Highlights of the Week

Here are some of the past week's highlights for me:

Saturday - tapas at the vinoteca at the corner of the Plaza Santa Ana, especially the amazing foie gras with caramelized apple on toast. Looking out at the amazing hotel that borders the square on the other side:




Sunday - strolling through the Las Letras neighborhood in the afternoon, having ice-cream in the wonderful heladería behind the Plaza Santa Ana and ending the day with dinner at "La Gloria de la Montera" near Paddy's hotel.



Monday - lunch at the Reina Sofia museum and sheltering from the rain while watching "Duplicity" in the evening.

Tuesday - arriving in Seville to find the city bathed in glorious sunshine, wandering through the gardens at twilight, savoring Paddy's reaction to the beauty of the city. Watching the swallows by moonlight over the cathedral garden.

Wednesday - Hearing that both Paddy's grant applications had been approved, in the amount that she had hoped for. Wandering through sunny Sevilla, sampling the ice-cream in various locations. Admiring the colorful recycling bins, and recoiling at the hideous furniture displays:





Thursday - Shopping for artwork in the morning by the Alcazar. Finding the perfect nazarenos to add to my friend Joyce's collection back in San Francisco. Taking the high-speed AVE back from Sevilla to Madrid, watching the sheep in the fields as we went by, wondering which one provided the milk for our favorite cheese. Knowing the route back to the hotel better than the acne-pitted taxi-driver.



Friday - Sleeping until 10:30. Visiting the Prado and finding it nicely uncrowded. Spotting a distinctly identifiable jackalope in one of the 16th century Flemish paintings (possibly the earliest traceable sighting, certainly in the old world). Picnicking on gourmet cheeses and Serrano ham from the best acorn-fed pigs in the apartment with Paddy.