Seville - with the Barbers and the Oranges - that one!

So off to our 2nd stop. We had thought of perhaps doing Cordoba on the way, but as it is Sunday much stuff is closed - and it is a fairly long drive, so we headed straight there.  And just as well given the chaos when we got there....!



the street we did NOT stay on



Got to Sevilla in good time and snagged ourselves what seemed an ideal parking spot outside the next place. But despite having called her ahead and waiting for quite some time, still no show of the owner.

 So called her back up and let her know we were going for a cerveza and would be back in 1/2 hour or so.  Marucia and I returned, but still no Rosa.  And then for some reason, I double checked that we were in fact at the right address....

Well google is just too good at trying to correct you sometimes I think. I had found MalaKer on google - the name of the house - when I really wanted 23 MalaVer.  Coincidentally both were # 23 and had no # on the building - so Marucia's comment on the phone that there was no # did not register that we may be at the wrong spot for Rosa.

 

 So off Marucia and I went on the search for the real residence - a quest which had us stop and ask for directions about 5 times (thank goodness Marucia speaks Spanish!)- everyone circling us in closer each time.  



Yet another church





another church

And every set of directions was centric around churches;  go to the first church, turn left, pass 2 churches then turn right etc.   From the first request we sounded very close - but an hour later and rather overheated, hungry and sweaty we finally arrived.  Rosa was an angel and she and her husband drove us back to Mike & GL and even drove our car back to the new place - and it is wonderful - very tastefully done and well appointed.



The Parasol



The Parasol - aka The Mushrooms

On our adventure, Marucia and I had walked past the Parasol - an intriguing new architectural addition to the local market square which Mike & I had just seen on TV a couple of weeks prior to heading to Spain.  

Hungry and exhausted
but still enjoying the adventure!

So once we settled in, we headed back to the square to see about getting something to eat.
   
Rosa gave us the local scoop on where the best Cervezaria is (beer bar), and what wine to drink.  The locals don't drink red around her (although that didn't stop us from stocking up on some from the local shop).  The white wine to drink is a barbidillo - nothing like the vino verde of Portugal, and can't say I'm a huge fan.

And as always, Michael finds interesting theme items to photograph.  He found the posters around Seville quite intriguing.

Although we walked pretty much everywhere, bike rental was a very viable option - all the major cities in Spain had the bike rental stations commonly spread through the city.  We saw lots of usage of the bikes - and as you can see there were bikes available, but also there are empty spots showing they do get used.



The art and beauty of imperfection