All Saints Day 11-1-25

Our Halloween night passed very quietly, thanks primarily to the need for two key-codes needed to get into our building and then beyond the entrance lobby. We’ve been so lucky to have several days of very comfortable weather and today continued the string. We wanted to continue our visit to the art museum that was so rudely interrupted by the biblical rainstorm.  Our elevator is now partially working, in that we can summon it and get downstairs, but we can’t go up because the key-code reader in the car is not functioning.  Nonetheless we got out around noon and rode one of our local busses down to the Plaza del Ducque which is the jumping off point for the southern part of the medieval city.  The streets are so narrow that no bus could possibly get through.  

Today given our time frame we decided to see the second largest Sevilliana church after the main cathedral. But what it gives away in size it more than makes up for in gold and silver coated altar pieces and chapels.  I don’t think we ever saw as much gilding anywhere in Rome, it was awe inspiring. A large percentage of the carved figures on the altarpieces are life sized and not just on the main altar.  There was a mass for all saints in progress so the opportunity to get closer pictures was not possible without interrupting the service. Of course, that didn’t stop one completely oblivious man from setting his phone to video recording and then walking in the area between the priests and congregation from side aisle to side aisle while the mass was in progress. One can only guess from what backwater area he must have crawled. “By God it will be the only time I’ll ever get to capture this moment.” But in his defense he didn’t stop for a selfie 😇.   When the service was completed they turned off all the lights in the church and it was like a cave, but while it was fully lighted it was eye-popping.

After that we made our way over towards the art museum with the intention of having lunch before resuming our visit.  Our path led us right through some of the high fashion and chic shopping areas of the city.  Many lovely shops and loads of very smartly dressed people taking a little paseo prior to having lunch.  When we got over we made sure the museum was open and then went to find a restaurant. The restaurant I wanted to eat was flooded out in that crazy rainstorm and had a note that it was indefinitely closed.  Luckily there were other restaurants in the area, and onee again we were worried about finding a tourist trap.  One place was named Iscariot and the other was

named Barrabas (true story) so we picked the thief.  We worried about being seated but they were very happy to give us a table in the outside seating area. This time they gave us a separate menu with PICTURES!  as well as a Spanish menu. But again their cooking turned out to be very good.  We had baby artichokes, a dish of spinach and garbanzo beans cooked in chicken stock with cumin, then a sort of fried egg frittata with mushrooms, and Iberico ham bits, Deb ordered deep fried Merluza (hake).  She had a glass of Sangria and I had a beer.  A note on the spinach and garbanzo beans, they were absolutely delicious, a memorable dish that we will want to recreate when we return to the U.S.  Mmmm Mmmm!

So lunch was another very nice experience and when we finished we walked across the little square and were shocked, I say shocked, to find that the museum had closed 30 minutes before because today was a Féria day.  So we’ll have to circle back at another time, unless the universe has more trucos (tricks) in store for us.  It was around 4:00 at that point so we decided to walk back to our apartment.  On the way we found a restaurant that our Captain from yesterday mentioned as being a very good place to eat.  It fronts a plaza where we sat for quite a while watching the little children play around the statue to a “heroic son of the city”. Little kids just play without any self-consciousness and almost always provide an observer with no end of amusement.  It was a perfect way to finish our day.

Deb will add just a few random thoughts below:

The fruit here is so lovely and ripe. We’re eating ripe persimmons almost every day. So ripe they’re just like candy. And there is a tasty green melon. We have no idea what type it is. We ask and they say “melon”. So there we are.

Today was All Saints Day and many people were dressed formally, with visits to family cemetaries to place bouquets and clean memorials. Then they gather with family in a favorite restaurant. Family groups were everywhere. The smart ones picked a restaurant near a park or plaza so all their little kids could run around during the interminable meals. Nobody seems worried as the little kids run in packs, playing improvised kid games. Everybody of all ages having a good time.

Speaking of which, we were initially surprised years ago at how everyone in Spain seems to drink beer. Apparently they think it’s lighter and less alcoholic than wine (and cheaper). Also interested that sangria, which is often considered a ladies drink in the US is drunk in large quantities by both genders here. I had read that most Sevillianos didn’t buy it at restaurants, preferring to make their own special recipes at home. But that is a blatant lie. Whole barrels of it are being drunk at every joint in town, every day. And I’m doing my best to help keep consumption up. Each restaurant has a different recipe. I hope to sample them all.

I loved listening to the organ in San Salvador today. Made my very bones reverberate. And listening to the mass again was strangely moving. I don’t think I’d been to mass since with my grandparents so many years ago. The Church sure knows how to do mystic formality. Very impressive, even to an agnostic. 

So we enjoyed our leisurely paseo home. Last stop was a pharmacy to get some topical pain stuff for old feet and knees. Ah, the pitfalls of being an elderly traveler!