sevilla part II

After Metro Parasol we hit Bar Alfalfa (again) for a beer and stopped into a few boutiques.  Marco picked up a great button down (chambray-ish, wooden buttons) and I couldn't pass up a few pair of shorts that I undoubtedly will not be able to wear (English summer) until we go to Sardinia in June.

That night I made dinner reservations at a restaurant that kept popping up while researching eating establishments for the trip.  It was away from the central part of the city.  Being a Monday night I wasn't expecting a packed restaurant but I wasn't expecting an empty one either - I loathe!   We decided on the eight course tasting menu with wine pairings and as the solo couple in the place, we had excellent service.  Course after course the wine kept flowing and I gradually focused conversation more and more on the amazing restaurant decor.  I grew obsessed with the polished concrete floors and a glass walled wine cellar with strategically placed dimmed spotlights.  (Most times Marco indulges me in home decor brainstorm chats and luckily for me this was one of those nights.) 

After dinner we went to a Moroccan shisha bar in Barrio de Santa Cruz.  Again the only customers there, Marco joked that I had planned this night as a “The Bachelor” style date aka no other humans in sight.  Lounging on over-sized pillows with hookah and herbal tea was a great way to end the night.

The next day we blocked out the first part of the day to tour the Alcázar.  Built in the 10th century by the Moors as a fort, the palace is still used by the royal family as the official residence of Sevilla.  Like many palaces with extensive gardens, you could spend all day exploring.  I’m a huge fan of Moorish architecture – scalloped archways, crazy intricate stone and wood carvings, and most of all the TILE WORK.  We toured (and got lost) in the rooms of the palace and then made our way to the gardens where we let our English, sun-deprived skin just sit and bask.

That afternoon we headed over to the neighborhood of San Lorenzo to the upscale tapas bar Eslava.  This place is beloved by locals and tourists alike.  We were lucky enough to get a table outside.  We ordered sangria and started perusing the menu.  The restaurant is renowned for several of it’s award winning tapas. One particular dish that stood out (won best tapa in Sevilla en Boca de Todos 2010): a slow-cooked egg atop a boletus mushroom cake plated on a duo of sauces - mushroom cream and caramel sea-salt sauce.  It was so amazing we had to order another.  It was a "I will remember this dish for the rest of my life" moment. Eslava was a true eating experience and a highlight of the trip. 

After lunch I told Marco that no trip to Sevilla is complete without a visit to El Corte Inglés.  We had fun exploring the massive Spanish department store's elaborate food hall.  The Feria de Abril gear was out in full force. Flamenco dresses!  What is it about those dresses that makes every girl want to drop $900 on one knowing full well they would wear it just a handful of occasions?

We ended the trip with a night at one of my favorite bars of the city, La Carbonería.  Hard to find, the bar is tucked away in the narrow streets behind The Cathedral.  It is an intimate flamenco bar with rotating exhibits showcasing local artists, and one of the only flamenco bars that doesn't charge entry.  University students and tourists sit shoulder to shoulder at long communal tables.  It is a loud and bustling place until the performers take the stage at which point the crowd goes silent and watches the dancer, singer, and guitarist bare their souls.  It was the perfect way to end the weekend celebrating the beginning of Marco's thirty-third year.