Day 5?? The days are filled exploring this beautiful city! And here we are, already on Day 5 – almost a week gone by. I really don’t understand people who plan excessive itineraries and spend 2-3 days in each city. We are here in Sevilla for 3 weeks, and we’re starting to think we won’t have time to see or do everything we want!!

Anways, on with today’s themes…

Eating

I had come across this Anthony Bourdain meme a few times:

I never checked to see if actually DID say that, but it sounds like something he’d say, so let’s just agree that he did.

Eating in Spain is not just a question of subsistance – it’s a life event. Every single night, around 9PM, the sidewalks fill up with people going to eat; meeting up with friends, drinking, sharing food – it’s an incredible vibe!

And unlike Montreal, where the restaurants have to build terraces every summer, which are then measured to the nearest centimetre by overzealous city inspectors to make sure they are “up to code”, restaurants here just put tables and chairs on the sidewalks and everyone is happy.

The food, as you can imagine, is absolutely delicious! Everything! The traditional tapas, or “small portions”, are what many people order; my wife and I have yet to order our own “plate”, as is more common in North America, where each person orders their own dish. Small portions, shared:

And yes – always the jamón ibérico, the thinly-sliced cured ham that is found hanging in every taberna:

Sometimes it is a plate, but still shared, like this Carrillada ibérica, or pork cheek – meat so tender you just put the fork on it and it falls apart.

Apart from the food itself, there are other things worth noting about eating in Spain:

  • The prices are much, much lower than back home: where we will pay $11-13CAD for a glass of wine, here it’s about $4.25. A glass of beer: also about $4.50
  • There is no rush to turn tables!! The waiters here will not come and bother you, see if you need anything else, etc. You actually have to call the waiters over if you need or want anything else, including the bill.
  • The prices on the menu are what you pay – taxes are included, and there are no tips to pay!!! Waiters and staff here make decent wages and so are not dependant on tips. I LOVE this!! I really wish we would adopt this in Canada.

All in all, eating is a much more civilized affair.

Getting Around

My aunt and uncle, who have been spending about 3 months a year in Spain for the past several years, had told me that public transportation was excellent and not expensive at all.

I was going to look into this, but then we came across something else that made getting around not only practical, but so much fun.

The city, despite being one of the oldest in Europe, is absolutely well planned – avenues are large, sidewalks are very wide and incorporate bike paths; all modes of transportation are used and work together: cars, buses, light rail, horse and buggy (mostly for the tourists, but lots of them!), bike, and…electric scooters!! These scooters are a very, very common way for people to get around, sharing the bike paths with cyclists (who, unlike in Montreal, do not yell at non-cyclists for being on the path). People are zipping around on these things to get to work, to school, or wherever they need to be. The path system is wonderful!

And, to our joy, there is a company providing scooter rentals; you download the app, unlock a scooter, and off you go. The app provides a map, so you input where you want to go, and it leads you to the nearest scooter drop-off. So much fun!

We had never tried this, but after 5-10 minutes of practice, it became really easy!

These scooters have made the city so accessible to us!

La Plaza por la Noche

In my first travel diary entry, I mentioned that we were only a few steps away from La Plaza de España, a large, semi-circular plaza that had been built for the 1929 World Fair.

A few nights ago we walked over after supper – it is indeed a magical place in the evening! To begin with, all the tourists are gone (well, except for my wife and I – there always has to be a few outliers!), so the entire plaza is filled with this beautiful stillness. The lighting on the buildings gives a whole other vibe to the place, and is absolutely gorgeous!

It was a wonderful way to end a day in Sevilla!

¡Hasta luego!