28/3/17

What a long day!  We set of from Montejo at 10.30- ahead of schedule- after a well synchronised load-up of the car. What a team!

The drive to Seville was lovely (for me anyway-I’m not actually driving yet). The roads were empty and the scenery as we travelled the length of Extremadura Province was spectacular. We lost count of the number of birds of prey we saw circling the sky as we passed through the snow-capped mountains, lakes, vast plateaus and rivers. We must look up what kinds of birds they are when we get a chance (my guess is buzzards). But, the best bit was watching the temperature climb steadily from 10 degrees to 24 as we headed South.

 

GLAD I GOT TO SAY GOODBYE TO MY OLD PAL ISIDRO BEFORE WE LEFT. HE BROUGHT HIS MATE WITH HIM, WHO SPOKE A BIT OF ENGLISH, BUT WE MOSTLY IGNORED HIM AND CARRIED ON SHOUTING AND POINTING. IF IT AIN’T BROKE AND ALL THAT.

IT WAS A LONG DRIVE DOWN TO SEVILLE, BUT THE ROADS ARE EMPTY AND THE SCENERY GREAT. THE BIRDS OF PREY WERE ENORMOUS. I THINK THEY WERE EAGLES. MOST ELECTRICITY PYLONS SEEM TO HAVE STORKS NESTING ON THEM TOO.

WE ARRIVED AT OUR NEW PLACE AFTER A 5 HOUR JOURNEY JUST IN TIME TO RELAX IN THE GARDEN FOR 20 MINUTES BEFORE I GOT DRAGGED OFF TO PICK UP SUPPLIES AND GET SOME GRUB. I PICKED THE WRONG CHOICE, AS ALWAYS, AND ENDED UP WITH AN OX STEAK THAT WAS STILL MOOING!  BRANDY ME UP JU!                               Steve

 

The new apartment is fine; small, but it has a lovely garden, full of orange trees. The smell is divine. The host, Maria, is lovely. She speaks great English, having lived in America for years. The kitchen leaves a bit to be desired though: a 2 ring electric hob and a microwave, so I think we’ll be eating out mostly while we’re here. We stopped off at a local restaurant after a supermarket trip. Greedy git ordered a 12oz ox steak, which was very rare, so I had to share my delicious pork.

 

 

29-3-17

A day in Seville. We caught the bus from just outside the urbanisation, straight into the city, for just 1.65 Euros each. As soon as we stepped out of the bus station in the city, a hop-on, hop-off tour bus was pulled up. It seemed like a good idea, as I am rather challenged in the old map-reading department, and Steve fancied being driven for once. We soon abandoned it, when we realised that the walk from one monument to the next was about the same distance as the walk to the next bus stop.

Seville Cathedral and the Plaza D’Espana are really impressive; mainly because of their enormous scale. The weather was perfect for wandering around between them (not sure I’d fancy it in the heat of the Summer), but our feet were very sore by the end of the day, and, if I’m perfectly honest, I prefer the Cathedral in Salamanca. Despite the fabulous buildings and bustling city sights, I think my enduring memory of Seville will be the over-whelming scent of orange blossom. Apart from the main roads around the centre, it’s everywhere.

A nice little lunch-time drink and authentic tapas soon soothed our souls, while we rested our soles.

After a long day, we wearily returned to the apartment with good intentions; mainly catching up on admin and writing the first blog. However, the glorious late afternoon sunshine and the bottle of brandy we bought last night soon distracted us, so a quick FaceTime with our girls was all the connection with the real world we could handle. We spent the evening in the garden, playing with our host’s Chihuahua puppies and chatting to her family, before heading off to bed.

 

I AM ALL RELIGIONED OUT! SEVILLE IS A LOVELY CITY, WITH LITTLE NARROW LANES, FILLED WITH GORGEOUS OLD BUILDINGS, BUT TWO CATHEDRALS IN ONE WEEK IS ONE TOO MANY. REALLY GLAD I DIDN’T HAVE TO DRIVE THERE THOUGH. THE TRAFFIC AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY IS MENTAL. SO WE WERE BUS WANKERS! GOOD BIT OF GRUB TOO. AND A CHEEKY LUNCH-TIME BEER.

WE WERE CHATTING TO THE HOST’S DAUGHTER AND HER FELLA, WHO BOTH SPEAK REALLY GOOD ENGLISH, SO I GAVE MY SHOUTING/POINTING SKILLS A REST. HAD TO LAUGH WHEN THEY THOUGHT WE WERE AUSSIES! JUST LIKE DEL AND RODNEY WHEN THEY WERE IN AMERICA.         Steve

 

 

30-3-17

 

We talked ourselves out of sight-seeing today, especially when we realised that Real Alcazar is still running on winter opening times, and closes at 5pm. Our Flamenco show was booked for 8.30, and although eating a meal here can easily last 3 hours, we didn’t want to be plastered when we arrived.

So we had a lovely chilled day in the garden, apart from writing the first blog, about Salamanca. I’m sure I’ve gone on too long, sorry!

But this evening- OMG!!!!!! I absolutely LOVE Seville at night! It’s buzzing!

We had some delicious tapas, then went to the Flamenco show at the Museo de Baille- what an amazing experience! It was only an hour long, but it was so intense; it made me cry!

The dancers (world-class) were so skilled, and their faces so expressive. By the end of the show, their faces were dripping sweat. But, just as I found when we watched Flamenco before in Nerja, it’s not the dancing that affects me so deeply: it’s the singing; that deep, mournful singing that reaches right inside you. And the incredible sounds: the guitar, the dancer’s stomping heels, the swish of the dresses…. Fabulous!

I felt such a fool for crying, especially since most of the rest of the audience (which was only about 100 people anyway) were mostly Chinese. They were inscrutable; showing no emotion, just watching in silence and clapping politely at the end of each performance. I wanted to “Ole!”, but I think I would have been lynched- by Steve, if not our Oriental friends.

 

 

 

SWERVED SIGHTSEEING TODAY- RESULT!

GLAD WE DIDN’T GO, BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO TIRED TO APPRECIATE THE FLAMENCO SHOW TONIGHT. IT WAS BRILLIANT. THE GUITARIST WAS FANTASTIC. I WISH I HAD LEARNED HOW TO PLAY THE GUITAR BETTER, BUT THESE SAUSAGE FINGERS COULD NEVER DO THAT.      STEVE

 

31-3-17

 

Maybe we should have squeezed in some sight-seeing yesterday, because we had to fit in Real Alcazar as well as Italica today, which has left us exhausted and very footsore.

Italica was just as interesting as I’d hoped- the remains of a Roman town, complete with amphitheatre. It reminded a lot of the time I visited Tossa-de-Mar with my Mum when I was a kid; one of the experiences that began my love of history. I hope it inspired some of the children who were there on school trips. It was great to see the children and their teachers dressed as Romans        (without the need to cover them up with the high-visibility jackets we have to use at home to take kids on a trip to the local library!) Just as at home though, the teachers work bloody hard; although they don’t look nearly as stressed as we do. Maybe they too are looking forward to the Easter break coming up.

Back to Seville in the afternoon, to see the Real Alcazar, which was amazing. It certainly compares favourably to the Alhambra in Granada. I wish we had left more time to spend there though, because we were just too tired to appreciate it fully.

I wish now that we had planned to spend a week here. Seville has become my favourite city and is definitely on my Must Return list; there is so much to see and do. I would have loved to have visited Carmona and Cordoba before we left, and I would absolutely love to visit during Holy week or the April Feria. But, onwards………….. off to Portugal tomorrow.  Hasta La Vista Espana!

 

ME DOGS ARE BARKING TONIGHT!

NO, NOT THE CHIHUAHUAS. MY FEET ARE KILLING ME!

SIGHT SEEING AGAIN. THE ROMAN TOWN WAS JUST LIKE THE SET OF THE LIFE OF BRIAN                                    AND BETWEEN US, WE RECITED MOST OF THE FILM ON THE WAY ROUND. NOT SURE IF THE POOR SPANISH BLOKE DRESSED LIKE A ROMAN APPRECIATED ME ASKING HIM IF HIS NAME WAS BIGGUS DICKUS OR IF HE’D FWOWN ANYBODY WOUGHLY TO THE GWOUND LATELY 😉

IT’S NOT THAT I DON’T APPRECIATE A BIT OF CULTURE- I DO, HONESTLY- BUT I MUST SAY, I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SPENDING A FEW DAYS IN THE ALGARVE, CHILLING ON A SUN BED. THEN I MIGHT ACTUALLY START TO FEEL LIKE I HAVE RETIRED.

steve