Catching up on Spain

I'm overdue for a post now, so I'm going to try to catch up at least somewhat. Since the last time I've blogged, which was only a stopgap description of our time in Sevilla with Matt & Nate last month, we spent a day in Málaga to see Matt off, Michelle and I went to southern Germany for a week and saw lots of Stuttgart and Heidelberg, the annual fair has come and gone to Marbella (nearly sending fireworks into our very apartment), and we trekked all over the third of the three major Andalucían cities, Córdoba. By the time you read this, we will be into our last full week in Spain before heading to Paris next week for a quick vacation and then back to the States, ready to plot our next move.

But first, a side note. I just flat out asked her yesterday since I had no idea -- what did the title of Michelle's last post mean ("Don't Eat The Pictures")? Turns out it refers to a 1983 Sesame Street special (of course!) about visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and as such, well, it makes perfect sense to title a post about museums in Germany after it, no? If you were as curious as me, you might be interested in reading more about that topic at Wikipedia or YouTube. If even I didn't know this one, what hope do you have, dear reader, of understanding these cryptic titles? Consider this my promise to you that we'll try harder and, at worst, involve children's shows from this decade/century/millenium in our post titles from here on out. Spongebob, anyone?

Anyway, on with the catch up!

Sevilla

We figured we'd do it up right while Matt & Nate were here and head to the regional capital of Andalucía, Sevilla, or, as its called in English, Seville. I took a Friday afternoon off and we headed by bus (as we often do here) on the 3.5 hour or so trip northwest. I dozed a little on and off, but my biggest two memories were:

• An amazing castle and medieval city perched high on a mountain in the middle of hills on the edge of a crystal lake, which we spent a half hour approaching on windy roads and then another half hour driving away from.
• The crazy, switchback mountain roads up to Ronda, then back down again towards Sevilla, all the while tailgating another, slower bus and being leapfrogged by motorcyclists with an apparent utter lack of any sort of deceleration technology.

All I can say about both of these is that I've learned that Spanish bus drivers really know how to get the most potential out of a motor coach. To say that they push the mechanical limits a bit is an understatement. Picture a master sculptor working clay, or a baker kneading dough. A driver here works a bus like a woodworker plies wood, and he doesn't leave room for error. The brakes groan, the suspension creaks, the driver spins the wheel far left, then far right, then back again, always keeping up pressure on the accelerator and a hawk eye on the road. I'm rather glad I didn't see what Matt did -- a 1960s-era bus, rusted out, grass growing from it, on its side at the bottom of the very canyon we were traversing, presumably left there after its fateful failing sometime during the Nixon administration.

But we obviously arrived in one piece! We got into town, easily navigated the city, and arrived at our very cool hostel, The Oasis. We found out that with four of us, we were entitled to our own room, complete with bunk beds and a view to the street below. Also, we got there just in time to learn that a free group tapas tour and flamenco show were planned, and since one of our goals was to experience a real flamenco show and not a tourist trap, we figured this was a good bet. We were not disappointed.

Tapas Tour & Flamenco Show

We hit the first tapas place and enjoyed a variety of dishes. Matt, Nate, and I tended towards fish and pork, and Michelle rounded out the vegetable choices. There was much swapping of food, good drinks, the open air of a plaza, and a general fun and relaxing time.

After that, we spent a while following our guide through some winding streets while he constantly text messaged with someone and kept adjusting his route, and struck up a conversation with a recent college grad from Idaho who was in the midst of a five month tour of Europe, his first time abroad. He was a nice guy and we were all fast friends by the time we arrived at what was apparently our destination.

Turns out that the flamenco place was a bit hidden and hard to get to and we didn't have time for a second tapas place, but no worries -- we were all ready for the show. We opened a large, unlabeled and nondescript door, entered an old lobby of sorts, turned a corner, and were confronted with a dark hall teeming with hundreds of folks ready for flamenco, tossing back beers and sangria and sitting on long benches under a low roof populated by many unused fans. The weather was still pretty moderate, but the crowd made it a little hot inside -- not hot enough for the fans, though. Admission was free (a good sign) and the place was supported by drinks at the bar, which we took full advantage of.

The show itself was fantastic. It's kind of hard to describe -- it's really not just about the dancing, but as much about the guitarist, vocalist, and (in this group) the flute player. The vocals were the most interesting part, because they definitely had a Middle Eastern feel to them and the lead singer never took his intense stare off of the dancer while performing. It was clear that the group was performing as much for themselves as for the hall in attendance, since they were very passionate and had what the Spanish call duende, or "the spirit", when it came to their performance. I'm really glad that we got to experience this and that it wasn't some sort of tourist attraction but a real show for real Spaniards. A definite highlight.

Alcázar and Cathedral

We spent that Saturday exploring Sevilla's Alcázar (Muslim and later, Christian, palace) and its cathedral, which is the largest Gothic church and the fourth largest Christian church in the world. The cathedral alone took over a hundred years to build.

In the Alcázar, highlights included a painting which is the first known depiction of the discovery of America, an amazing pooled courtyard in the style that we've seen in Granada and other places since, ancient wall-sized tapestries, and beautiful gardens containing a hedge maze, peacocks, Arab baths, and orange groves.

The cathedral was stunning. It included an enormous gilded altar (the most gold I've ever seen), the royal treasury, a minaret-turned-belltower, and -- oh yeah, in case you thought they were slacking -- Christopher Columbus' tomb. Words can't do it justice -- check out the photos (see the links at the end of the post).

We took a break and found a great bar called Cafe Bar Las Teresas, which really typifies Sevillian tapas. We had our share of jamón and wine and, rested up, moved on for the rest of the day.

Next time, I'll talk about the bullfighting museum, the Archives of the Indias, the ren faire, and of course, the bunk bed disaster -- and that's just the rest of Sevilla. Stay tuned!

• Our photos of the flamenco bar
• Our photos of the Alcázar
• Our photos of the cathedral
• Wikipedia: Flamenco
• Wikipedia: Seville Cathedral
• Wikipedia: Alcázar of Seville