Day 15

Today we arrived in Sevilla. After the three hour drive we got into town at 1:00. This is the most interesting accommodation of our trip. The Apartamentos Murillo is located in the Barrio Santa Cruz in the heart of the old town near the Cathedral – a one bedroom apartment with full kitchen and living room. To get here was a hoot. I was aware of all of the obstacles so nothing was unexpected. But even knowing what I knew, it was unexpected.

To get to the apartment we had to drive on a narrow single lane path through the Gardens Murillo to the Plaza Santa Cruz. Perfect GPS I might add. There we parked our car in a tiny, tiny plaza with a barely enough room for a single car to pass around the even smaller plaza in the center. So parking involved just squeezing the car into a corner of the plaza so maybe other cars could pass. Fortunately, since this was a dead end plaza not many cars entered. This is the only way to “approach” the Apartments by car.

From there it was all walking as the “roads” were too narrow to allow cars. Up one lane we went, then right; down another, then left. Our apartment is on the “road” Reinoso which has the nickname of the kissing street. This is because our narrow 12” wide balcony and the one directly across the “road” are close enough to lean over and kiss your lover. I swear this is NOT an exaggeration! Amazing. Three people cannot walk abreast on the “road” Reinoso below.

Then it got difficult. We had emailed ahead to reserve a parking spot through the Hotel Murillo. The parking is in a subterranean public garage with a private floor for the hotels in the area. Out of the Plaza Santa Cruz we could make a right turn only. The garage was to the left a short distance – measured in yards. So we had to go down a half mile to a roundabout and swing back along the same street in the opposite direction. Then we went past the garage since we could not make a left turn. So we continued past the garage beyond a split in the road to make a left turn and another left back to the same road now going the original direction. Traveling at about 10 mph with our hazard blinkers on so as not to miss this garage entrance and be forced to start this little trip all over again, we found it, parked and walked back to the hotel.

Lunch was now on tap as we had eaten very little for breakfast in Granada. It was after 2:00. We sat down at a small outdoor taverna near the apartment and ordered beer, jamon croquettes (ham), a small bowl of gazpacho, and a ham omelet. And all was finally going so well. Until: Since not having enough money for our lunch in Cordoba, Ann had humorously decided to be the keeper of ALL of the money. I was not allowed to have any for my not having the funds to pay lunch there! This is so delightful to relate: Ann, who had ALL of our cash, did not have enough to cover the lunch bill and Visa was again not accepted. SHE SCREWED UP. Did you hear that? Let me say that again. SHE SCREWED UP!

I was sitting there with a cute little smirk on my face, if I do say so myself until I realized, to be fair, this time I had to scrounge up a cash machine. In the oppressive heat and humidity of an afternoon in Sevilla, I searched high and low for money. Finally dripping in sweat and almost ready to faint, I found a Bancomat and staggered back reeling right and left like a lit up wino. Ok it wasn’t really difficult in the beautiful 75F day and I did get directions first.

In the evening, we strolled the wee streets of the old Jewish Quarter where we are staying. The town was electric with people, noise and activity. Every tiny plaza around each corner of each tiny street was buzzing with the activity of waiters and groups of people sitting at outdoor tables enjoying wine, beer, tapas and ractiones (rations, or larger plates than tapas).

Each meal here is an adventure (not all adventures are necessarily great). Tapas with beer tonight included tiny plates of sliced chorizo, albondigas (meatballs, as every first day of Spanish class teacher will teach you) in a good but indescribable sauce, and stewed spinach with garbanzo beans with not a small amount of cumin. In addition, the basket of bread the waiter plops down and charges you for even if you don't eat any. All this again sitting at an outdoor cafe in the warm, dark Sevilla night.