Nobal Glomad

Strolling Sevilla’s narrow cobbled streets in the crisp evening hours of winter hugging November, I double wrap my four-sheep woollen scarf, exhaling clouds of  fairy floss-like breath. The mist forms perfect halos above winding rows of beautiful four-tiered street lamps. This charming town returns post tourist season to a place for the local. Each passing bar offers a social late hour invitation to you and your neighbours. It would be rude to not drop by for one or maybe two pre-home cheeky ones.

In the peaking 40C summer bake I’d be scrambling from shady palm tree to orange grove. These are beautiful additions of green to sidewalks in the cooler months, but having to run to avoid a midday bake? Coming from a beached city with some the world’s finest only 10 minutes from my front door, the idea of having to shower, close the shutters or jump in the fridge for some sanity is not my idea of the perfect summer locale. Sevilla… perfect for 9 months of the year.

I opted to late lunch like a true Spaniard at street cornered Taberna Coloniales, specialising in not-fussy Andalucian fare. Salmorejo con Atún is my new wallet photo’d tapas favourite. A big slab of toasted bread drizzled in olive oil, dripping in thick Salmorejo, a local heavy on the garlic gazpacho with the consistency of a good hommus all topped with layered slices of fall apart rich indigo cured tuna. A few smaller tapas of vinegar swimming carrot salad, assorted slow roasted pimientos and whale-sized anchovies washed down with a light and fruity vino. Thank god I left room for dessert.

Back down the road is 1885 opened La Campana with endless embellished Victorian windows of wrapped chocolate, syrup soaked cakes, cream puffed calories and sugar iced surprises. Step back 50 years and the only thing missing would be the computerised Coffee-everything machine. I love the standing bar culture of Europe. It removes the time slog formality of sit, when all you really want is to devour the plate of sweet, inject the caffeine and get back to it.

The Sevilla Cathedral (The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See) complex is an endless factory of iconography, carving and lead-light. It’s a jumble sale’d mix of styles. I plugged in and pressed my audio guide from 1 to 50 stop points. The Chapter Room’s ornate floor and domed ceiling are well worth the pause… I enjoyed watching other visitors’ faces as they entered the space with mouth’s agape. The spiralling step-less ascent to the bell tower is, I guess wheelchair friendly but you’d want the arms of Schwarzenegger to conquer the peak. It’s well worth the cardio for a better sense of the city. At the top I nearly wet myself when the 1/2 hour bell sounded – perhaps a warning sign would help avoid heart attacks.

The reality of Sevilla is that when you step away from the audio guide most people, particularly in the south, don’t speak more than a few words of English. Lazy? I say it is… the laziness of a naive and lazy education system. In Spain they don’t seem to have created the need for bi-lingual schooling outside the bustle of Madrid or tourist capital Barcelona.

My point is far from one of arrogance. Is English the answer? No. There isn’t a single element is the answer to Spain’s economic crisis, but it is a sign of a backwaters education system. It is important for a culture to hold onto it’s traditions, values and sense of place but at the same time ignorance as to the change of the global marketplace is something that will, in the long run lead to isolation in trade, exchange and EU evolution.

But I digress… back to the charms of Sevilla. Renting an apartment in the old town was a much needed 5 day nest and close to some superfine pit-stops. Three tapas bars downstairs and a rockstar delicatessen with plum-sized stuffed olives and a slaughter room full of cured dripping Jambon Iberico.

My favourite architectural moment would have to be Plaza de España smack bang in the centre of Maria Luisa Park. It was designed by Aníbal Gonzálezfor for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 to show off Spain’s latest developments in technology and industry. The curvaceous frontage is a rather smart mix of Art Deco and Neo-Mudéjar styles with some Venetian inspired bridges (minus the gondolas) joining to the central paved Piazza.

As for her lasting impression? The appeal of Sevilla sings the story of a perfectly harmonised city. Don’t just tick-list the sights. Take the time to stay and connect with a slower paced Spanish urban destination that is more about meeting the people than buildings and boutique hotels… a welcome difference.