Europe - part 2 of ???
July 19th
After our showers yesterday we were feeling much rejuvenated and went exploring. The Frommer's guide has a walking tour that our hostel is very close to so we did part of that. [By the way, Frommer's doesn't include very good maps and we learned that on our extended wander to the hostel.] We walked through Plaza del Salvador and found la Giralda. 
This is the tower that is on the big Gothic cathedral in Seville. The bottom 2/3 was originally built by the Moors as part of their mosque, but was taken over by the Spanish and the top was was added to make it into the bell tower it is today. Part way through our walking tour we stopped for lunch at an Irish Pub. [hehe, great work at eating like the locals.] It was so yummy though and I was able to understand the waiter's Spanish! After lunch we came back home and took a much needed nap. Siestas would become an integral part of our journey.
That first evening in Seville our hostel put on a Tapas Tour. We followed our guide through the winding streets of the old town as the light began to fade. Tapas, we learned are little appetizer sized portions of just about anything that go great with little glasses of Spanish beer. At each bar we stopped at we tried something new. 
My favorite of the evening was a little grilled salmon. The more adventurous we were the better the food tasted. It was so yummy Lukas didn't even get to take a proper shot of it 'cause it disappeared so fast. The last stop on our Tapas tour led us through several empty rooms of an old building and into the back were it was crowded with cozy tables and the ceiling was painted blue. We grabbed seats on the slightly elevated area that had more tables and we waited for the show to begin. From the side walked a man carrying a guitar and a woman with dark hair and a bright red dress. The man began first by tapping out a rhythm that lead into syncopated strumming and plucking of the guitar in haunting chords. He called out half singing the words of the song and after a verse the woman stood up and began to dance. Her feet beat out a rhythm that was so precise it was as if she was just another part of the song that was weaving among us and causing several people to sway. The eerie melody wrapped around and around and made me want to dance, if only my feet know the right steps.
After the show we found our way home quite easily through the dark and quiet streets of a sleeping city. For a first day, it was quite a day.
This is the tower that is on the big Gothic cathedral in Seville. The bottom 2/3 was originally built by the Moors as part of their mosque, but was taken over by the Spanish and the top was was added to make it into the bell tower it is today. Part way through our walking tour we stopped for lunch at an Irish Pub. [hehe, great work at eating like the locals.] It was so yummy though and I was able to understand the waiter's Spanish! After lunch we came back home and took a much needed nap. Siestas would become an integral part of our journey.
That first evening in Seville our hostel put on a Tapas Tour. We followed our guide through the winding streets of the old town as the light began to fade. Tapas, we learned are little appetizer sized portions of just about anything that go great with little glasses of Spanish beer. At each bar we stopped at we tried something new. 
My favorite of the evening was a little grilled salmon. The more adventurous we were the better the food tasted. It was so yummy Lukas didn't even get to take a proper shot of it 'cause it disappeared so fast. The last stop on our Tapas tour led us through several empty rooms of an old building and into the back were it was crowded with cozy tables and the ceiling was painted blue. We grabbed seats on the slightly elevated area that had more tables and we waited for the show to begin. From the side walked a man carrying a guitar and a woman with dark hair and a bright red dress. The man began first by tapping out a rhythm that lead into syncopated strumming and plucking of the guitar in haunting chords. He called out half singing the words of the song and after a verse the woman stood up and began to dance. Her feet beat out a rhythm that was so precise it was as if she was just another part of the song that was weaving among us and causing several people to sway. The eerie melody wrapped around and around and made me want to dance, if only my feet know the right steps.
After the show we found our way home quite easily through the dark and quiet streets of a sleeping city. For a first day, it was quite a day.
Comments
Post a Comment