Happy Easter and Semana Santa Parade

 

Cut out statue in Sanlúcar with flowers on the wall behind.

For the past few years I have avoided Semana Santa parades by going to Freiburg before it happened, it did not happen in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic. This week has been nail biting for the organizers due to weather, heavy rain and wind happened. Good Friday morning we had a violent thunderstorm, so it has been a challenge. Monday after a day of rain, late afternoon it eased up and the procession from the Museo went by my apartment. Here are some pictures taken from my balcony because there is no possible way I would join that crowd of people on the street. Seemed to be even more crowded this year maybe due to the weather being a threat to other processions and people wanting to see one. 

Pictures are all dark, of course, due to the 10 pm hour and my lack of photo editing.

The storms have shaken all the orange blossoms off the trees, sorry, no picture of them this year, but the smell was incredible, as I mentioned in a previous post.

Happy Easter to you and your family and friends! All the Very Best from Lexi Cat and I!

P.S. I ran into Papa Pepe on the street last week, he was walking to the bus station to go home and I was coming out of the hair salon. What an incredible coincidence! Then I also ran into Pepe, that happens more frequently but still, what a pleasure to see the two Pepe's in one day.

Creativity and a Marathon

This is the building mid-tear down.

I walk by this building frequently and never fail to admire the artwork that surrounds the site. It's a creative attempt to camouflage what, for now, is an ugly building site. It also captures the passion and movement of flamenco dance and music. What it fails to address is the tremendous noise and dust coming from it. Pepe's mom's local cafe is across the street, I don't see her there as often these days, maybe she goes after the work has stopped.

The following articles tell the story and show what it will look like, pretty swanky in my opinion.

https://euroweeklynews.com/2020/12/12/historic-seville-police-station-to-become-5-star-hotel/

https://www.iberian.property/news/archive/seville-municipality-sold-a-police-station-to-trinitario-casanova/

The Zurich marathon was back in town so I went to watch for a bit and took these pictures. People ran with strollers, dogs, balloons and all matter of costumes, even in sandals, huh? 

Little one dressed for the occasion.

More information about it in this link. I think there were more participants this year than any other. It is popular because the route is completely flat and winds around much of the historic centre which gives the runners an eye full.

https://en.zurichmaratonsevilla.es/zen-recorrido

I've had the opportunity to get out for lunch a couple of times, so happened, both in one week, not complaining. There is a relatively new Korean restaurant in the space vacated by an American burger joint called Peggy Sue's. Personally I am happy about this new one, much better than the old and it is very close by my apartment, tasty take-away opportunity! Pepe, Marta, Daniel and I enjoyed yummy food and had a good catch up. 

The second was with my neighbours on the ground floor, Leonor and John at a rather upscale restaurant in the Museo Plaza. What I didn't know when I suggested it is that it is their local. Food was, as usual, great and service was better than it has been in the past for me mainly because John and Leonor knew some of the waiters.

The orange blossoms are out and spreading their hypnotic scent over the city.

Day trip with Pepe to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cadiz Province

 Pepe drove us about an hour and a half south west to Sanlúcar de Barrameda which is an ancient city at the delta of the Guadalquivir River. Here is a Wiki link which you can read if interested in its long and varied history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanl%C3%BAcar_de_Barrameda

The town has levels of steepness starting at the top with the castle and old town, graduating down to beach front and the river. 

The major industry here is Manzanilla which is a variety of fino sherry, old town has rows upon rows of large warehouses containing the product and production of it by a company named Barbadillo. We visited a privately owned one that Pepe used to do work experience at, but more about that in a bit.

The castle, Castillo de Santiago, is extensive with many floors, the topmost floors holding rooms with framed navigation maps, neither one of us had ever seen a map collection of that scale before! Many of the drawings of the world did not include western America because it hadn't been discovered yet. Up and up phew, up, the top has magnificent views down to the city and water. It is now privately owned and must have cost a "bomb", so they host events to pay for it's keep. 

Children's play area, Pepe gave it a well done try.

We walked through the luscious city gardens and into the exhibition space which was ornately decorated.

Needing a bit of drink and food we went to what is called here an "old man's bar" for their special sauce made with garlic, tomato and bread which was yummy.

We went to a deli to collect food for visiting the bodega which was certainly not the non-fat version but tasty. They plated up snack slices of salchichon, chorizo, (both types of sausage) chicharrones, (pork rinds with paprika) picos, (bread crackers) and manchego cheese.

Walked from top of the town to about middle, a lot more stairs, but it was the quickest way to get there with parking in town difficult as it is in most cities in Europe. 

The Bodega de Las Infantas where Pepe did an apprentice, doing manual jobs like painting wine barrels had high arched ceilings, black stuff on the white walls and rooms of casks stacked two or three high. It is a locals place where many people came in as regulars Pepe remembered, he said in two years nothing has changed. Wine is sold off the cask into plastic bottles which the customer brings back to have re-filled, while that's being done they enjoy a free glass of fino, or maybe more than one. 

Loosely translated: Give me 5 litres of wine. Where are your bottles? You are looking at him!

We brought our snacks in and others did as well, all for sharing with other customers and the barman. It was a lovely experience and a great walk down memory lane for Pepe.

By now in the day it's time for a late lunch so we headed inland and up the mountain to a very large restaurant called Meson El Rancho. The exterior and interior were certainly not pretty but the food was exceptional, I had dorado on the bone, Pepe had a shark fillet. https://www.mesonelrancho.com/

I have to say it certainly wasn't what I had planned, a table at the beach, but clearly the locals know what they are talking about and a tourist would be hard pressed to find this place, in fact, we drove by it once before locating it in an industrial park.

On to the beach which stretches far and wide with fine golden sand containing silt and shells from the river, Pepe said it's not a good location for swimming but is famous for horse racing on the sand. https://www.carrerassanlucar.es/en/

We saw a couple of riders practising along the sand and into the water, a lovely site. That was something my dad always wanted to do and didn't get the chance.

It was a very great day out for us both, especially Pepe, I think, reconnecting with his mates at the bodega and for me experiencing the locals culture.

Great day, great friend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! Cheers!