5.12.11 - Seville

Here are lots more pics

We had decided to go to the Cathedral instead of the alcazar in Seville, but it didn’t open until 11, so we weren’t in any big hurry on Thursday. The room was much quieter than on Wednesday, and even the noise from the kitchen drifting through the open window seemed more subdued. So we were able to sleep a bit later. We had our usual toast with Nutella, cereal, and strong coffee with milk, sugar, and cocoa mix. At Tricia’s recommendation, I mixed chocolate flakes, corn flakes, and granola with dried fruit together in one bowl. I wouldn’t exactly call it good, but it was certainly an improvement over taking any of them separately.



10% of CC's body

Around 11 we walked over to the Cathedral (which is the largest gothic building in Europe and the largest cathedral in Spain) and joined the long line that had formed. We weren’t entirely sure why people had gotten there before 11 and formed a line, but we waited in it anyway, as it was moving now that the Cathedral was open. I found the architecture very beautiful, with white columns and archways and carvings. There were museums of gold rosaries, goblets, and plates used for the wafers, as well as the usual floor-to-ceiling dioramas. In the front we saw the casket holding (at least 10% of) Christopher Columbus’ body.

After we’d seen everything in the Cathedral, we climbed up to the bell tower. There are 34 ramps that were used by the nobility and by the bell-ringer to ascend the tower. I have to say, they make for a much more pleasant climb than stairs. Up in the tower, we jostled with school groups for a spot at the windows so we could take panoramas of the city. It was a great view of the buildings and windy little streets below (which were purposely made narrow and windy so that air would be cooled in the shade of the buildings and pushed along to the plazas where people gathered). There were tons of bells, and they went off while we were up there, making all the high school kids shriek in surprise.

With admission to the Cathedral, we also got a free ticket to the Iglesia del Salvador. Never ones to pass up free admission, we asked the guard how to get to the church. We listened gravely to his long speech on directions, didn’t understand much of it, nodded, and trotted off confidently in the direction he pointed. We did manage to find the church, which also had a museum inside. It included a “Suit of the baby Jesus of the Virgin”.

Afterwards, we needed to eat, so we stopped back at the Bar Duque where the waiter was friendly and the food was good. And the menu was in English. So sue us. We ordered Peppers, Russian Salad, and a Spicy Sausage of the Highland sandwich. Oh, and two beers. I’ve been having this weird craving for beer, which is quite strange as I’ve never, ever, ever liked beer. I actually hate beer. But I’m really enjoying cheap Spanish beer. And the other tapas were very good as well.

In Bar Duque they sold ham flavored potato chips, but we couldn’t get a good picture of them since they were above the bar, so we trotted off to find a store that sold the chips so we could take a picture. At first Tricia thought I was being silly to be so obsessed with ham flavored chips, but she soon got into it and was keeping an eye out for stores as well. In the chip aisle of a little Asian shop (think 7-11, but dingier), it took us a long time to find the ham flavored ones. We quickly snapped a picture, and then slunk out feeling a bit like shoplifters.

We stopped back at our hostel for a little siesta, and then it was off to the Museo de Bellas Artes. It was supposed to be free for Europeans and 1.5 Euros for everyone else. We had our money in hand as we approached the gate, but the curator was chatting with someone and didn’t want to be bothered with us. “Gratis, gratis”: “It’s free, it’s free.” And then he turned back to his friend. We hesitated a second, and then gave up and went in. No sense arguing with the man.

One floor was devoted to Catholic art, where I lamented that the paintings didn’t go in chronological order. Jesus’ birth is right next to his crucifixion; Mary learning to read from Saint Ana is right next to paintings of Mary Magdalene. (If you’re like me and don’t know the dates of stuff, that would be about 8 years before Jesus was born to a few years before he died.) And while I'm on the subject, painters tend to put all the wrong people in all the wrong places.  Like, since when was Mary Magdalene at the birth of Jesus?  The other floor was a temporary exhibit of Spanish artists who painted Andalucía (that would be Cordoba, Granada, Seville) in various years. We weren’t allowed to take photos in the museum (although I keep saying I’m going to start ignoring that rule because I don’t remember what we’ve looked at).

My finger in the "stuff"

Back at the Oasis, we set up shop on the rooftop terrace. We found an outlet for our computers and brought up our $2.40 wine. I stopped in at the bar of our hostel to ask if they had some alcohol or peroxide for my finger, and the bartender pulled out a brand-new first aid kit that they’d bought the day before. We looked through it together - it was a little on the skimpy side, in spite of the kit itself being huge. There were gauze wraps and a couple of bottles of “stuff” which we broke open. I read the Spanish on one and decided it seemed like the solution should be diluted in water, so I showed the paragraph to the bartender, who agreed and gave me a cup with water and the stuff. And I left my finger in it for 15 to 20 minutes as a certain mother suggested I do. (More than one mother has warned me against blood poisoning, which will travel to your heart and you will die.)

By the way, the wine was God-awful. We managed two little Dixie cups full each before tossing the rest of the bottle and going off to sleep.