(c) all images are the copyright property of Susan Gordon and may not be copied, or used in any form without permission


Sevilla is a beautiful city. One day we walked for 9 hours (blister-building!) and just drank in the elegance, the great tapas, parks, the river, and more. We enjoyed a great "caldarete de toro" (beef soup) in a restaurant in the Triana Market. All over Sevilla you see the city logo "NO8O." It is a short-hand puzzle for "No me ha dejado," a appreciative proclamation by the 11th century king of Castile Alfonso the Wise for the loyalty of the people of Seville during a civil war started by his son, Sancho. The son was angry that his father had made a truce with the Moors. What looks like an 8 in the logo is really a skein of yarn, "madeja" in Spanish, hence the puzzle can be read "No 8 O" and mean: No me ha dejado - You have not abandoned me. The logo is seen on kiosks, manhole covers, government buildings, stores, hotels, etc. Most of my pictures didn't come out -- the only one is included here on a lamppost in the Plaza de Espana.

There's another picture that needs explanation -- one night we saw men under a large silver platform moving in the traffic. It was too big to be a coffin. We found out it was a practice session for the Holy Week procession. It takes 40 men to carry the platform with the Virgen on it and they need to practice all year to get accustomed to the weight.