Spain. I know. It’s been almost a month since we went to Seville & Cordoba with Roger. We had a fantastic trip, truly, I’ve just got to try and remember now what we did on it….

We took the Spanish national carrier’s budget airline “Clickair”. Move over Ryanair, you have a competitor in the smallest seats and tiniest legroom category. Unbelievable, but there you go. It could have been worse, we could have bought seats with Iberia and paid double and found ourselves on the same “Clickair” plane bound for Seville.

We arrived late at night which is perfect for Spain, 10pm just in time for an aperitif before dinner. Checked into the beautiful Hotel Amadeus which was a great location between the Santa Cruz neighbourhood and the Juderia on a very narrow lane way and then headed out for a wander into the barrio. We stopped for a couple of tapas & a glass of rioja at a little bar called Casa Roman in the plaza de Los venerables. It was so good we ended up coming back to this bar at least once a day for our fill of their jamon croquettes, chorizo, the most amazing olives and rioja. It was the find of our short trip. Right next door was a restaurant and hostel that I had seen on my web searches and that also got good reviews. Next time we’ll stay there, not far to walk, right next door.

We didn’t stop there though. Football was on, Real Madrid vs Betis so we found another local bar and watched the game with the regulars, downing beers, eating ham until the final whistle while trying to hear each other talk over the din. Next stop a restaurant, close to midnight we ‘discussed’ our way along the street poking our heads into one bar after another until we agreed upon a nice little cellar were we tried some more specialties and drank yet more rioja under the guidance of our french/moroccan/spanish waiter. It’s amazing how many Spaniards speak french, from our little trip I would say far more than those that speak English. On our way home to the hotel, we stopped in a small bar, really just a hole in the wall that was decorated completely with christian paraphernalia, and I mean completely. Every inch of wall space, table space, ceiling space, bar top was covered under the weight of christian effigies as well as a video on repeat of the Holy Week celebrations that occur every year in Seville. It was the weirdest bar I’ve ever seen, packed solid with men, who had a crazed look in their eyes. Michelle ordered herself and Roger a spanish cognac and me a supposedly sweet digestif- they were all undrinkable. The cognac was as rough as you could ever imagine and my so called sweet wine was salty….

The next day we took a walking tour of Seville with a young Spanish women who led us through the central city, the Jewish quarter and the santa cruz neighbourhood where the streets were full of orange trees and the scent of oranges were carried in the wind. The tour was brilliant. She was brilliant. It’s such a pleasure to hear about not only the history but local politics and expressions happening in the city today. I’m trying to find contact details for her and I’ll post them here for you to use in the future (the kind staff at Hotel Amadeus just sent me her site address). She even knew our little christian bar we happened upon the night before, it is a regular haunt of her Holy Week crazed husband. Apparently there are people that live only for Holy Week – it’s a big deal in Seville, the men get all dressed up in tunics with hats reminiscent of Klu Klux Klan pointy hats, while the women support them, cook and get themselves ready with the latest flamenco outfits for the Seville Fair two weeks later. When it’s over, these people drink in bars like the one we found – reminiscing, watching the videos and planning the following years parade. It must be an amazing time to visit with all street parades happening.

After the tour we lunched again at our Casa Roman, did a little bit of fan shopping, and then went on into the Cathedral where the remains of Christopher Columbus supposedly lay. Inside the cathedral is beautiful, full of gilt and spanish extravagance. We took our time walking up the Giralda, which in the time of the mosque was it’s minaret. The views over the city were superb. Next stop was a terrace bar on top of a hotel opposite the cathedral where we sipped sangria and watched the sun descend behind the city skyline before dashing home for a siesta (when in Spain….).

Friday night in Seville saw us heading to a flamenco demonstration at the the Casa de la Memoria de Al Andalus after a quick rioja and another tapas at another local bar (we did try and sample them all..). This was a fabulous show recommended by our guide as the place where dance afficionados from Seville go when they want to see flamenco being performed. Not designed solely for tourists it’s a learning centre and they put on a show once a day (or twice in the summer) for a reasonably small crowd of people (so get there early), of flamenco, singing and guitar playing. There is no meal, no drinks, and no cameras (except for a set 2 min period at the end of the show). It was brilliant. I have never ever seen a guitar being played as well as that, ever. It was so good. The guys fingers were so nimble, they had a life of their own, and the dancer was incredible. It was like watching a bull fight. She did several dances, in a couple of outfits – I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it was. [Note: even the Sydney Morning Herald knew about this show!]

Another quick glass of wine at our Casa Roman before we found ourselves at a very posh restaurant, served by very posh staff and surrounded by tourists. Not the best choice of the trip but the food was fabulous, it was just the ambiance that needed some work. I would imagine in the summertime, when it was 40 degrees outside this place would be a haven of coolness and tranquility, but in the middle of winter it was just dead. Not to worry, a relatively early night was called for, before our adventure to Cordoba the following morning….

to be continued…

Seville photos here.