Tour Port of Sevilla Museum and Hunting for Home Items

One of the information panels, read below.

One day this week we went with Ivan to Museo Naval, a museum dedicated to the large port in Sevilla (Del Puerto De Sevilla). http://museo.apsevilla.com  in Spanish but you'll get an idea.

Sevilla was the world’s largest port from 2nd Century AD up to approximately Christopher Columbus days when silt caused them to move the main port to Cadiz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalquivir Being on a river instead of a coastline made for secure shipping of worldly goods in and out of Spain from the Americas. It has grown and morphed at different times further towards the sea or mouth of the river.

The Museum covered the entire history of the port and how it's business related to and affected the City, it was fascinating to us. We were all a bit surprised with the amount of information, the size and completeness and the length of the tour, two hours. The fellow is not a "tour" guide, he works for the City Port Authority but wow! did he know the history.

 

Our guide through the museum.

It was cold in there, built in what used to be part of the port storage areas, large cavernous building with only windows close to the very high ceiling.

The tour was free and had to be booked ahead but worth going if you want to learn about Sevilla and it’s shipping history which was and is so very important to this City.

 

They had a complete installation of lighthouse lights and parts showing how they have changed over the years both in size and how they operated. You can imagine or know lighthouses were terribly important to navigation.

Picture of a picture of a working lighthouse

Okay, admittedly I like the lenses, a lot! Like pretty giant paperweights.

The wheels go round and power the lighthouse.

Another exhibit showed cranes, buoys, and dredging equipment. Over the years man has changed the shape of the river in places to cut a shorter path straight to/from the port to shorten the trip, saving time, money and removing silt for large ships to pass through. 

 

There was a complete tabletop model of the port itself including ships, tiny cars, the railway which moves product from one area to another. It was large and very detailed, picture didn't turn out.

Another model showed how the river traffic is managed, with buoys and directional lights (which are red and green and opposite rules to ones in Canada).

 

There were picture panels with taped verbal information about the different areas of the port over time, see the above picture of the cathedral.

There was an area for the future with plans to 2020 to continue deepening the river for larger ships and expansion of port functions.

This tour isn’t well known to tourists or even locals but so very well worth seeing in my mind.

 

After we were all a bit weary and went for lunch at the restaurant on top of the aquarium. Too cold to sit outside so we ate in the dining room which serves as a popular night club in the evenings. Food was so so, my Pad Thai was excellent, Bruce’s and Ivan’s dishes less so. This is the second time Ivan has ordered raw tuna and the second restaurant not to have it in. He said there must be a tuna crisis in the city.

A very good day and we didn’t shop for home items, a relief of sorts before getting back at it. We've purchased two original paintings by a local artist; she happens to be the wife of the shop owner we bought the kitchen hutch from, who also does framing ... small world. I thought she captured the special light Sevilla has.

Not to bore you, but have bought more kitchen items and ceiling lights mostly Art Deco style for living room, dining room and bedroom. So no more news about that in this post.

Party, Party, Party, it's a Party!

Pepe took me to the Municipal Hall to get the water contract sorted, closed but they had a satellite office open at the Alameda, lots of walking, talking to the rather dim young lady, copies had to be made, then back to her. Whew, but done except of course she spelled my name wrong as they all do, even when copying from both my NIA (Spanish identity card) and passport where it is spelled correctly. I’m Beberly, Beberley or Burberly here, Spanish have trouble with the "v" it seems. Since these are legal documents to show citizenship and ownership of property I have to insist they get corrected.

Ivan brought us a printer scanner unit we bought but needed a USB cable to install. Got that today and also went to the bank because I wasn’t able to do online banking. So things are getting done but it’s one foot forward, two back before success sometimes.

 We went with Ivan to his friend’s restaurant and ate the best sushi I think I’ve ever had and that says a lot, coming from Vancouver, the sushi capital of Canada I think. We can get take-away from there too which will be good.

 We are having a housewarming party on Saturday so are busy fitting out with food and drink for that. Bruce bought a few more kitchen tools. The hutch we found at the antique shop down the road was delivered, in pieces and re-assembled. It does fit perfectly in the kitchen and adds more storage. 

The hutch, the orchid, vodka, old phone...

The woods of the kitchen and it match so well you’d think they were built together! This is furniture I wouldn’t have considered buying for any other house I’ve owned or rented but it works amazingly well here. My tastes haven’t changed but I’m adapting to the architecture I/we are now in.

Finally remembered that El Cortes Ingles delivers groceries if you spend over a certain amount, what a bonus that was Friday afternoon!

The party happened, we had eleven guests and it was just the right amount. Food turned out well and showed that we made an effort, because, frankly it was! The guests seemed to enjoy it though so well worth it. Bruce made a little welcome and thank you speech, Ivan translated. The parents went home and the rest stayed and partied on. Even still we have a fridge full of left overs and enough wine and beer to last us for a while.

Party people, missing three, Ivan taking pictures, Ben standing next to Ryan and Angela next picture.

 

A little blurry but here she is," Miss Geisha"

We received a beautiful pink orchid from Pepe’s Mom, bottles of wine and one cool red bottle of vodka. We were pleased with the results and glad to have done it to thank those that have helped us so much! As you can probably tell, we don’t host a party often so having a successful one was a relief. If you are wondering what we did with Lexi while doors and windows were open, we put her in the bed, snuggled under the covers and closed the bedroom door, she stayed quiet and snoozed through the whole affair.

 

I woke up the next morning to no mess, food stored, bottles and garbage gone! Thank you! A few dishes to do and our cleaner’s day is Sunday so she mopped the floors. Bruce said it’s kind of like Boxing Day, eating the leftovers.

 

All for now, Cheers, Bev, Bruce and Lexi Cat, still loving those stairs!

Best Wishes for 2016 and Purchase of a Condo in Sevilla

Hello Friends, hope your year has started off well! 

Here is a view of Sevilla in a video Pepe was commissioned to do, it's in Spanish, of course but will give you an idea of this lovely city.

http://elviajero.elpais.com/elviajero/2015/11/20/videos/1448035126_648458.html

Street Christmas lights out our balcony

This year's "Christmas tree" more decorative than last but less inventive.

It’s done we are now proud owners of a flat in Sevilla! Fulfillment of a dream Bruce has had for many years, he and I are over the moon about it!

It is true Spanish style with colourful tile inlay in the floors and a lovely facade. Built in 1870 it was a family home of someone well off, we need to do more research. The building was renovated into flats in 1998 so plumbing is relatively up to date. There is a winding, beautifully crafted, wooden staircase going from first floor to second. Top floor has two bedrooms, bathroom and access to a sunny deck and a shaded one, unconsciously we seem to like that arrangement since it is the same in Freiburg. The kitchen has leaf green countertops, no dishwasher, no clothes dryer, but the washer and fridge are relatively new. Funny, Spanish people are looking for ultra modern flats and we foreigners look for older Spanish style flats.

Pepe, has been there for us, viewing the flat and going to the Notario as it is called here and spent a considerable amount of time fixing lights and odds and sods. He helped get us our Spanish residency permits, needed to purchase the flat, get a bank account, very important, and phoned to get the services moved from the previous owner to us. He has loaned us a dining table and chairs which puts us pretty much in the same situation we were when moved into Freiburg. Table, bed, kitchen and that's all, but that's okay, we're shopping slowly to outfit the flat.

Ivan took us to his friend's wholesale warehouse to buy all needed for a kitchen and then to Ikea to get bed and bathroom items. He moved the bed frame from the top floor to the lower via ropes over the balcony! A bit scary for both of us.

Friday December 18 is move in DAY! Pepe brought his car to the apartment and we shoved in as much as we could, all our luggage and four chairs, and the flowers he kindly bought as a welcoming. Ivan bought us salt, while you might find that a bit strange, it is considered here a very good omen if salt enters the house first, so it did!

Ryan and Angela came over to bring the table and Pepe bought champagne to celebrate. Later on there was a brass band playing in the plaza close by us. Boom, bang Oom pah pah, it wasn’t the best band in the world but it felt like we were being welcomed to the neighbourhood, well, that’s my take on it anyway.

Unpacking my suitcase into drawers, I found a pillowcase in one drawer, okay, but when I unfolded it due to it feeling hard in the middle, behold, a bank book, 120.00 Euro in cash and two lottery tickets fell out! The lottery date was for the next day so that made it somewhat urgent to call the previous owner, Pepe did and she was here at the flat in half an hour with a huge bouquet of pink carnations and baby’s breath. She thanked us profusely for giving back her things and said she had searched the place over for them. An unintended Christmas present to her and maybe she won the Lottery...

House outfitting hunting and we go to a big box area outside the city with Ivan, choose a couch and fabric to have it made. We surprise ourselves on how quickly we agree on large purchases and small ones too. Then got more fittings for the bathroom and kitchen, we were at a Home Depot type store. Lots of walking for me and reposed to a lovely lunch at a rather upscale restaurant bordering a park we’ve been to before. Ivan had been to his Uncle’s who has orange trees and brought us oranges and the tiny lemons off the tree at the restaurant. They smell amazing!

We have talked about getting a hamburger the whole time we’ve been here, enjoy the "salad" as much as the patty, and "Peggy Sue’s" is across the street. Remember we are in Sevilla, old town, not a usual place to put a 1950’s North American food and ambiance type of restaurant! They had jukebox selection of Oldies music at the tables, vinyl booths and chairs peppermint colour, a video that showed a talk, revue type show before Ed Sullivan on an old looking TV. Service was good, burger boring, not enough salad. I had my first onion rings in I don’t know how many years and, yes folks, they tasted exactly the same, once in about twenty years are good for those. My personal review, mixed, the ambiance was great, the food mediocre.

We had a couple of resting days over New Year's to get over my cold, contracted due to getting run down with the needed pace to get things done, no appointments which was slightly boring but good too. Saturday we were trying to find a place to eat and walked by the Museo square where Sundays they usually have an art market of local artists. Some of them were there Saturday though including a fellow from Argentina we bought a piece from last year. He saw me first, rushed up and gave me a big hug and nattered on, so friendly! We chatted some, he slowed down his speech so Bruce could mostly understand what he said. He gave us a small piece of his work as a gift, it’s a metal outline of a horse’s head, matte framed, thank you Sergio!

Well that's all for now folks, a turbulent but exciting few weeks for us since my last post. 

Many, many, hugs and thanks to Pepe, Ivan, Ryan and Angela for all their help with this move! You've really lightened the physical, mental load, and language barrier.

  

Happy New Year to you all our friends, may 2016 be a good one for you.

 

Cheers, Bev, Bruce and the staircase climbing Lexi Cat, she loves it!

Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hello friends and family,

I want to send you Seasons Greetings today because we'll be on the move again and not sure of internet access in the new home before Christmas. Didn't want you to think I/we forgot about you!

More on the new home next post, stay tuned!

Trimming orange trees

What a lot of trimming they do, the air was redolent with orange smell! I suppose this will happen all over the city before they blossom.

Weather has been low to mid-twenties here and sunny most days, still nice for sitting out in a cafe. 

Short, short, like I am, post this time!

Cheers to you, Bev, Bruce and Lexi Cat, the computer cord eating cat, (two down since we've been here! and only mine, not Bruce's)

Jamon Museum and Monastery in Monesterio

Bouganvillia from the gardens previous post.

Vegetarians please pass by the description of the Museum and go directly to the monastery part of this post, where the pictures are! 

Ivan drove us one hour north from Sevilla in Monesterio, a charming village, to the Jambon (ham) museum, here is the link www.museodeljamondemonesterio.com  it has an English button. Yes, friends there is a museum devoted to ham. Jamon Iberico is a very large part of life here in the Province of Sevilla. The industry employs thousands of people from farmers to factory workers and every self respecting bodega has hocks hanging from their ceilings for patrons of the restaurant. The museum is very modern and interactive with it's guests showing videos and explanations of the process of breeding, raising the pigs, what they eat, prime black ones feast on acorns which gives the flavour to the meat. Videos showed the old family method of slaughter and curing and the new mechanized methods. Every single part of the pig is used from the head and down to the tail and I'm quite sure I wouldn't eat some parts! It was a very informative and enjoyable visit. More information in this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamón_ibérico

Ivan's parents had recommended a restaurant for lunch and the intended one was opposite the one we at at, oh well, food was good anyway. There was a  dog who came to mooch lunch had his act down well, tilting his head and being cute, he certainly was but his act didn't wash with us, no human food to animals is my policy.

I bit into a piece of sausage and one of my teeth broke! Darn and not pleasant although I was quite upset thinking of the dentist visit to come I tried not to let it ruin the day for us all. Subsequent visit to the dentist was easy, he just glued it back in! No guarantees how long it will stay but at least I don't have a hole in my smile now. 

We drove to the monastery which seemed to be perched at the top of the world, truly! A long winding narrow road going up and down, steep cliffs on one side and few guard rails! Along the way we saw farms with cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, horses. As we got to the top it was a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains! No pictures because of the haze that hovered over, but truly we were at the highest point and it was amazing! Birds of prey, not sure what kind, hovered over the mountain in flocks, beautiful to see them soaring above us, not so, for whatever animal they were searching for below.

I wouldn't want to live there, no windows.

The monastery named Monastery de Tentudia de Calera De Leon is currently under restoration, although some modern parts have already been added like bathrooms and glass to the atrium. There was talk of making it into a parador, the upscale hotels here in Spain but that fell through and now talk of making it into a luxury B & B location. 

The atria 

Website, no English, http://tentudiahermandad.wordpress.com/ I am unclear about it's future, and maybe the Spanish people are as well, but it is being worked on and it is in a beautiful if slightly remote location. Another link which explains it's history, translated. https://translate.google.es/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.viajarporextremadura.com/cubic/ap/cubic.php/doc/El-Monasterio-de-Tentudia-293.htm&prev=search

There was a battle and the currently loosing side prayed to the Virgin to "stop the day" and as legend goes, the sun did stop setting long enough for them to win

In the early thirteenth century, during a battle against the Arabs, the master Pelayo Perez Correa, master of the Order of Santiago, came to see that night and did not get the victory, implored the Virgin screaming: Holy Mary, stop your day!. And tradition has it that the sun stood still on the horizon to allow the Christian troops to victory. The master ordered to build a temple for Santa Maria de Tentudía.

The Sainted Maria that stopped the sun from setting

After we stopped at a jambon outlet to buy for Bruce some packages of it and a sausage he liked, I'm not too keen on either, I bought a bottle of wine, natch. Ride back into Sevilla showed us the smog layer hanging over the city, there hasn't been any rain for a long time to clear it off, but also the hills in-between with the red coloured earth on the berms of the highway were lovely.

Cheers, Bev, Bruce and Lexi Cat

We're in Sevilla and a Lovely Tour through Gardens

Yes! We're back in Sevilla, palm trees and tile works

Firstly, apologize for not posting in a more timely manner. We've had some glitches around our accommodations but are working through them which takes time on our part, I won't bore you with the details.

Flight from Frankfurt to Sevilla was a bit difficult, two people had cat allergies, that's never happened before so we had to relocate seats and in Madrid there were no attendants to get us to the gate so I grabbed a wheelchair and hoofed it as fast as possible to the furthest gate in the terminal but we made it!

Beautiful!

We went to our past watering hole/bodega to see Alonzo, Manolo and Freddy. Freddy has gone to Bolivia! Manolo welcomed us, but Alonzo was ecstatic to see us, kept saying I’m so happy you are here, this is your home (casa) you are my friends, gave us hugs and Spanish kisses. What a guy! We had tapas, of course, really felt like home the flavours were wonderful! Being Sunday there were lots of people, families with their children dressed the same, girls with bows in their hair and dresses, boys with shorts, many dogs of course. It was a pleasant cacophony of sound and movement on a sunny, warm day. Lovely to be back in Sevilla again for the colours, the friends, the warmth, well, just everything I suppose. 

Ivan took us to his neighbourhood, which is Castilleja de Guzman, showed us his home which is lovely and we went to lunch at a rather trendy looking place called Momentos. Family run operation, the food was excellent and we ate under lemon and orange trees.

You know who these blokes are.

Ivan's friends, three fellows, one a banker/real estate person and two others bought a former ceramics factory in Triana and we saw it today, all the way up to the (European) second floor on both sides, factory and flats. Very rough, an investment for them. The ceramics studio looked like the people had left work one day and just not returned, moulds of Sevilla life, example a flamenco dancer, and drawings, just beautiful even in raw form! The flats are rough, will take some renovation to get them livable but they would be good as smallish residences. Prior to the meeting we took the opportunity being in Triana and close to the large market there to get Bruce a plate of oysters and I had my first this year Cruzcampo, beer that is locally brewed. A good day and very interesting to see the factory!

We are getting reacquainted with the neighbourhood and local people in it and it’s lovely! 

Ivan took Ryan, Angela and ourselves back out to his town Castilleja de Guzman to the palace gardens there. The site is named Colegio Mayor Santa Maria del Buen Aire. Owned by the City of Sevilla and formerly used as a college but closed now.

Roses don't smell but are beautiful.

 The grounds are viewable only by appointment with a guide. This is from the University website, which they haven’t updated. If interested look up Jean-Claude Forestier, he designed many famous gardens and true to his name. http://www.universityrooms.com/en/city/Seville/college/sevcmsanmarbuenaire

"GROUNDS AND GARDENS

The Santa María del Buen Aire gardens, designed by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, a famous landscape architect, were built in 1929 as an addition to the former palace which now houses the residence. In 2004 the Andalusian government declared them a natural heritage site.

These gardens are not just two hectares of plants, pergolas, fountains and balconies, but are also of great architectural interest in terms of landscaping. These gardens offer a wonderful natural surrounding for both studying and relaxing, as well as great views over the whole of Seville."

Our guide was really great, she spoke slowly in Spanish and either Ivan or Ryan translated for me, Bruce understood most of the presentation. It was about an hour of walking through the garden on moss covered pathways. The gardens have not been maintained well but retain a stately beauty on three levels. As we wound our way around our guide explained the history, showed us drawings and pictures and explained about the plants and trees. The site is on a hillside that overlooks the City of Sevilla and the hills of olive trees between. 

Darn it!!

Vandals had gotten in on the weekend and destroyed large planters in an area around what was a fountain. Why?!! This is “fun”? The unfortunate fact is that the planters will not likely be restored.

After the tour we had a relaxing lunch at Momentos under the orange and lemon trees. Great day!

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat

Waldkirch and Other Nearby Places

We drove to Waldkirch which was historically a major centre for making organs, mostly for fairgrounds, to be played on the street, read about it here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldkirch 

There is a museum of them but it was closed, we’ll go back because Christoph says it’s worth a look and if you click on the pictures in the article, I think it will be. We had lunch, of course, in a small family run guest house called JägerHäusle and it was really good food, not fancy but good home cooking. We tend to like those places more than the really upscale restaurants in most every city we visit, you'll read about another in a bit.

Walked on to the Baroque style church of St. Margarethen, website http://www.ksew.de/cms/website.php?id=/w/index.htm you will need to do a translate on it. 

Detail of the inset above the entryway.

Inside it is very ornate and has many windows to show the coloured murals in the ceiling. 

Traditional and modern working together, or not, depending on your opinion!

Loved these stools!

From there we could see the Kastelburg Castle built in 1260 shrouded in fog, rather sinister looking, or if you prefer, romantic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastelburg Despite the foggy day it was an enjoyable one! 

Kastelburg

We took the car share with Christoph to the large department store, which has finally got in stock (a spring purchase), the light for over the dining table. Using the car made the trip easy and less expensive than going by bus or taxi. Firstly we went to lunch, due to the usual timing issue, in Vörstetten at Gasthaus Zur Sonne. The special of blood sausage did not appeal to me but Bruce and Christoph enjoyed. The restaurant had low beamed ceilings and the ceramic covered oven wall kept my back warmer than I really needed but didn't mind. Authentic German style pub which put me in mind of some of the English ones we've been in, different of course, but homey well prepared country style food. 

Being Saturday before a long weekend and a sunny and fall day warmish, market was very crowded, to be expected. I truly wish there was a smell app, they are starting to bring out the mulled wine and apple juice of all kinds is available. I was looking for a favourite stall for a veggie burger and had to navigate around the platz, so many people, dogs on leashes (usually cute) but got a bit confining and I started to feel what I think is a form of claustrophobia. Get me out of this crowd now please!  Sat on a bench to enjoy people watching  and just being out in the lovely day. It is, after all the end of October and to get a day like today we wanted to take full advantage of it. A friend in Madeira Park remarked that every day that is sunny in the fall is a gift, now that has resonated with me since, so true! 

Weather here has alternated between lots of fog and full on sun, as you've probably gathered by this post by now.

We had another cooking “lesson” for Christoph and his son. We made stove top lasagne which brightened the son’s day considerably, he does like, no make that loves, lasagne. Made Canadian style potato salad and coleslaw and stewed tomatoes with vegetables. To eat while they were here Bruce made a feta cheese and mushroom omelet. We’ve never done lasagne on the stove before and it did burn a bit on the bottom but tasted good. Sent them home with all left over vegetables and salads along with one container of lasagne. Christoph will collect much more early next week when his fridge is more empty. They brought us a lovely tart, large enough to share between the four of us a crust, full of cinnamon, not sweet and raspberry jam filling, original recipe from Vienna. As you know I don’t eat sweets but this was lovely! 

That's about it for now folks, sorry not as many pictures this post, will try for more next time. Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat