Monday, June 20, 2011

Sad to leave Seductive Seville!























The flamenco dancing last Sunday night (13th) was truly amazing. The small room was full upstairs and down. We sat on chairs and were provided with a free drink as we watched (sangria for us - surprise, surprise)! There were two guitarists and three singers - all male, taking turns so that there were three on the stage at a time. They played and sang soulful music as a dancer came down the stairs and began to dance. We couldn't understand a word but the general gist ofi it seemed mournful and probably about unrequited love. There were two male dancers and four female. My favourites were one of the men, in a black suit and bright red shirt, who was absolutely amazing as he swirled round and round in dizzying circles and a woman performer who wore a white flamenco dress (maybe she was a bride) and a purple shawl with which she performed fantastic moves. She also seemed happier than the others! As a finale all the dancers, guitarists and singers came on the stage to perform together - fabulous!
Later we drank cava with yet another wonderful meal followed by an icecream at one of the many heladios.

Monday 14th was our last day in Seville and we went for a very long walk trying to cram in anything we might have missed seeing before. We also caught the tram to the end of the line and back again - a long bendy tram. It was fun. We had tapas and red wine for lunch and tapas and sangria for dinner! We find that if we choose three tapas each we get a good selection and for dessert we usually indulge in one scoop of icecream at the icecream shop!

On Tuesday morning Mr B collected our hired car, an Opel Astra, and we said a sad farewell to Seville, definitely our favourite place so far. We really loved its narrow winding cobbled paths, outdoor cafes, low flying bats (yes, bats flying so low we sometimes had to duck), delightful restaurants and little boutiques.

We headed for Faro in the Algarve in Portugal just after lunchtime. Wow, this was another gem. What a stunning place. The houses on the hillsides were whitewashed with orange roofs until we reached a new little area of condomoniums which were all different pastel colours - so pretty amongst all the white ones. We went for an explore and discovered a little cafe where I finally had a good coffee - wowee! The hotel where we stayed for one night was not quite up to the standard of the others and my sleep was not good with a lumpy pillow and airconditioning that was either too hot or too cold. However, breakfast was supplied and the delightful surroundings more than made up for it.

We have also discovered pastel de natas (Portuguese tarts) - oh wow, they are just to-die-for - melt-in-the mouth morsels of egg custard in very flaky pastry with a crispy top - divine! Before leaving Faro we walked through the marketplace to check out all the different varieties of seafood, fruit and veges etc. After packing up we headed for Praia da Gale, a fantastic beach near Albufeira. Here we both had a swim in the Atlantic Ocean. It was cool and refreshing and just lovely to find such a beautiful spot for a break on the drive to Lisbon, where we are staying for the next five nights.

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