Riffic

Buenas Noches, Fodorites!

Coming to you live from Hotel Amadeus in Sevilla, after day 2 of a 7-day stay.

We arrived yesterday about 12:30 pm from Munich on Air Berlin, via Palma de Mallorca. Air Berlin continues to impress me with their quality service for such cheap flights. Round trip for 2 cost 270 Euro, plus 30 Euro round trip for the Pup. You get a decent meal and they always show Mr. Bean on the in-flight entertainment.

This trip is all about relaxation, tapas and flamenco. We may go to Còrdoba and/or Cadiz/Jerez this week, but may just hang here relaxing, depending on how ambitious we feel.

First, a few notes about Hotel Amadeus. Thanks for all who recommended it. We?re in room 105, which is the light blue room that has the wrought iron head board in the pictures. It rivals (and probably wins) the rooms we?ve stayed in Paris in Rome for being the smallest room we?ve ever stayed in, but it?s clean and adequate. The only other slight negative is that the doors are paper thin, so you do here any noise going on in the open hotel lobby below. But these small negatives are far outweighed by the many positives. First, the location is the best in the city, with everything is practically at your doorstep. The staff is some of the friendliest I?ve met. There is wireless internet (albeit slow), which means that if you have to work (like me) on vacation and have to take your lap top, you can email, etc. from your room. And the roof terrace is stellar. At night (before 11 pm when the cathedral lights go out), you have one of the best views of the cathedral in the city. And they allow pets, which is good for us, even though Pup is actually a kid trapped in a small Yorkie?s body.

We cannot thank Maribel enough for her Sevilla file. We don?t leave the hotel without it.

More to come?

ira

Thanx, riffic

travginny

Thanks for the report, Riffic. I stayed at the Amadeus last year and also thought it was fine. Great location, marvelous view from the terrace on the roof, helpful staff. But I would advise Fodorites not to drive into Sevilla. I did and had a heck of a time finding the hotel, then the underground parking lot.

Enjoy your stay in Sevilla!
Ginny

Riffic

Day 1 (Saturday)
Spent the previous night at the Kempinski airport hotel, since our flight left MUC so early. All flights were on time and we arrived and collected our baggage without a hitch. Fortunately, we had great success reaching the hotel. I feared the worst, after reading about the difficulties others had with taxi drivers who had no idea how to get there. The driver knew exactly where the street was and we were there seemingly in minutes after leaving the airport. I read that taxis should cost no more than 20 Euro, but our driver told me 28. Rather than argue with him, I just gave him 30 because I was so happy we made it to the hotel so quickly.

Our room wasn?t ready, so we headed out towards the cathedral in search of lunch, i.e. Tapas. Maribel tells you to go to Bar Estrella when near the cathedral, so that?s what we did! These tapas were very good and, like Maribel says, unusual. The entire bill was 12 Euro for 2 drinks and 4 tapas. After returning to the now-available room and siesta-ing, we purchased Los Gallos flamenco tickets and visited the local supermarket (Super Sol) for some Spanish goodies to stock in the hotel fridge.

After napping, we wanted to tire out Pup, so we took a long walk past the cathedral, down to the Guadalquivir, passing by the bull ring, and then eastward to the torre do Oro, which unfortunately is completely covered in Scaffolding. The beautiful torre is one of the few memories that sticks in my head from my last visit to Sevilla in 1997 during my University study in Valencia, so it was quite disappointing to see it in this state.

After dropping Pup off at the hotel, we decided to try and eat in Casablanca, based on Maribel, Tenyearanniversary et al?s comments. When we entered, I was quite surprised that this was the place regarded as the best tapas bar of Andalucía. It was a tiny bar, with a separate dining area in the back. It was 8 pm when we arrived and, although no one was yet in the dining room, the bartenders said it was booked up for the night. Luckily, there was just enough room to squish two more people into the bar area, so we decided to stay and eat there. I just asked the bartender to bring us what he recommended and he delivered! A unique potato salad with excellent olive oil drizzled on top, two or three different Bacalao (cod) tapas, a sausage with almond sauce, shrimp deep fried with some unusual, but delectable paté, and other tastes my taste buds never knew imagined! The best part was the bill. After 7 tapas, 3 beers and 2 tinto de veranos, I was prepared for at least 30 Euro, given the popularity of this place. Amazingly, drinks are 1 Euro each, and tapas are 1.80, meaning our bill was under 18 Euro. We liked Casablanca so much, we made a reservation for Monday night dinner. Although, in the dining room, they don?t serve tapas, but we?re interested in finding out about the rest of the menu.

After the light tapas dinner, we headed back to the hotel to see Pup and go for a brief stroll.
We ended up settling at a bustling outside bar just around the corner from the hotel. We had a very nice bottle of Rioja DOC wine for an astonishing 5 Euro.

Then, it was time for the late 11.30 pm Flamenco show at los gallos. I had high expectations, and Los Gallos far exceeded them. For two hours, the dancers dazzle you with the most powerful dancing we?ve ever witnessed. There are about 5 women dancers and one male dancer, plus singers and guitar players. Each dancer performs alone (with the singers/guitar), followed by the grand finale where they all dance together. If you?re going to Sevilla, then DO go to los Gallos. If you?ve been to Sevilla and haven?t been to los Gallos, then you had better return to see what you missed. It?s definitely worth the 27 Euro ticket. After the short 5 minute walk back to the hotel from the Plaza Santa Cruz, I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

LoveItaly

What a fantastic trip you are having!!!

I have a good friend who knows lives near me who was born and raised in Seville. When she visited her family there this summer she brought me back a beautiful book. My daughter bought her house from this beautiful lady and it has touches of Sevilla throughtout including the tile house numbers by the front door..

Will look forward to more reports. A happy journey to you.

artlover

Thank you so much for taking the time to post and share with us. Oh, I too LOVE Los Gallos. Hope you continue to have a great trip.

toni

Thanks Riffic for the post. I am eagerly reading about your trip, especially since we will be going next June and hoping to stay at the Amadeus. Do you know which would be the best standard double room? Another vote of thanks for putting in costs, etc. it is very helpful for my planning. More to come I hope.

Riffic

Day 2 ? (Sunday)

Today was the perfect lazy Sunday. Woke up at 11.30 (catching up on last week's sleep deprivation) to blue sky and 21 degrees C. Is it really November? The first item on the agenda was the famous Sunday outdoor animal market, which, like everything else happened to be 5 minutes away from the hotel This place was too packed for us. I've never seen so many humans and animals in one place at the same time. There were many random animals for sale. What could someone do with a duck in downtown Sevilla? And a Pigeon or a Rooster? Maybe they?re meant to be eaten?

After stopping at a cafe for a very late breakfast, we hit Starbucks (SW edge of the cathedral) so I could feed the addiction that started back in Washington, DC many moons ago. (Hopefully, the first Munich Starbucks will be open when we return next week). Outside of Starbucks, we met a very nice yorkie-accompanied lady, who mentioned she rents out a 1 BR apartment right around the corner from the cathedral. I took her name and number and we'll go visit it this week, bc I have a feeling we'll be making Sevilla an annual thing.

From Starbucks, we took a slow promenade west, passing la iglesia del Salvador, which is about when we hit the official ?downtown? of Seville, the mother of Seville's shopping districts. There are many great shops in this area, from Zara and Mango to designer boutiques. The best part is prices are much cheaper compared to Munich. The worst part is the wife intends to take full advantage of that tomorrow, Monday, when the shops open.

After a long stroll of window shopping, we headed back to the hotel and dropped off the pup for a nap. For lunch, I was in the mood for Paella (an influence from the days living back in Valencia?the quintessential venue for paella), and Hotel Amadeus recommended La Judería, located just around the corner from the hotel on Calle Cano y Cueta. We didn't see Paella on the menu (but I guess that doesn't mean they don't make it) and there was no free table, plus there was no outside seating (and it was the ideal day for sitting outside), so we decided to try our luck somewhere else. We ended up settling at one of the two restaurants in the heart of the Barrio Santa Cruz in Plaza Dona Elvira, which is probably not so famous for its food quality as its ambience. Really, this is a beautiful plaza that shouldn?t be missed for at least a drink or two on a warm sunny day, which we would learn the next day from Concepción Delgado is a heavily Moorish-influenced plaza. It has beautiful ceramic tiled benches, orange trees and a fountain, with restaurant tables lining the perimeter. Both restaurants serve Paella, but our first choice told us it was too late (3:15 pm), whereas the second choice said it was no problem. The Paella Valenciana was average, but the beer and sangria was very refreshing. We could have done better, but we could have done worse. The Paella was about 18 Euro for 2 people, with a liter of Sangria about 8 Euro, and a bowl of Gazpacho about 5.50 Euro.

Try to have a drink here if the weather is good.

After Lunch, we returned to the Hotel, where my wife Siesta?d for about two hours and I proceeded to work yet again. Afterwards, we walked the dog and stopped at another neighbourhood bar for a half bottle of Ribeiro del Duero bottle of red wine. By the time we finished, it was time to line of for the Flamenco dance put on by Casa de la Memoria?the production that takes place in the courtyard where the Hotel Alcántara is located (Tickets 11 Euro for a 50 minute show).

We felt really lucky go see this show, because it was the last performance for about 2 weeks, while they update the courtyard. The show starts at 9 pm, doors open at 8:30, but I recommend getting there at least 10 minutes before door opening, to get a good place in line. The setting is three ?horse-shoed? rows around a 7X7 foot MDF wood stage. Just about anywhere in the front row (except the extreme ends) is ideal, if you really want to feel the music.

Three phrases to contrast the La Memoria flamenco with Los Gallos is more spontaneous, informal and intimate. In contrast with the numerous dancers at Los Gallos, here there is only one dancer (female), plus only one singer (male) and only one guitar player (male). When the singer and guitar player come on stage, they looked like young kids still learning how to do this flamenco thing, but when they began to play and sing, we knew they were the real thing! And then there was the pleasant surprise that the dancer was the headliner from last evening?s performance at Los Gallos?probably the most desirable woman in Sevilla! Her husband (a cross between George clooney and Russel Crowe, according to my wife) and two daughters (3 and 8) were in the front row this evening. After the grand finale, the youngest ran onto the stage to hug her mother and even tried a few moves herself. It was great. This is another must-see, especially for 11 Euro.

After the show, we had dinner on the roof terrace of our hotel. We ate Jamon Iberico, Manchego queso, anchovy-stuffed Olivas (our favourite) and a Ribeiro del Duero wine. We were the only people on the roof terrace (Which I think remains open 24 hrs), and I highly recommend anyone staying at this hotel to do at least one dinner this way. Until 10 O?clock the cathedral is lit up, and the views are amazing.

After dinner, we returned to the room, where I had to do more work, but I took intermittent breaks to write this report

I know I am now two days behind, but after some more work this evening (it?s now 10:30 pm local), hopefully I can get a start on day 3.

Hasta luego

cigalechanta

OLÉ, gracias !

toni

Hey Riffic, you seem to be having such a fun and relaxing time. All your great information will be read and re-read avidly before our trip next year. Thanks again.

canuckuphereathome

Riffic..I can picture you tucked into the hall writing your diary. A few short weeks ago, we were in the room at the end of the hall to your right as you sit at the computer. One morning we had breakfast on the rooftop and I ran to get our camera from our room. I saw the door was ajar and knew we had locked it. As I gently opened the door, there was a strange man rifling in our closet. In a very brave, determined voice, I asked him what he was doing in my room. As the words were coming out of my mouth I was realizing that I was in the wrong room! My room was one floor down! I always looked for the computer after that.
I am very envious that you have seven full days in Seville! We had four and it was not enough. Keep the report coming...I'm enjoying it very much.

mamc

Riffic - it is such a pleasure to read your report! We were at the Amadeus in early October. The weather in Sevilla was much warmer at the time but everything else seems the same. We loved the rooftop terrace early in the evening when the sun was setting and after dark as well. I loved coming back to the room after a long day and hearing the music in the room. And a couple of evenings there was live piano music in the open lobby area. Our rooms were not small and we didn't notice noise because, except for the music, everything was very quiet. Sevilla is wonderful and your report brings back so many lovely memories.

SharonNRayMc

Riffic - thank you for sharing your trip. If you haven't had the "Taste of Seville", a chiffon-like orange creamy wonderfully light dessert, at Robles Placentines, add it to your list. They also serve an amazing marinated fish... adobo... something on the Spanish menu and "dogfish" on their English menu. The restaurant is listed in Maribel's Sevilla guide.

Good for you for finding Casablanca. We looked and looked for it, and couldn't track it down. (It rained the four days we spent in Seville, so perhaps we were 'rained out' and our eyes didn't spot the place.) Can you tell me some quick easy directions or landmarks in the area? I'd love to find it on a future trip. Maribel made it sound so good.

-Sharon

Riffic

Thanks to all for your great replies.

I'm glad you're enjoying it. I find that writing down things as they happen make details come much easier, which means that I write and write and write (wait for the write up about Casablanca dinner on Monday night)

@travginny, I totally agree with you about leaving the car out of Sevilla. We've taken our car to Prague and Florence, which were a bit of a challenge, but I wouldn't dare bring a car into Sevilla, at least into the Barrio Santa Cruz. Roads are so narrow that, at many street intersections, you cannot make a turn in a fluid motion, but instead have take a few stabs at it to get the car in the right position.

@toni, I wouldn't recommend our room if you like a quiet night's sleep. The door is paper thin (perhaps they are all like this) and with the open lobby immediately below and the internet computer outside of our door, you definitely can hear a lot going on in the common areas. Plus, it's quite small, but I suspect the other standard double rooms are the same size. Maribel says to avoid the ground floor, and I say try to avoid the first floor (we are in room 105), so see if there is a standard double on the second floor, which is the top floor except for the attic room on the 3rd floor.

@ canuck, lol, that's one of the best hotel stories I've ever heard!

@Sharon, thanks for the tip on Robles Placentines. Tomorrow is our last day. Our flight leaves at 17.30, so we'll be able to eat lunch here. I'll see if we can eat there. It may be a toss-up between that and eating boquerones at a repeat visit to Blanco Cerillo (see day 5, which is coming shortly).

Christina

hi Riffic, I enjoyed your report.

I went to Seville last Easter and stayed at the Hotel Amadeus and think the hotel was quite noisy myself and probably wouldn't stay there again for that reason--well, I would if I made sure I did not get a room on the first floor (definitely wouldn't take ground). I did like the folks and the rooms were nice enough. I didn't even know about the roof terrace, I don't think, although the weather was not that great anyway when I was there -- it was raining a lot.

I thought my room was 105, also (it was blue, a double superior), but maybe not. It was a superior but was very noisy because it was right next to the service room and the maids started banging stuff around in there very early in the morning (a LOT). That room is right behind the bathroom in the room I was in (it was called Brahms, as I recall -- I know one of my favorite composers). It wasn't super small though, so maybe a lot of the rooms on that first floor are noisy. The door was extremely thin and even had a crack or something in it where the panel was separated from the door which let in more noise (and wasn't really that secure, but I wasn't too worried about that). It was very noisy because I think this is mentioned in Rick Steves and a lot of noisy and inconsiderate Americans would gather around that railing at various times of day and talk in very loud voices. ON top of that, the guy in the lobby played music quite loudly (and it echoed due to the structure) at all times of the day and night until rather late. You couldn't take a nap, for example, very well, if you wanted to in the afternoon. NOw I admit it was nice music and I like classical, but I didn't like it that they played it a lot at all hours and sometimes I didn't want to hear it.

IN short, it was a nice hotel for the rate level (and I loved the soft sheets best), and I thought the managers were very nice, but I would never accept a room on that first floor again.

Riffic

Christina,

Our experience and impression of the hotel is a lot like yours, including your comments about the staff and paino player. Our room is the one immediately outside of the elevator, which is surprisingly a very quiet elevator--we never know when it's moving. Our door also has a crack in the same location as the door in your room, so perhaps it's an epidemic.

Sharon, I forgot to give directions to Casablanca....

The easiest way to reach the Casablana is to go the La Plaza Nueva (the plaza with Ferdinand riding the horse, located to the left of the Cathedral on the map). Walk the opposite direction the horse is facing and leave the Plaza with the horse to your back and over your right shoulder (bottom right of the plaza, according to any standard map). In about 75 or 100 meters, that street intersects at an obtuse angle with C/ Zaragoza, which is right where the Casablanca is located. The entrance is small and it?s located right at a point where the street makes a left hand bend, so it?s easy to miss.

Riffic

Day 3 (Monday)
Another very late night of working in front of the computer meant that I didn?t pull my head off the pillow until 10:30 a.m., which wasn?t ideal because we were scheduled to meet Concepcion Delgado in the Plaza Nueva at 11:30 a.m. for a 2 hour walking tour. We had just enough time to snag a Starbucks muffin and coffee to go, on the way to the tour, so we showed up 2 minutes late looking like the standard clueless American couple who doesn?t know how to enjoy any culture other than American ;-) . The weather was the same as yesterday, sunny and warm. There were 9 of us in the group.

The walking tour is pretty good and worth your time. It covers a relatively small area, but you get a lot of in depth coverage by Concepcion. You start at Plaza Nueva, head to the shopping district along C/ Sierpes, then double back towards the Cathedral and end up moving through the Barrio Santa Cruz, before finishing just outside of the Alcazar. Price is 10 Euro, but if you book all 3 tours (Cathedral and Alcazar in addition, all 3 cost 19 Euro).

After the walking tour, we dropped a tired Pup back at the hotel and headed to a so-called tapas bar around the corner from our hotel, called Modesto, on C/ Cano y Cueto 5. This is listed in Maribel?s file as a recommended Santa Cruz sea food restaurant, and when we arrived, the covered outside seating was full (a good sign), so we put our name on the list and happily waited about 15 minutes. From my vantage point, Modesto does not serve tapas, but the list of seafood on the menu is extensive. We started with a bowl of Salmoneja, which I think is the staple Andalucian soup when Gazpacho is out of season. They were out of the Coquinas, so we opted instead for the larger Almenjas, which were very good. We also split a plato de Calamaris Fritos and they, too, were good. Overall, it was an enjoyable meal, but one of the more expensive meals we had, given the quantity we ate there, so we would return to other restaurants before Modesto (which we did). But at 40 Euro including drinks, who?s complaining?

After a bit of a Siesta, which meant I worked and the wife napped, we headed back to C/ Sierpes area for some shopping. Sparing you with the details, this takes us to 9 o?clock, which meant dinner reservations in the dining room at Casablanca.

Casablanca in the dining room is a much different experience than eating tapas in the front bar. For one, you cannot order tapas in the dining room, as there is a separate dinner menu. Although seating is pretty tight, it is much more personal and quiet than in the front, with a door separating you from the chaos.

The quality of food Casablanca turns out of its tiny kitchen is mind-blowing. This has to be one of the biggest bang-for-your-buck kitchens in Sevilla. As an aperitif, we started with a Manzanilla, which was fine although I?m not a big manzanilla fan. As for wine, our waiter recommended their wine of the week, which was a young Rioja, which cost about 12.50 Euro. If you know what a Rioja tastes like, this one doesn?t taste like that. It was very soft and understated, with cherry flavors. Bottom line, it was a good recommendation, especially for the price.

As a starter, I had the Coquinas al ajillo and the wife had . These were the best Coquinas my palate has ever tasted. For those who haven?t eat them before, they?re baby clams that are steamed until their shells open, and for ajillo style, they?re broiled in a spicy garlic oil. They way you eat them is to pick them up and suck on the clam until it dislodges from the shell. Don?t be bashful! And when the Coquinas are done, there?s plenty of oil left for bread dipping . Oh yeah, wife had avocado stuffed with shrimps covered in a aioli sauce. Good, but in my (biased) opinion, not as good as the coquinas. For the main course, we had lamp chops and stuffed calamaris in their ink. My chops were a bit lean, but the calamaris were great, once you got past there very thick blanket of ink sauce.

Dessert was one of those experiences where you wished you save the bread from the main course for dipping. We had something like a crème caramel, which was accompanied by a yellow sauce which was some of the best crème caramel we?ve eaten in a long time. The other dessert was a lemon cheese cake and I think it was the best dessert I?ve ever tasted. If you only order one dessert from Casablanca, this one should be it. And to think each of these desserts costs less than 4 Euro! All told, our bill was between 70 and 75 Euro and was worth probably twice that amount. When we left, around 10:30 or 11:00 pm, the bar was so packed, you could barely get outside. This place is our favorite eatery in Sevilla.

To get a table at Casablanca, I recommend going there for tapas on one day, and then make a reservation in person for a later night, which is what we did. Reservations are a must, and you often need to book two days in advance to get a table for dinner.

Riffic

Day 4 ? (Tuesday)

Like the other mornings, this morning was a late start, given all of the working into the wee hours of the night before, even though this is supposed to be a vacation. Our first agenda item was a late breakfast on the way to the Plaza de Espana. We found a place still serving breakfast (noon) at La Puerta de Jerez. Two cafes con leche, 2 OJ and a chocolate croissant. From there, it was a 15 walk to the Plaza de Espanya, which, despite the current facelift it is receiving, is definitely worth a visit. There are renovations ongoing through at least spring, which means in addition to the scaffolding and blockades, the water moat (over which four bridges connect you to the building) has not water. The large center fountain is still flowing. The huge horseshoe-shaped palatial-looking structure sitting on the Plaza was built in the 1920?s for the world exhibition (or whatever that famous event is called that happened to Sevilla in 1927), and it now is the home of many government offices. The architecture style is a mixture of Roman and Moorish influence, which basically means a lot of brick and arches, with many colored ceramic tiles. On the way back to the hotel, we passed through the gardens bordering the Alcazar, along C/ Menendez Pelayo.

Lunch today was La Taberna del Alabardero, on C/ Zaragoza 50, about 2 blocks down from Casablanca. As you will read from other trip reports, this hotel has a restaurant that, during lunchtime, is the venue of a prominent Sevilla cooking/dining school doing on-the-job training. We read about the 12 Euro prix fix menu de degustacion and this is why we went.

Today, the restaurant exceeded our expectations. For 11.90 Euro (tax included), you get your choice of about 5 starters, 5 desserts and one fish or meat main dish in between. My Roquefort bleu cheese paté salad was to die for (I was too in love with this to remember what my wife ate!), and the ?lasagna? style lamb was a very unique presentation and also delectable. For dessert, the wife had a homemade chocolate torta and I had the tiramisu, which was made in the most unique way I?ve ever seen: the lady finger bread part was swimming in a sweet cream milk sauce, with cocoa/espresso on top and cubes or caramel gelatin accompaniments. This was the best tiramisu we?ve ever tated. Espressos rounded of the meal, which with a few glasses of 1.50 EURO Rioja house wine came to less than 35 Euro.

This is the part where the day gets boring. After lunch, I had to work, so I grabbed the laptop from the hotel and we walked back to C / Sierpes where the wife shopped and I parked out at a cafe, mixing work with Cruzcampo and Rioja. This lasted for about 2 hours.

After dropping the laptop off at the hotel, we headed across the Puente de Isabel II into Triana in search of Ceramica. We visited the various shops mentioned in Maribel?s file, but came up empty. On the way back to the hotel, we swung by a Carneceria I had scoped out earlier that day during Siesta time, and we wanted to pick up some high quality Jamon Iberico. According to our receipt, this small meat shop is called Carnicas Almansa (but outside, all I saw was a Carniceria sign), which is located at Plaza de Alfalfa 1 (near the Super Sol grocery store). This is the plaza where the Sunday pet market is located. The butcher happily talked us into the 5J jamon (the pata negra hams are rated from 1 to 5 Js). From what I have read, the more Js means the higher percentage of the pig diet is black acorns. Supposedly 5J jamon is from a pig having 100% acorn diet. This stuff ain?t cheap, costing 100 Euro per kilo, so the rather small amount (good for a nice snack) cost 11 Euro. As we would later find out, it was well worth it. We also picked up some aged Manchego cheese, our favorite cheese, for a rather reasonable price, considering its quality.

For dinner, I wanted to try a Galician Bar (called something like ?Il Gallego?) we earlier encountered in the shopping district, located in a side street around the corner from Pans & Company, and about 20 meters from the Cortes Ingles that sells Cds and electronics. I wish we hadn?t strayed from the recommendations we had read about earlier. This place wasn?t bad, but it wasn?t remarkable either. We picked a Galician restaurant based on a great experience in the Barri Gothic of Barcelona 2 years ago, but this locale did not seem authentically Galician. Most notably, the Ribeiro Blanco wine was not served in the traditional white porcelain glass. Seafood was the most abundant fare, but there were no Coquinas The ensaladilla Rusa starter was a bit heavy on the mayo and we had calamaris fritos again (average) and Almejas al marinero, which were also average. I would recommend spending your lunch and dinner hours elsewhere.

Riffic

Day 5 (Wednesday).

Woke up at 10:30 a.m. after working until 4 a.m. the previous night, so this doesn?t really qualify as sleeping in. We got out of the hotel at 11:30 and had breakfast at one of our local haunts, Carmelo, which is just around the corner from the hotel. 2 café con leches, 2 fresh squeezed OJs and two homemade toasted bread rolls for 8 Euro. The weather is amazing, sunny and probably 23 degrees, so we just sit there and soak up the sun for 30 minutes or so.

After the late breakfast, we dropped off Pup back at the hotel. We decided to visit the Cathedral without a guide, given that I had to do some last-minute work yesterday, when we had planned to go with Concepcion.

I probably cannot add much to the description of the cathedral, as much has been said about it before. Yes, it?s huge and it?s probably best to go there with a guide to make it more meaningful. The layout is much different than in St. Paul?s cathedral, for example, it?s hard to get your bearings once inside. Signs said no flash photos, but I think I was the only one not using a flash!

A climb up the cathedral tower is a must-do, and it?s quite easy, given that there are no steps, but a ramp. On our walking tour, Concepcion told us that the ramp was used in lieu of steps so that people could take their horses to the top, because they would be praying at the top multiple times per day. We were able to make out the rooftop of the Hotel Amadeus from the top of the tower.

After descending the cathedral, it was, according to the wife, shoe shopping time. After visiting more shoe stores than I care to count on C/ Sierpres and its outstretches, we decided to head to a vintage tapas bar for lunch, which I had read about on the internet, called Blanco Cerillo, located on Calle Juan Velilla, a side street off C/ Velazquez Tetuan, just around the corner from 1 of the three Zara clothing stores. This street is about 5 streets ?to the left? of Plaza Nueva and runs perpendicular to the river.

Put this tapas bar at the top of your list, if you want excellent tapas in a very informal (some might even call it downright dirty) setting, where locals outnumber tourists 10 to 1. There are about 5 tables outside, but you?d be very lucky to snag one, so if you?d like to sit, go early for lunch or wait around and be aggressive. Inside, which is where we ate, the bar is stainless steel, the cash register is from 1940 and you get the feeling that the men behind the bar founded this place. The place is as crowded and the floor is as dirty as the tapas are good!

The Boquerones en vinagre (sardines deep fried in oil and vinegar) are the specialty, and they are stellar, if you?re into that type of stuff. Even if you?re not into it, just order one and try, because all tapas here cost a paltry 1.20 Euro. Staple drinks cost 80 cents (Beer and tinto de verano). In addition to the boquerones tapas, we had tortilla campisera (basically a potato egg tortilla, which was the best one we?ve ever tried to date), calamaris fritos (also excellent), and Ensaladilla Rusa - a tuna salad with mayonnaise, which was above average (this is our favorite tapa, re-discovered two years ago in Marbella). So, for 5 tapas and 4 drinks, we were stuffed?all for 9.60 Euro. I will definitely try to come back here before we leave.

After stuffing ourselves, we headed back to the hotel, stopping at a shop near out hotel that is rumored to sell good olive oils. I can really recommend this place, which seems to have reasonably priced olive oil and wines, despite being situated so close to the cathedral. We chose two unfilitered extra virgin olive oils and a 1999 bottle or Rioja, Montequinto, which we immediately proceeded to uncork upon reaching the hotel, and after letting her breathe about a half hour, drank the bottle atop the roof terrace under a sun umbrella. Not a bad wine, especially for about 6 Euro. I do not know the name of the store, but it is on C/ Mateas Gago (a big street leaving the Cathedral going towards the hotel Amadeus) just across the street from the bar called Belmonte.

toni

This site is a blast, isn't it? Blanco Cerillo here we come, thanks Riffic!