Roaming the Streets

 The next couple of days we spent time roaming the streets.  We walked with a friend to the Cathedral and then across Isabela II bridge to the other side of the river that wraps around the old town.  It was quite warm so we wondered down the street to an outdoor table for drinks and tapas.

Al Fresca dining is alive and well in Sevilla.  Mostly tapas bars offering drinks and small plates offer a gathering place for tourists and natives alike.  Iberica ham (jamon) is a specialty of Spain and appears on almost every menu.  Pork legs hang over bars waiting to have wafer thin slices shaved for a plate shared with Spanish cheese.  Other popular items are tortillas which are an egg and potato like round cake, and hamburgers.  I’ve also had quite a bit of burrata which is cream filled mozzarella.  

For dinner tonight we opted for Italian at Da Pina located near our hotel.  Absolutely delicious!  They somehow coated each strand of spaghetti with sauce without drowning the dish in it.  We also sampled the pizza which was quite delicious too.

Monday we toured the Cathedral which is the third largest in the world.  Once inside it feels very much like many small chapels coney very high hallways.  Part of the reason for the design comes from the fact that it was once a mosque that was concerted to a cathedral when the Catholics took control of the city.  As you would expect, large paintings, golden sculptures and carved wood decorated the space.  Of importance at least to Americans is Columbus’ final resting place is here.

Tonight we meet up with our group for the remainder of the trip. Since we have taken many trips with Ira Block we know all of our travel mates for the trip and look forward to catching up with them. For dinner we went to the oldest tapas restaurant in Sevilla, El Rinconcillo.  We had a variety of tapas including cured meats, cheeses, fish, octopus and desserts.  We’ll have similar food throughout the trip.

Tomorrow: A full day