Siesta-less

I slept in foreverrrrr on my second day in Spain.  It’s not surprising since my first day lasted nearly 38 hours.  My dad was the one who woke me up and it was almost noon when he did.  Noon!  Let’s get this show on the road!

Yeah, act surprised.  Soymilk is hard impossible to come by in normal Spanish cafes.  Trust me, I asked.  Hence the Bux.

After the late start to the day, our agenda was packed, just the way I like vacations to be.  Traveling with my family is awesome because we balance the fun and the nerdy…exploring the historical sites while saving time for shopping and afternoon helado.

 

Our first stop was the Cathedral (due to it’s fame and grandeur you can get away with just calling it “the Cathedral”). 

I remembered this one from my previous visit back in 2002.  It’s where Cristobal Colon is supposedly buried (I say “supposedly” because there’s a bit of controversy over the matter).  Aren’t you glad I’m here to share such titillating historical gossip with you!?!  Maybe don’t answer that.

His alleged tomb.

Anyway.  The Cathedral is gorgeous.  I wish the photos did it justice, but the awe just doesn’t translate on film. 

 

Only royalty can be married on this altar. 

So much silver!  That must have been the cleanest altar ever (for those who don’t change wound dressings on the job, silver is an antimicrobial agent often used in wounds to prevent infections and promote healing). 

[I apologize for the random nursing tidbits…sometimes I can’t help where my mind goes, which is how topics like caring for ulcers get studded throughout a Sevilla recap]

Sevilla’s cathedral is the 3rd largest church in the world (and the largest Gothic one). 

 

There are ramps (not steps) leading up la Giralda (bell tower) which is probably Sevilla’s most famous symbol. 

FYI, there are a ton of replicas of la Giralda in the US.  One (now destroyed) was in Madison Square Garden in NYC, and another in Kansas City.  Also there’s the clock tower of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, the clock tower on the University of Puerto Rico’s campus, the clock tower of the Railroad Depot in Minneapolis, the Biltmore Hotel in Miami, and the Wrigley Building in Chicago.  All built with la Giralda as the model.  Crazy!

 

Given my shortness of breath as we made our way up to the top, I’m quite content calling the hike my exercise for the day.  As for the top views, well, those speak for themselves…

  

Because of the wind, Marie had one hand holding her dress down the entire time.

I’m sure she will appreciate me posting this photo.  ;) 

Dear future travelers, I don’t recommend dresses when you’re 100+ meters high with no shield from the breeze. 

Oh, and watch out for those bells!  They can catch you off guard. 

 

There was a brief moment when both my camera and Laura’s died.  Fortunately I realized it was due to the battery slot being slightly ajar.  Phew!  How bad would that have been on day two of vacay!

After coasting back down the ramps, we stopped in the orange tree courtyard to (what else) take some photos.

I honestly couldn’t tell you what the posing in the left picture is all about.  To be fair, there may not have been an explanation at the time either.  We are so weird. 

 

Lunch time!

We basically wandered across the street and ended up at an Irish Pub called Flaherty’s. 

 

They had quite a few veg-friendly options – wraps, salads, baguettes, etc. 

I chose the Mediterranean Wrap which had a combination of fresh greens, tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, and alfalfa sprouts with balsamic syrup drizzled on top.  I nixed the feta cheese, but added avocado (which ended up coming as guacamole on the side). 

The balsamic glaze was an unexpected (but delish) surprise.  All in all, the wrap was tasty and satisfying.

 

My dad got the salad version of my wrap and stole some of my fries.  The rest went unclaimed. 

After lunch we wandered around the corner, down to the shopping district, Tiendas Peyré Centro.

 

My family had been exploring there before I arrived in Espana so they were familiar with where the best shops were. 

With four clothes-crazy women, you’d think my dad would be in agony.  In actuality, the first stop was HIS choice (where he had found a cute white dress for Marie on their previous visit).  She ended up getting it too!  My dad is not gay, he just pays attention to his wife/daughters’ tastes. 

I like this photo because it shows Marie’s delight with all her purchases, as well as Laura’s stealthy photo bombing skills. 

Actually, Marie did well all around…shoes, scarves, jewelry, etc.  I got some scarves, too, even though I was really on the hunt for a purse.  I get sidetracked by cute things easily (just ask Kyle). 

 

Later on in the evening we got to attend a flamenco show.  I know…talk about a non-stop day!  Whatever happened to adopting the Spanish way of living?  Can’t a girl get a siesta up in here?  [I’m totally kidding, I wanted to do and see everything, even if it meant doing so with drooping eyelids]

 

Casa de la Memoria is highly recommended in Sevilla and is known as being one of the most authentic shows.  The show was very intimate with only two rows of seating surrounding the stage. 

It was so cool!  As you can see, the setting was very minimalist, with just a stage and some foliage in the courtyard of an old apartment building.  It almost felt like we had a private viewing.  For that reason, we clearly couldn’t take photos throughout the show.

At the end, however, we were able to snap a few.  Sorry for the bad lighting!

Adela Campallo was the star of the show.  She had the most stage time and was clearly the highlight. 

I have to be honest though (and bear in mind my dancing knowledge is zip zilch nada), the facial expressions were a bit much. 

 

I found this photo online to demonstrate just what we were dealing with. 

Had I stumbled upon the scene I may have thought the dancers were trying to hold in their hemorrhoids while simultaneously trying to snap their own necks.  Clearly I’m not a dancer because it looked a bit strange to my untrained eye.  But I guess the expressions that I interpreted as “painful” were really just “passionate.” 

After the flamenco show we went to dinner next door to the restaurant we went to the previous day. 

Vineria San Telmo is known for it’s wine list and was recommended by the hotel concierge, which means it’s either (a) legitimately good, (b) affiliated with the hotel (and he receives some sort of compensation for referrals), or (c) run by a family member. 

I still don’t know the answer.  They had good food I guess.  The staff seemed a bit disorganized and scatterbrained though…but that was kinda consistent with all the places we ate in Spain.  This waiters here were slightly more aloof though (my main meal actually never came).  But I’ll start from the beginning.

 

Since it was a place known for their vino…we got vino!

Sin Palabras es un vino blanco de Galicia.  Hot days call for white wine.  Oh, and that bread in the background was a nice way to start the meal, too. 

After a while our first courses came. 

 

Laura and I split this salad as an appetizer, but had I known it wasn’t going to be a tapa sized dish I would’ve gotten it for my main.  It was enormous!  The candied pecans were a real treat (we asked for them to hold the goat cheese).

My dad got a salad starter too. 

You can’t quite see underneath the pile of cabbage, pine nuts and currants, but that’s a mountain of cheese.  He didn’t even come close to finishing it.  A whole mouse village couldn’t take that amount of queso down! 

After the first courses were cleared away we waited (quite a while) for our entrees.  Honestly, I didn’t mind the late night dining and long drawn-out meals.  It feels nice to make eating an experience. 

Marie got her dinner first. 

 

We ordered the same thing though, so I expected mine to arrive shortly thereafter.  Wrong.  Everyone else’s arrived, so I encouraged them to eat, thinking my dish was only moments away.  But by the time everyone had finished, I still hadn’t gotten my dinner.  Time to ask questions. 

I’m not sure where the communication error occurred, but my order never made it to the kitchen. 

 

Lucky for me, Marie is a picky eater and removed all the salmon from the dish with crazy surgical precision, leaving the avocado, onions, and greens…for me!  Perfection!  Those were the only parts of the salad I wanted anyway.  Rather than have them make me my own salad, I just finished off Marie’s.  Done and done. 

We all left full and happy.  The non-lactose intolerant folk (my parents) stopped for gelato on the walk home. 

My head hardly hit the pillow before I was out.  What a day!  I told you the agenda was packed. 

Do you like knowing history and background of the main sites and attractions when you travel?  Museums or shopping or a mix of both?