Day 12: June 25 (Barcelona)

Las Arenas shopping mall

Miro sculpture

We didn't wake up until after 10:00 am.  We had breakfast at the hotel and then set off for the metro station to head back to Sagrada Familia. Our intent was to pay the entry fee and see the inside.  On the way to the metro, we walked through the Parc de Joan Miro.  It had a very different park design with a monumental Miro sculpture in one corner.  There was a dedicated dog park.  There were various game courts which were in use, including outdoor ping-pong tables with metal "nets". Most of the park was gravel, with palms and other trees.  The sculpture was set on a grassy lot with weird metal things sticking up (vents from underground parking?)  We then went into a giant arena which housed a huge shpping mall.  We stopped into a "Best Buy" sort of store to buy a new memory card for the camera because the one we have is close to full.

at the blue Mediterranean

When we finally arrived at the church, the line to get in was way too long.   We did a quick change of plans, went back down into the metro, and headed for the beach / harbor area.  We walked down the boulevard from the metro stop to the beach and then turned right to the end of the walk path.  At the end, there was a big hotel "W" in the shape of a sail, very shiny and very fancy.  We hadn't seen open water so far on our trip, and it was a pleasure seeing the blue Mediterranean.  It was a hot day, about 88 or so, but there was a breeze that kept things nice. It seemed that there were few people in the water, compared to the number on the beach.  The beaches were pretty packed!  On our walk, we puzzled about the use of the beach and different umbrellaed areas.  There were some private beach clubs with swimming pool facilities on the side of the walk path opposite the sea. Neil was thrilled to see some windsurfers and at least one kiter.  Neil took off his shoes and put his feet in the water, which was warm.

We walked back to town via the Barcelonetta harbor area to the Columbus monument / pillar and the spot where Las Ramblas hits the harbor.  Heading up into town, we toured the cathedral.  We were not that impressed, although it was very crowded.  For the first time on our trip, I noticed someone (three different people) refused entry because of their clothing.  I thought that this was odd especially because what they were wearing wasn't that different than what I was wearing; and I've seem people wearing more revealing chothes in other churches we have been in.  We continued our Barrio Gotic walk trying to find a shop that Frommer's says has "the best in the world" chocolate cake, but couldn't find it.  We did, however, have a nice lunch in another Frommer recommendation, the Bar del Pi in the Placa del Pi.  We sat inside in the bar and ate gazpacho, an empanada, and a Catalon sausage sampler (including blood sausage).  We continued toward Las Ramblas and found La Boqueria market, advertised to be the best market in Europe.  I think it lived up to the hype.  It was huge and crowded, with beautifully displayed foods of all types.  We bought cherries and some chocolates, although we did have some difficulty finding a nice place to sit and eat our chocolates before they melted.  We took the metro back to the hotel.  I was not feeling great, very tired and worn out due to sensory / people overload.  I definitely needed the afternoon rest!

Fun at the Gay Pride Event

Montjuic Fountain of Light show

At dusk, we went to the Placa Espanya to see the fountain light show at Parc Montjuic.  Set up in front of the fountain was a stage and stands for the Barcelona Gay Pride festival.  There was a lot of flamboyant strangeness happening as we walked through.  The fountain show was very impressive and the grounds were spectacular.  There were thousands of people milling around on this beautiful warm night.  We were very impressed by the civic effort involved in providing this kind of entertainment two or three nights a week during the entire summer.

We walked back to the hotel backtracking along our morning path.  There were a fair number of people on the grassy lot in from of the Miro sculpture, which had been deserted in the morning.  No one seemed to be in the park interior.  We arrived at the hotel with the thought of having a drink in the rooftop bar.  We checked it out but it seemed too smoky and very expensive, so we passed.

Day 11: June 24 (Barcelona)

We woke at around 9:15 am.  The fireworks did not last too long into the night and after, there was no noise at all.  It was quite quiet.  We ate the hotel breakfast downstairs.

We took a trip to the monastery at Montserrat.  The train left from a station underground at Placa Espanya.  The station was a little hard to find but, once we found the right level, there was actually an employee to help people with advice and show them how to buy tickets for the Montserrat day trip.  The train actually serviced the suburbs, with several stops ending at Montserrat.  The train was full, mostly tourists.  An Israeli couple traveling with at least two older women sat near us.  We were thrilled to strike up a (mostly Spanish) conversation with the woman sitting next to us.  She was originally from Jaen, an area around Cordoba, one of twelve children.  She was very blond with blue eyes, 53 years old with two children.  She spoke very slowly to us, with some English mixed in.  She was so sweet.  When she got off the train at her stop, she gave us a package she was carrying as a gift.  We opened the bag to find some delicious pastry.  The pastry was wonderful for our hike around Montserrat.  To this woman on the train: (We never did ask your name) If you should ever read this, Neil and I want you to know that we treasure your conversation and kindness as one of the truly high points of our whole trip.

Aerial tram at Montserrat

The train trip took about an hour.  The first third was underground, the rest on the surface.  There were two Montserrat stops; the first servicing the aerial tram (where we got off) and the next servicing the funicular.  Neil and I got right in front in the little orange tram car which held 35 people.  At the top, Montserrat was jammed with people.  You could drive up there on a windy road and there where many tour buses parked.  We missed the daily performance of the famed boy's choir by an hour (bad tour guide info?).  There was a huge line of people extending from the main cathedral into the courtyard waiting to touch the Black Madonna. We left the built up area and went on a hike to the Cross of San Miguel.  The walk paths were lined with statues and shrines.  There were specific prayers displayed to be recited at the various stations.  We saw a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi that bore a resemblance to one of Neil's work colleagues.  Neil especially liked a little hermit's retreat near the lookout.  It was relaxing and peaceful away from the monastery.  There were lots of English speakers at the monastery but none at all on the hiking path. We stopped several times along the way to eat our pastry.  At our destination, the view from the mirador at San Miguel's Cross was spectacular. The view was back to the monastery on the hillside and also out over the countryside.  We could see what looked like the biggest quarry in the world in the direction away from Barcelona.  The river running through the valley below was very muddy.  We walked back to the monastery, checked out the main building where we could watch people touching the Black Madonna, then took the tram back to the train station.  One of our fellow passengers on the tram ride was a women we had seen earlier on our hiking path.  She looked very upset to the point that I joked with Neil that she might try to kill all of us.

Montserrat from San Miguel's Cross

Looking up at Cross

On the train ride back to town, I sat next to a man who was reading a book on Hindu philosophy.  Neil, of course, sat next to the scary, suicidal looking woman.  She got off after a couple of stops.  An older woman and young man got on the train about two thirds of the way back and began a very load, raucous discussion of a personal nature that involved a lot of whooping, teasing, and laughing.  Neil and I only understood parts of the discussion. It had something to do with the young man's new job, to which he was en route, and his girlfriend and his desire to have his girlfriend quit smoking.  The older woman suggested that the girlfriend find something else to suck on; a comment accompanied by wild laughter.  The women sitting across the aisle were scowling in disgust at the whole conversation.  Arriving back at Placa Espanya, we made our way back to the hotel along the median esplanade of the Gran Via.  It was quiet due th the time of day and the holiday.  We sat on a bench and ate the last of our gift pastry.  It was about 5:00 pm when we got back to Villa Emilia.  I napped a short bit and washed a few clothes.

In front of Casa Batilo

We decided to use the rest of the day to do an ipod tour of Gaudi buildings.  The first one we visited was Casa Calvet, built for a textile merchant and considered Gaudi's most conservative.  We next walked to Passeig Gracia where we saw Casa Batilo, a big "skeleton" building with a reptile roof and mosaic tiles, and La Pedrera.  La Pedrera had an inner courtyard which we could see through the windows.  It was being used to host some musical events.  The Passeig was lined with very upscale, Beverly Hills type stores.  The street was filled with very rich looking people and a large number of tour groups.

Sagrada Familia

We then walked over to the Sagrada Familia which was hugely impressive - and closed for tours of the inside for the day.  The area around the church was also swarming with tourists as well as with families and couples and dog walkers using the surrounding parks.  There was a small scale boulevard, Avinguda Gaudi, leading directly away from the church.  It was filled with outdoor restaurants and little stores.  We ate dinner at Tapas Gaudi.  Neil had risotto and I had bacolau that was made differently than the dish I had in Granada.  I washed my meal down with some sangria.

We took a long walk from dinner to the hotel.  My feet are still sore, but not blistering sore, just tired.  I have found the right balance of taping and sandals to make it all workable.

Late dinner

Day 10: June 23 (Granada - Barcelona)

Our plane from Granada to Barcelona

The day started early. We got up and to the airport very smoothly.  The hotel arranged to have breakfast one half hour early to accommodate our departure.  The early morning was refreshingly cool.  The taxi arrived precisely on time at 7:30 am.  There was absolutely no traffic.  I thought that there might be some rush hour traffic but we sailed right through town.  The flight from Granada to Barcelona went smoothly.  The Barcelona airport was very impressive; well laid out and easy to use, lots of upscale stores, and meticulously maintained.  The floors in the main terminal area were so shiny that it was a little disconcerting.

We took an aerobus from the airport to within three or four blocks of our hotel - Villa Emilia - which is very modern in design.  It was a little early and our room was not ready.  We left our bags and went to get some food and do some orienting to our new locale.  We walked up to Placa Espanya (using the Catalan name).  The Placa was very large scale and the entrance to Parc de Montjuic.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped in at a pharmacy to renew our supply of adhesive tape for my foot. We walked back on the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, a beautiful boulevard with a parklike median including benches and a tree lined bike / walk path.

Our room at the hotel was ready when we returned.  Like the lobby area, the room was also ultra-modern.  The bathroom was too modern!  The sink was so shallow that you can barely wash your hands; laundry was hard.  The shower was unusable without making a huge mess. A style over substance / function problem.

At the Picasso Museum

We looked at maps and then headed over to the areas on the other side of Las Ramblas to do one of the ipod tours that Neil had downloaded.  It was beautiful, and there were tons of people.  We saw the new market now being rebuilt and went to the Picasso museum.  I think Neil's favorite thing in the museum was the display of Las Meninas variations.  We tried to figure out from the descriptions how lithographs were made.  We got completely perplexed when it came to adding more than one color.  We had the remains of some food at the museum restaurant (it was very near closing) from a surly clerk.  The neighborhood around the museum had very nice stores.  Our ipod tour took us to the Church of Santa Maria del Mar in the Born district.  This was a beautiful Catalan Gothic church.  When we got there, an organist and 4-5 singers were rehearsing.  The sound through the church was amazing. Outside, we stopped and got some ice cream and sat on a bench in a little square.  A boy was trying to wash off his dog with water from a drinking fountain.  The dog was not happy.  I saw many nice dogs on our walk.  The Daschunds here are real size, not minis.

Santa Maria del Mar

We lost our tour path for awhile but stumbled upon the next stop (the Merkat de Born) and then went on to the Parc de Ciutadella, which was also on our ipod tour though we did not realize it at the time.  The Parc had a strange fountain with a gilded top with elaborate stairways leading up to a waterfall over some way over the top statues of horses.  It turns out that this was designed by Gaudi, the modernist architect whose famous works are all over Barcelona.  The Parc had a nice center promenade ending at the Zoo and some government / parliament buildings on one end and an Arc de Triumph on the other.  There were many people using the Park, including some people doing Brazilian caloric (I think).  I do not think that this park was as lovely as the other parks we have seen.  The Barri Gotic and other older sections are very beautiful, as are the big boulevards. They feel very urban, "normal" European, and have a very different "vibe" compared to Andalucia.

Gaudi fountain in Parc de Ciutadella

Coming out of the Parc, we went into the Estacio de Franca train station to use the bathroom.  (Bring your own toilet paper!)  We walked back to the Born neighborhood where we ate dinner at El Rosal de la Taverna.  We had salads, a shrimp (gambas) tapa and a montadito de solomillo with brie (steak on toast with brie) tapa.  The shrimps came whole, including their little heads with eyes.  I did not like to look at them and it was hard to get to the meat. While we were eating, two little girls at a table of about ten people next to us walked over to another table and asked a man for his autograph.  I assumed he was an athlete of some sort.  He was with two other men and a woman. The men were the only people in the restaurant not drinking alcohol.  They were all drinking cokes while the woman had a beer.  The man signing his autograph was very gracious and asked the girls some questions.  They started the conversation in English, then switched to Spanish (not Catalan).  After our meal, we continued to the Placa Reial.  The Placa was huge, and lined entirely with restaurants and bars.  I saw a group of acrobats in the Placa doing gymnastic runs and pyramids.  This reminded me that I read that there is a local custom of doing large human pyramids with little children on top.

We made our way to Las Ramblas which reminded me of the Strip in Las Vegas.  There seemed to be a lot of drunk teens from everywhere - Europe, USA, etc. Yech to that part.  We came out the top of Las Ramblas into the Placa de Catalunya.  I guess we were getting tired (my feet were hurting) and were so disoriented that we couldn't figure out how to get to the road to walk back to the hotel.  Neil convinced me to get on the Metro.  That worked perfectly and we were back in no time.

Today was the beginning St John's festival, which is the midsummer night celebration. The hotel clerk told us that tomorrow is a city holiday.  Several times on our walk today, we saw (and heard) kids lighting firecrackers.  When we got to our room, it was just boom! boom! boom! At first we were worried that the noise was coming from cans being moved in the alley below our window and would be an ongoing problem, but were relieved when we realized it was just fireworks.

Day 9: June 22 (Granada)

We had no itinerary to speak of today.  Our goals were to mail my postcards, visit the Cathedral, and figure out tomorrow's travel plans to Barcelona because the airport is not easy to get to.  We had a good breakfast at the hotel and said goodbye to the Australians who were headed to Ronda by train.

Parade characters

We set off down the hill to town and found, when we got to the main drag (Gran Via de Colon), that something was going on.  The street was blocked off to traffic. There was a crowd of people, many of them sitting on chairs on the sidewalk.  Giant balloons were being sold by vendors walking the street. (Who knew Spongebob Squarepants was a popular Granadan balloon figure?)  We stopped into the tobacconist to buy stamps for the postcards and Neil asked what was happening.  We were told that it was the week of the Granada city festival of Corpus Christi and that a procession / parade was about to start.  We got onto the shady side of the street and waited, along with the ever growing throngs.  The police who were patrolling the street had beautiful horses.  When the parade came, it was surprisingly short, which was good!  Big figures of Isabella and Ferdinand led the parade with a couple of Moors.  There were six or seven local bands.  There were a large group of costumed figures who hit members of the viewing audience over the head with sort of balloons that looked like they were supposed to represent something old fashioned.  All of the figures had two fingers in the side of their mouth.  Who knows why?  The whole procession took 10-15 minutes.  It was fun, curious, and very pleasant.

We then went to the Royal Chapel off of the Cathedral.  The highlights of the Chapel were some very nice Dutch / Low Country 15th century paintings.  The Chapel also housed the crypt of Isabella and Ferdinand along with Phillip the Handsome and Juana the Mad and their son.  The coffins were under the memorial statuary.  You walked down a flight of stairs under the statuary and four very simple and tiny coffins were displayed in an otherwise empty room. Very strange in comparison with everything else in the Chapel.

political cartoon at Plaza fair

We left the Chapel and walked along the shops of the downtown area over to Plaza Bib Rambla.  Many of the shops were only open in the morning (closed in the evening) during the festival week.  There were many little girls (and some grown up ones) in full Flamenco regalia.  The main streets were strung with elaborate overhead lights.  We did not know if the lights were permanent or set up for the festival,  but we decided to come back after dark and check them out. It was very hot. Very high up, about 30-40 feet, many streets were strung with canvas sheets which provided shade below. We had also seen these awnings strung over some of the streets in Seville.  There was a fair set up in the Plaza Bib Rambla.  The edge of the Plaza was dotted with placards displaying many political cartoons in some sort of competition.  We could only partially figure out the puns and satirical entendres of the captions. We had lunch with cool drinks.  The Cathedral was shut for the afternoon so we did some wandering around past the law school connected with the University before taking the bus back up the hill to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, I did a little laundry and took a nap.  Neil had a little nap and then went down to talk to reception about getting checked out and arranging a taxi to the airport.  Our plane for Barcelona is in the morning and we have to leave here early tomorrow.

Puppet Show

We returned to town at about 6:30 pm.  We toured the Cathedral and then walked back to Plaza Bib Rambla, where we had some ice cream and, along with an audience of young parents and their preschoolers (maybe a couple of hundred people), watched a puppet show.  The puppet characters included a cat, a mouse, an octopus, rabbits, caterpillars, a chicken, a crocodile, a mean snake, and a mean wolf. (I think.) The action was very slapstick and the language aimed at the very young, very simple and very repetitive (and still, pretty much, beyond us!).  There were nursery rhyme-type songs that all the children knew and sang along with gusto.  All in all, a lot of fun.

The Lights at Night

While we were waiting for it to get dark in order to see the lights, we walked up to Carrera del Darro and had a so-so dinner (foodwise) at one of the outdoor cafes in the Plaza de Los Tristes.  We could look directly at the Alhambra from below from our dinner table tonight, instead of looking across at it from our previous dining spots.  As with all of our late night dinners, we enjoyed it.

Dancers in Plaza Bib Rambla

We walked back toward town through the Plaza Nueva.  There were thousands of people out in the square! There were people celebrating everywhere - tourists and locals.  We took in the lighted streets and found ourselves back at the lit Plaza Bib Rambla.  The puppet show stage was now transformed into a stage for a troupe doing local dances.  We watched a bit and headed up the hill to the hotel on foot.


My feet are not better, but I have a workable system to keep me going.  Neil is using some Spanish and learning from his mistakes.

Day 8: June 21 (Granada)

We are in Granada- still at the Hotel Santa Isabel la Real- which is even better the second day.  After closing the shutters, the room was like a nice cave.  The air conditioner had a very white noise, half wind / half wave sound and we didn't wake up until 9:00 am when the alarm went off.  The hotel breakfast was very nice, with a great variety of tasty foods.  Our fellow breakfasters were Australians, Canadians, and other couples of undetermined nationality. I retaped my feet and we started off down the hill in search of an ATM and a pharmacy.  We used a bank machines that also printed out our Alhambra admission tickets.  We could enter the grounds at 1:00 pm and the Nasrid palace at 5:00 pm.

Inside the Moorish baths

We spent the morning finding the tourist office off of Plaza Neuva.  We did not find much of use there, but we did buy a guide book and some postcards in a nearby store.  Along the way, we got a quick introduction to navigating by Segway by a guy trying to get us to sign up for a tour.  I am tempted.  We popped in a little bit in the Saint John Convalescent Home with a museum featuring a local contemporaryartist.  His style was described as "Moda de Fruta".  Sitting in the Plaza, we checked out two justice buildings across the Plaza from each other.  We watched many abogados enter and pass through weapons screening detectors.  The main building was huge, elaborate and formal.  This was a former palace, the Royal Chancellory, built in 1530. We walked up the Carrera de Darro and saw the old Moorish baths.  These were very interesting, especially the ceilings with the star shaped openings.

The main business of the day was our visit to the Alhambra.  We took the bus up because of the heat.  It turned out that about 70% of the time we spent on the bus was unnecessary because the bus route looped back to within a couple of blocks from where we got on before starting up the hill to the Alhambra.  The bus was quite crowded but, by the time we started the last leg, the only other people were two girls from Brazil and two girls from Nebraska.  The Brazilian girls were both on study abroad programs- one in Germany and one in Bilbao- and were traveling together on their summer holiday.  The Nebraskans were with a tour associated with their church.  We saw them later with their group; all seemed in their early 20's.  One of the guys in the group was explaining the details of his haircut.  He had gotten his hair cut by a local barber in a style that I have noticed on many teenage early 20's boys here, but have not seen at all in the states.  It is short on the sides with a defined side part and longer (but not long at all) through the top.  There is a kind of very slight wave on the longer bit in the middle top area.

In the Generalife

We went into the Alhambra and started through the Generalife area, crossing back to the palaces.  There was an elaborate entry ticket process, but I think we were not there on a high traffic day.  The Brazilian girls had not bought advance tickets and went right in with no problem.  The guide books all say you might not get in if you do not get your tickets in advance.  It was also not as hot as I thought it might be, though it was very hot.  The Generalife was cooler.  I think that Neil and I liked the outdoor areas better than the indoors, although the interior design and decorative items were amazing.  I really liked the ceilings.  The tile work throughout was beautiful. The garden and courtyard designs were beautiful.

Our fellow tourists all seemed to be having a good time. Neil was amazed by the number of English speakers, considering we haven't heard a lot of English elsewhere in Granada.  We observed a huge group of pre-teen (10-12 year old) Australian school children.  It seemed like a huge expense for all those children to go half way around the world.  I thought about all of the drama involved in going with Roz's fifth grade class just to San Francisco!

The Alcazaba - The Alhambra keep

Me in front of an ornate door

Neil in front of an ornate door

The center plaza of the Alhambra with the Fountain of the Lions was being restored.  They had a lot of good displays about the restoration project and the lions were on display inside.  The courtyard itself was torn up with plumbing and irrigation being repaired.  The rooms off the courtyard were not accessible.  Even though we didn't see it all, it was more than we could take in in one day.  We were on overload for the last part of the tour.  It was an amazing trip and worth the time.  You could go back ten times to take it all in.

El Partal Gardens

We took the bus loop back to our hotel.  The bus had to follow some riders in fancy clothes on horseback (unexplained, maybe police officers??) down a very narrow road in town.  This slowed things upon the bus.  The bus drivers were amazing in their ability to get through the narrow, narrow spaces along their route.

Back at the hotel, we showered, did some laundry, and headed back to Plaza Saint Nicholas to eat.  Bar Kiki was closed but Cafe Mirador next door, which we hadn't noticed or was closed last night, was open and we ate there.  All was pretty much the same as last night, except that there was a large neighborhood party going on.  Some cars were parked on the street, distracting from the views.    The food was tasty. We had a dish with artichoke hearts, peppers and ham and a dish with pork loin and fries.  The tapa dish was a potato / salsa salad.  So far in Granada, we have found that a substantial free tapa is served with drinks at dinner.  Last night we were uncertain after being served the tapa dish whether or not it was the main course!  Neil was especially amazed at the large number of group tours walking through the Plaza over to the mirador during the evening.  There must have been at least ten groups passing through while we ate.

After dinner, we sat and looked at the view of the Alhambra.  Hours before we had been looking the other way, out the Alhambra toward San Nicholas.  In the darkness, we could see the patios of some of the higher priced restaurants tucked away.  Eventually, we expertly stumbled the couple of blocks back to our hotel and saw late arriving Americans checking in as we headed to our room.

Day 7: June 20 (Seville-Granada)

We woke this morning about 8:00 am and had coffee in the PLaza Encarnation.  People were busy cleaning up, going to work, and taking kids to school.  We hadn't been up early on a weekday for awhile - it was quite cool (comparatively) and pleasant.

It was a travel day, as we set out from Seville to Granada.  We walked through a new (to us) commercial district to the bus station at Plaza de las Armas.  The little amusement park that was set up a few blocks from the station the other night was dismantled.  I had particularly noticed a ride that was like hamsterballs for children in a big wading pool.

Our bus to Granada

We were early, erring on the side of caution as usual.  The  bus to Granada was never listed on the big electronic Salida board, but Neil found out the gate by asking at the information booth.  The bus did not seem at all full but, about five minutes before scheduled departure, about 70% more people got on.  It was about three quarters full.  The trip lasted about three hours, with quite a bit of traffic and maneuvering on the way out of Seville.  This was our first contact with highways and autos.  There weren't a lot of cars on the road.  The price of gas was about $9 per gallon!

The countryside out the window was olive trees and sunflowers, growing warmer and slightly hillier as we went along.  It was surprising to see snowon the Sierra Madres as we approached.  We hopped right into a taxi which was expertly driven.  The cab driver told us that the light rail system being built near the bus station had been going on for six years and had another three or four to go.

The courtyard of Santa Isabel y Real

Granada had a very different "vibe".  We went up a hill to the Albaicin, which is the old Arab Quarter.  It was very different in appearance than anything we had seen in Spain before.  Everything was very white, except for the ever-present tagging on the plaster walls.  The buildings were generally low and the streets very narrow.  Traffic (taxis and motorcycles for the most part) zoomed through echoing loudly, amazingly not colliding with walls or other cars.  The taxi pulled up in front of a wooden door in a white wall which was the front of our hotel, Santa Isabel y Real.  The door opened into a beautiful courtyard with dark woods.  The room was very beautiful, with dark wood beamed ceilings with carvings, dark red tiles on the floor, and lovely woven wall hangings and rugs.  There was a very nice common sitting area with a laptop computer for guest use.  The wifi worked well throughout the hotel.  (The wifi in Seville worked erratically.) The clerk spoke excellent English and sent us off to get lunch before things closed up for the afternoon.

The path down from the Albaicin

We had a pleasant, if hot, lunch at the Plaza San Miguel de Bajo.  There seemed to be five or six restaurants in the plaza.  Neil had a dish with mushrooms and shrimp and I had a lettuce heart with fried garlic and good olive oil.  The bread was delicious.  I had a two hour nap in our new room while Neil was up planning and getting info from the clerk.  When it had cooled down a bit outside, we started on out to get our bearings of our new town.  We set off down the hill and made our way over to the main tourist squares.    We walked down Calle Elvira and really, for the first time since being in Spain, I felt unsafe.  There were young homeless / travelers, maybe drug addicts.  There were neo-hippie / gypsy wannabes set along with real gypsies.  Anyway.. the parallel street one over was a glitzy shopping area.

The Alhambra viewed from mirador San Nicholas

It cooled a bit more as we made our way over to the base of the other hill, on which sits the Alhambra.  We walked by the stream / river Carrea del Darra which was marred only by traffic, turned to climb back up to the Albaicin and ended up in the lovely Plaza San Nicholas where there was a mirador (viewing spot).  The Plaza was the site of a church, restaurants, and cafes.  There were many people there for the sunset - tourists and locals.  A group of parents accompanied their children after some kind of team sport (basketball?) practice.  We enjoyed the evening view, took pictures and settled in at Bar Kiki for a very good dinner of bacalao sefardic, cod with a sauce of raisins, figs, pine nuts and basil.  It was delicious.  As we ate with the sun setting at 9:45 pm, Neil proclaimed our late dinners to be the best part of each day.  I tried to ask the waiter the name of the birds we watched darting around the church tower in the evening.  The same type of birds were flying like nuts around the cathedral in Seville and around the church in Plaza San Miguel in Cordoba.  I think they are swallows or swifts.  Anyway, the waiter, seeing me gesture at the church towers, answered "campana".  I didn't realize until Neil told me that the waiter had answered with the spanish for "bells".  I really need to speak up and try better to make myself understood!  It really was lovely.  The lights came on in the city and spotlit the Alhambra.  It was warm and people were milling about.  There was street music in the air.

Night view of the Alhambra from San Nicholas

We walked back to our hotel, getting directions from a woman from Sonoma who was renting an apartment in the Albaicin.

Day 6: June 19 (Seville)

Today's entry might be a little short.  That is because we slept until 11:00 am! Yay. Our first good night's sleep. We really needed it. We were worried that the breakfast served on the other side of the hotel courtyard would wake us up, but it didn't happen. Our cavelike room was perfect for sleeping.

Fruit in a fountain

We got coffee down the street at a place that looked like an old time confectionary store.  Everything was displayed perfectly.  The waitresses wore little uniforms.  We then headed back to the old town area.  Neil had downloaded a podcast tour of the barrio Santa Cruz onto his ipod touch.  We hoped that the directions would be good enough to keep us from getting lost again.  We each shared an earbud, which meant that we had to stay together or we pulled each other's earbuds out of their ear.  To be honest, we did not do so well in coordinating our movements.  The tour went well, however.  The podcast was fairly clear and we kept on course without getting seriously lost.  We went through a maze of tiny streets with beautiful courtyards.  The podcast informed us of the repurposing of many of the buildings; ex-synagogues now churches, ex-banker's mansions now government buildings.  There were many examples of mudejar architectural design.  There were even old Roman columns jutting up from the weeds in an empty lot between two buildings.  We saw the tavern where Don Juan reportedly recounted his adventures, the house of the painter Murillo, and more.  Neil was fascinated by a fountain in one of the beautiful and refreshing plazas along the back wall of the Alcazar.  A small fruit (maybe a pit) was floating right in the middle of an upward stream of water from the fountain.  The pit remained in place even when Neil tried to disturb the stream!  It was very stable. Finally, the mystery of why we got lost and could not find our way back with the map our first night in Seville became clear.  The main street we had been looking for had different names on different sides of the street.  The name we saw that night was not the name on the map.

Roman columns in Barrio Santa Cruz

We stopped for a late lunch at Cafe Levies at the edge of the barrio.  I cooled off with a lemonade and we shared a salad and some ham on a baguette.  At another table, an orange fell out of a tree and hit a diner smack on the head.  She jumped a mile and everyone else (her friends, other diners, and the workers) laughed.  We finished up around 5 pm.

Back at the hotel, I was very depressed because my feet were really hurting.  I rested and checked out some of the photos on the camera while Neil got some scissors from the hotel clerk.  Apparently, the clerk was very friendly because Neil was gone a while.  When Neil got back, he told me he had been practicing his spanish.  He and the clerk had talked about the real estate market, favorite music groups (the clerk loved the Doors!) and more, including his recommendation about the local flamenco scene.  As a result, we had tickets to the early flamenco show at El Arenal, in a neighborhood near the bullring. After some foot retaping and a bit of laundry, we set off to find the flamenco show.

The stage at the flamenco show

We found the show without problem.  I had sangria and enjoyed the dancing very much.  The dancers were various ages but none really young.  Neil thought the singing reminded him of the synagogue experiences of his youth.  While I was in the restroom after the performance, Neil bought a set of castanets from a vendor outside.  He showed us how to make them work.  We tried, but it is harder than it looks.  I will have to practice.

We walked back through town and ventured into the edge of Barrio Santa Cruz again, retracing some of our earlier path.  It was beautiful and warm.  We had dinner in a place on Plaza Dona Elvira, where we had pimientos with tuna and some light dish with pork whose name I cannot remember.  It was all very good.  The waiter spoke very good English.  He showed Neil how to roll the bottle of the beer he ordered on its side because of the extra frothiness of that particular brand.  He told us that he had studied English in school and in college, but had learned more about speaking during two weeks of waiting tables.  Our restaurant was closing as we ate; it was 10:00 pm on a Sunday.  Our walk back through town was full of life at this hour.  Walking next to the Alcazar and the Cathedral, we were in the midst of lots of people, including little kids playing, enjoying the evening.  Most restaurants were still open and their tables were full.

A tricky local beer with dinner

We tried a completely unknown route which took us back to the hotel.  It worked exactly as we thought.  We seem to be getting the hang of navigating Seville just as we are getting ready to leave. There was some kind of political protest or rally going on at the Plaza Encarnation near our hotel.  It looked pretty unorganized but still going strong at 11:00 pm.  I was glad to have switched to our quiet interior room.