Never a Dull Moment and that's Good!

On the way to the Alameda the other day I saw these three wonderfully painted doors. This is a new cafe/wine bar just opening up, good! Artist's website http://alexandradelbene.com I didn't catch the name of the restaurant but will see what they have to offer and report back.

So Sassy!

Such a Gentleman

Such a Lady

Bruce ordered some Canadian type foods from a company in London, to be shipped here. There was some confusion with the order and he received double of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup - oops. We'll be eating the darn stuff till the cows come home.

That's a lot of soup!

Our Freiburg flat partners (Bruce’s sister and brother-in-law) Dawna and Erwin were in Sevilla for this week. It was lovely to see them and catch up. We had Mimosas with fresh squeezed orange juice while chatting and them exploring this flat. Then went for lunch at Al Ajibe where the food and service is always good, outside seating in a heated surrounded patio makes it comfortable to sit out even in cooler weather. 

Thursday we met with Dawna and Erwin again to lunch and talk some more, working out summer plans and more catch up. We lunched at Casa Manalo Leon which is an upscale restaurant close to the river, a gem really with such a lovely atmosphere inside and patio outside. Food was wonderfully tasty and service very good. Coming back to the flat we ran into Pepe and Pepe Senior. Good to see Senior again, haven’t so far this trip, he’s busy working in his vineyard developing new wines at which he is a master on a small scale of production.

Regarding those summer plans, so far we’re booked in Ghent mid-July to August then decided to go to Paris for the rest of August and part of September before going back to Freiburg. The other day, after much hunting, and looking at how many trains between locations I decided to cut to the chase and take faster trains, less stops which means bigger cities. As long as we can find a neighbourhood we are comfortable with i.e. groceries and cafes close and architecturally interesting buildings we'll be happy.

Sunday and we go once again to the Art market and this time found a wall coat hanger, it’s on, oh heck, I’ll just take a picture to show you once it's hung, think musical notes, another piece that we’re so pleased to add to this flat, unusual and unique. There are three metal work artists that work together and they gladly gave us the name of their studio to go visit. They make a living from their work and the one said it was hard in these times.

Next we went to see the Zurich Sevilla marathon (why Zurich is mentioned I haven’t been able to find out). http://www.zurichmaratonsevilla.es It’s the flattest route in Europe and this is the third year we’ve witnessed it. We grabbed a table at a restaurant not open yet, but they didn’t mind us staying. Angela and Ryan joined us and caught the last of the marathoners coming through. All kinds of pain exhibited in their faces, although thankfully not all. We had a good lunch and stayed for a while, people were “lined up” to get tables all over the Alameda, nice warm day and many people in town for the marathon. It’s a marathon that is growing in numbers quickly, last year 9000 participants, this year 13,000 and “sold out” before the end of January due I suppose to the numbers of volunteers it takes to make it run smoothly.

Walking home and there are two brass bands in two locations outside churches. At home about 7:30 pm and I hear more music, like a dirge, look out the balcony to find a procession coming down the street. 

Only in Spain I think

Jesus on a moveable coffin, eight men to carry him and priests and candle lit lights, the containers that burn herbs wafted back and forth in the hands of grandly garbed men. Next day there are blobs of red wax on the street from the candles they carried. The procession is called Via Crucis meaning Way of the Cross.

Quite a diverse day, art, marathon, think spandex, religious ceremony, think ceremonial robes, and that is why we are here! 

Cheers, Bx2 & Lexi Cat