Jill: We are loving Sevilla and it's not nearly as hot as we feared. It reminds me of Carmel in a way, each street more charming than the next and you wish you had the time and money to try every tiny restaurant you discover in the nooks and crannies along the way. Todd and I are most enjoying the times in between places, when we are wandering through the streets trying to get here or there.
The kids love to be in our "hotel" and feel there is a lot of "boring adult stuff" (or "BAS") in Spain. Last night we asked them to rate this vacation on a scale of 1 to 10, they both said "1.". Emmy actually started as a "6" but changed her answer after she heard Davis'.
This morning Emmy and I ventured to the store to buy a few provisions. We were a little nervous about finding our way back but we bought our items, or what we could find and recognize, and made it back just fine.
We all then headed out to explore the cathedral. The Sevilla cathedral is the third-largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic church in the world. It took 120 years to build beginning in the 15th century. The exterior is beautiful of course but the inside is just astonishing. We saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus, the high alter (measuring 65 feet tall) with 44 scenes from the life of Jesus, and the choir housing an organ with 7,000 pipes that's still used today. There were beautiful stained glass windows, paintings, and collectibles, and the architecture and domes were truly amazing.
We then climbed up the 34 flights to the top of the Giralda Bell Tower. It's hard to say whether it's flights of stairs or floors because they were constructed as spiraling ramps so that horses could also make the trip. The views of Sevilla from the top were breathtaking, so beautiful! We had fun finding our apartment and pool among the buildings.
We had a great lunch of seafood salad, roasted peppers, ham and cheese. The kids ate nothing but had coca cola. We've figured out that they've been surviving on coke and gelato, along with some snacks and leftover pasta from whenever we have it.
We returned to the "hotel" for a swim which proved to be an adventure itself. Davis and I headed to the roof because Emmy had fallen asleep. A special key is required to activate the roof button in the elevator, but Todd and I figured out I could quickly activate the button then hand him the key in case he and Emmy wanted to join us later. Seemed like a good plan until we were on the roof and Davis asked how we'd get back down. What I had forgotten is that you also need the key to activate the elevator from the roof. After a few panicked moments we were discovered by woman who had come through another door. She did not speak English but she had this big key ring so I pointed to the stairway door and she tried every one. No luck. Then she pointed to the room she came out of and made a gesture which I took to mean that I could go all the way down. I noticed the room was unmade and figured that perhaps it was part of the hotel next door and not another apartment. I told her "apartment" and she said, "ahh, apartment!". Then she pointed me toward a staircase I'd never seen and down we went. I wasn't sure where it would lead or how long we might be stranded on the streets of Sevilla in our bathing suits, but we eventually found our own staircase and made it back to the apartment.
For dinner we walked to the Triana neighborhood across the Guadalquiver River and had our best meal yet. I don't know if it was that the food was particularly good but we stumbled on a pedestrian street filled with shops, restaurants, and locals. It was so much fun and we grabbed a table at the most crowded spot we found. It was fun to watch the people stroll by, often stopping to greet friends and acquaintances along the way. I've noticed that ladies young and old wear dresses to walk in the evening or go to dinner, not necessarily fancy, but a dress just the same. It feels very festive at this hour. I'm regretting the decision to leave my heeled sandals at home!
Some gelato (the kids' dinner) and a glass of tinto de verano (summer drink of red wine and soda) at the cafe outside our apartment door and we were done for the day.
Tomorrow, it's Alcazar and a flamenco show!
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Location:Sevilla
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