Just another Monday in Sevilla

We slept on freshly-washed sheets with the windows open last night. It was cool outside, and either quiet or we’ve just gotten used to the noise in the streets. We had set the alarms on our cell phones to wake us (shrilly) at 6:30, when I get in the shower and Bill … lovely man … makes coffee and breakfast. We’ve discovered that a hard-boiled egg and toast is the best meal and the least trouble, but this morning we were out of bread, so Billy made me an egg with sliced tomatoes and an orange.

It was another productive day for each of us in the archivo. Saber, Kryzol and Justin are working on Florida (Justin showed me a cool document written in a native American Indian language and translated by a friar); Spencer is working on 16th century Venezuela; Ashleigh is researching Franciscans in China during the mid-16th century; and I am transcribing a long legal document dated 1542 about a conquistador in Nuevo Reino de Granada … Colombia. Today I transcribed seven pages in six hours … wow! Dr. Francis is in the midst of several books and he always has something interesting on his table. Not that we can wander around looking at other people’s legajos, because the Sala is tightly controlled and is much quieter than the UNF library. Sometimes, however, we manage to peek at one another’s documents.

At 3 o’clock, the girls came back to our apartment so Kryzol could give a Spanish lesson to Saber and me; Ashleigh needed to use our Internet connection. Bill had made a big salad and put out sandwich fixings, so we ate happily and then opened a couple of books written in Spanish. Saber and I took turns reading aloud while Kryzol corrected our pronunciation and helped us with translations. After the girls left, I tried to read The Handless Maiden: Moriscos and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Spain by Mary Elizabeth Perry. It’s a great book and I have to read it for my independent study in Religion, but I could hear the sounds from the street below, and the breezes were wafting in through the balcony doors. I was distracted by the beckoning of Sevilla.

So we went for a walk. Every time we wander the streets, I fall a little more deeply in love. I thought today that, although I have been in some of the most beautiful cities in the world … Istanbul, Paris, Venice … I have never seen a city more lushly gorgeous, more romantic, or quite so evocative as Sevilla, Spain. I am completely enchanted. Just look at some of the things we saw as we strolled the streets this afternoon:

Spaniards are religious, and many of the Catholic churches in Sevilla have little celebrations which involve children (or adults) processing through the cobblestone streets carrying a float topped with the statue of a saint. Today we saw some young boys practicing. You can barely see the crucifix and rosary atop their float.

Early in our walk, we passed the Archivo General de Indias satellite office where we UNF paleographers go to work each day.

This is the little cafe next door to the AGI, where we have "onces" at 11 o'clock. I usually order a zumo de naranja (orange juice) and a croissant, but sometimes I ask for a cafe solo (espresso). Also popular are cafe con leche (a little coffee and a lot of milk) and tortillas (a fat potato and egg pie).

Isn't this a pretty restaurant? We've never eaten here, but as we passed it, we admired the building.

The streets are so narrow, many are closed to vehicular traffic. This street had a sign indicating that it was accessible to firemen.

Here is the gorgeous Alfonso XIII Hotel. The building is lovely, and behind these banana trees you can just glimpse the tented area where people were lounging on pillows, perhaps having a tinto de verano (red wine of summer). Billy and I are going to dress up and go here for cocktails one evening.

This is another view of the Alfonso XIII Hotel. It's surrounded by a beautiful garden ... and I'm crazy about awnings.

We stumbled upon this gigantic building which is currently closed and under renovation. It's the Palacio de San Telmo, built in the 17th century as a college-seminary for naval orphans. Only in Sevilla!!

Flowers, flowers ... everywhere! These pyramidal floral structures can be found throughout the city. Billy wants to put one in our backyard.

A view of the riverwalk. At twilight, it's glorious.

Another view of the riverwalk. See the doves and pigeons? There are birds all over Sevilla, including swallows which dart and swoop near the Cathedral all day and, it seems, much of the night.

Oops ... I guess I really liked the riverwalk! I do love flowers and beauty in general, as most of you who know me, know.

Here is the famous Torre del Oro, a bulwark tower built early in the 13th century by the Almohad ruler Abul-Ula. It used to be covered in gold tiles, hence the name. Today it's just stone, but oh-so-romantic. There's Bill in the background.

Isn't it gorgeous? This is Sevilla!