Bueno Fin de Semana

Dinner Thursday
Thursday evening Karen and I had dinner in our apartment for "the girls", Ashleigh, Kryzol and Saber, the three other female members of the UNF Paleography team performing research in the archivo here in Sevilla. We would have included "the boys", who are Dr. Francis, Spencer and Justin but we only have five plates, forks, knives, etc. so had to draw the line. We'll have just "the boys" another time soon. Even cooking spaghetti for five people I had to use two pans for the noodles and two for the sauce. We have enough pans but not any large enough to cook a whole box of spaghetti at one time or more than three servings of sauce.

We all had a great time and enjoyed some nice wines with and after dinner. We dined early for Sevillanos, beginning about 9PM and wrapped it up a little after 11. Getting up at 6:30AM Friday was a little more difficult than the morning before.

Cocktails, Appetizers and Tapas Friday
Friday evening we had the whole team over for pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers. We started about 9PM with olives, grapes, strawberries, Manchega cheese, an herb cheese, crackers and various vinos. Everyone seemed to enjoy it since there weren't many leftovers. I took some photos so everyone would get credit for attendance.

Left to right, Dr Francis, Ashleigh, Saber, Karen, Spencer, Kryzol and Justin.

The whole group, six students, Dr Francis and me, left our apartment about 11PM and went out for tapas. When Karen and I left the group in a restaurant about 1240AM they were talking about going out dancing. The youngsters are getting into the swing of Sevillano life a bit more quickly than we are.

Santiponce and Italica on Saturday
Saturday morning I dreamed the telephone rang, then simultaneously the telephone rang in our apartment. What a coincidence! It was Saber wanting to know if we wanted to join her, Ashleigh, Kryzol and Spencer to see the Roman ruins at Santiponce. It was about 10AM and and we said sure, just not right now. She confided that they had also just gotten up and would like to meet at about 1130. More like it, vale! We quickly showered, etc., scrambled some eggs, made some coffee and were just about finished when everyone arrived here. Someone had thought the bus depot was near our place so they walked here. After consulting a map and turning it to the right about 85 degrees to orient it to north, consulting the web (what's bus station in Spanish?) we determined it was the other way.

We walked to the bus depot and fortunately we had Kryzol with us who is a native Spanish speaker. She was appointed to approach the information booth and ask about the how, when and where for the bus to Santiponce. Easy, see the big lit up board behind you, OK? See at the bottom where it says Santiponce at 1230 at slot number 34? Now, see the clock over there that says it's 1229? Hurry through those doors, walk to #34 and pay on the bus. Muy facil!

The bus was nicer than I thought it might be, left on time, was comfortable and rode smoothly. The driver said something to Kryzol that I understood to be the fourth stop is the last (ultima) and you get off there. We counted stops and at the fourth, Spencer, me and someone else got off. Kryzol went to ask the driver if this was our stop. He was kind of annoyed and told her rudely that he had said the fourth stop in Santiponce was the last. We were still several miles from our destination and were able to make it back onto the bus but not back to our seats before the bus roared off toward Santiponce. There is always one.

The Roman ruins are called Italica and consist of an entire city, probably 20 square blocks built by Roman Emperor Trajan who was born in 56. He was succeeded by the more famous Hadrian.

Many of the paving stones of the steets are still in place, parts of the walls and underground water supply and sewer system survive and most interesting many of the buildings still have intricately laid tile floors displaying birds, faces and other interesting patterns. There is also an amphitheater where the locals were entertained by various gruesome acts performed by man and beast.
















Tapas Saturday Evening
Saturday evening the entire group met nearby at 7:45PM to walk to a tapas restaurant that Dr. Francis had recommended. We were joined by Dr. Ken Andrien, a professor at Ohio State and his wife Ann. The group, save one, was assembled pretty much on time. When the last member joined us about 15 minutes late Dr. Francis set off at a pace that I could easily match but after a few blocks we noticed he and I were by ourselves and the rest were spread out over about two blocks. We slowed down a bit so the group could stay closer together because we were approaching one of the many labyrinthine sections of Sevilla where the streets are narrow, mostly unmarked and crowded. If one gets lost in there one may be lost for quite a while.

We arrived at Tapas Viapol just a couple minutes after our 8:30 reservation and were seated in an otherwise empty restaurant. By our second round of tapas the place was packed with every seat taken and a line outside waiting to get in. The food was great, the wine was excellent and we needed and appreciated the walk back just to work off the sizable consumption. The pace was more leisurely since we weren't trying to beat the crowd.

Slow Sunday
Karen and I slept in this morning and have spent the day cleaning the apartment and doing laundry. We did take a break and book a hotel in Trujillo in the Extremadura region of Spain for 4-7 June. It is called Parador de Trujillo and was a convent in the 16th Century, now a four star hotel. We will base out of Trujillo for the weekend and visit several surviving and authentic 16th Century medieval towns in the area, that are mostly unadulterated by modern architecture. Extremadura is also the origin of many of Spain's conquistadors and has many historically significant sites.

Karen is taking a nap on the couch with the doors open to the street below. There is a cocaphony of street noises including crowds of people talking, children yelling and crying, motor scooters, dishes, pots and pans, you name it. I need more quiet to sleep.