Deb’s Observations 10-26-25

 Greetings, folks, it’s Deb here, giving Warren an evening off. But don’t expect his organization. I’m much  more random.

But to start with a little summary: we had a lovely day today, mostly just walking on enjoying our first cool day. We walked to the downtown along the pleasant river-walk, taking in all the oleanders and other blooming shrubs. Lots of action on the river with kayakers, punters, scullers, not to mention fishers of all descriptions, human and avian. We headed inland to the oldest part of town to scope out the cathedral for a later visit. On the way, we found a restaurant for lunch that turned out to be a good choice despite its warning signs of being a tourist restaurant. In fact, it was a neighborhood joint with delusions of becoming a tourist joint. Shared a dandy salad, then I had Iberian roast pork with new potatoes and Warren had the better part of a cow. After a confusing interchange with our friendly young waiter, he got the steak rare. VERY rare. It was good, though. This area is known for its beef.

I rewarded myself with house-made ice cream for dessert. My achievement? Today I’ve walked further than I have since my knee surgery in May. And done a whole bunch of stairs that would have been impossible for me before my new knee. So I’m happy, happy. And eating ice cream.

What I really wanted to share with you is some of my impressions of Seville, and to have them down for future memory stimulation.

First - this is a lovely walking city. Sidewalks are surprisingly clean, the rare dog-mistake notwithstanding. Not much trash, and, compared to Naples, not many deadly obstructions or crazed motorcyclists. The major thing is how interesting the architecture is. Lots of variety, lots of color. The re-conquering Catholics may have hated the Moors, but they loved their architecture and builders. There is a fascinating melding of Roman, Moorish and Catholic influences to assimilate. The city is a paradise for flaneurs

(sorry, don’t know the word in Spanish)

Speaking of not knowing Spanish, we’re trying to use our incipient skill whenever possible. People are friendly and helpful, and after we admit our feeble knowledge, they usually laugh ruefully and admit they know a bit of English and between the two inadequate skills, we get along quite well. Haven’t gone without food or wine yet.

On the topic of trivial architectural features, I’ve been being amused by the individuality and creativity the folks in Seville are showing with their garage doors and those doors that cover businesses when they are closed. Such structures are usually unappealing at best and dirty and grafittied at worst. But here in Seville they are often an art form. There are landscapes, flower still-lifes, poetry, trompe l’oiel and

witty ones like the pun on the choice of electricity forms shown by portraits of Tesla vs Edison separated by lighting strikes and titled AC-DC.

And lastly, in answer to Mary Schreiner and other respondents, a few comments on NUN COOKIES. Yes, there are several kinds, maybe 8 or10. We got some fairly plain ones that are like little vanilla cakes, maybe 4 inches long dusted with a granulated sugar. And we got some empanadas a cidra, which I thought were apple but I later identified as stuffed with sweetened spaghetti squash. I know it sounds disgusting but they are really quite good. The texture is a bit crunchy like apple and the flavor a bit lemony. Super short pastry. Quite, quite good. Warren plans to try several convents to compare products.

Well, I confess to being pretty knackered after all my walking today so am going to sign off. We’re going to Cordoba tomorrow to see the mosque (the Mezquita.)