Severe Spain
Seville* Spain, is probably the hottest place on Earth. Certainly, hotter than the Simpson Desert or the geysers of Yellowstone. Thank goodness the Spanish invented the siesta. However, a certain amount of training is still required, because after two naps a day, we're exhausted. Although, retreating to the air conditioning of the hotel is definitely appreciated.
When we did venture from our hotel room we found a fascinating and very pretty city. The Moorish influence on architecture is strong, and the King's residence (Alcazar) looks more like a mosque than a European palace. We got a very cool tour of the area that the King and Queen still use regularly; it was kind of like taking a personal tour of Buckingham Palace, tailed by our very own security guard. The largest gothic church in the world happens to be in Seville, and it still has an Islamic tower (that we climbed, of course) attached to it.
We were lucky enough to be in Seville during the bi-annual Flamenco festival and managed to catch one of the shows. It started at 10.30pm and went on after 1am and was fantastic. Andrew describes it as a cross between jazz/blues and belly dancing, which is surprisingly accurate. All three of the Flamenco forms were performed: guitar, singing (more of a wail really) and, of course, flamenco dancing. The musicians and singers basically jammed together, with some fantastic percussive clapping. Kate notes that the dancer had two amazing frocks, the first of which had a 2m long ruffled train, which she flipped about with unexpected grace. A very cool night, even if we gave-away our tourist status by arriving on time!
Seville is also renowned for its passion for all things pig related, in particular ham, and after extensive taste testing we can assure you that it's all good. Actually Spain in general is ham and pork obsessed, our favourite chain of delicatessens are called "Museo de Jamon" or the museum of ham. Spain is also obsessed with seafood and fish, so we've had a few difficulties choosing dishes from menus, although we know most of the words for fish dishes now, if only so we can avoid them!
We're in Madrid for the next four nights and then it's on to Barcelona, but first we're off to see Harry Potter tonight (we hope in English)!
- 20 June 2004
* (pronounced "sair-veer" in Spanish)
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Andrew and Alcazar |
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Kate and Cathedral |
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