of practice on Spanish dining customs. We went to the first one, which had a nice al fresco setting in Plaza Elvira. The tables were all set up at 6:15, but there were no diners. I asked the man who was setting up “¿Abierto?” and he looked at me like I was a foreigner or something. “No hasta las siete y media.” [Not until 7:30.] The “you dummy” was clearly implied. The second restaurant did seat us, though. We ate outside on a street with enough foot traffic to be interesting, but not too busy and had an enjoyable meal. That restaurant was about a 5-minute walk from our apartment.
I am still trying to get some bugs out of the way pictures are being displayed, but at least I am getting some of them posted on the pictures page.
