July 22 Seville

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Sevilla is a town made for walking - it's flat and all the cool stuff is within a couple of square kilometers. Unfortunately there's one small fly in the ointment: it's hot! Today we did what is reputed to be reserved for mad dogs and Englishmen. We went out in the noonday sun. We walked through Parque Maria Luisa (very green, very lush, very pleasant) to the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs and the Archaeological Museum which face each other and are housed in two buildings that were built as part of the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition. Two very beautiful buildings. Already it was starting to get pretty hot. At both museums they declined to charge us admission, nominally because some of the exhibits were being repaired, but most likely because it was too hot to make change.

The Museum of Popular Arts and Customs had a very nice display of early china, pottery, lace, swords, guns, and agricultural and iron working implements. Also wonderful wooden furniture from the end of the 19th century and a selection from the Diaz Velazquez collection of lace and embroidery. This was Linda's favorite part. The lace was hand woven although looms were used for the big pieces rather than the traditional technique. Either way it is incredibly intricate work and would take forever.The embrodery was also very lovely and most of it was on table linens.

The Archaeological Museum had a nice collection of artifacts from Stone Age to Gothic. Our favourite was a tile depiction of two tigers pulling a chariot. Obviously the artist did not have cats.

On the way home we got a little turned around and turned a 25 minute walk into more like an hour. The temperature gauge on a big billboard read 39 degrees, but it felt more like 45. It was now dead in the middle of siesta time, and even in the shade there was no shade. There was a good wind blowing, but even that didn't help. By the time we found our favorite ice cream and beer cafe (guess which we had), we were so hot and tired that it was only the promise of a siesta in our very well air-conditioned room that pried us out of those chairs.

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Photos

bougainvillea T
We saw this lovey bougainvillea growing up a terrace on our walk throught the park to the mueseum

lace weaving
This is the traditional device used to weave lace. It looks difficult to me but the end results are lovely

Lace shawl
Just one example of the many pieces in the collection

umbrella stand
Jim is convinced that this lovely pot is really an umbrella stand

The Museum of Popular Arts and Customs
Between the two buildings is this great reflecting pool

Square head
We are not sure but think this head was designed to hold up something. Perhaps not the most interesting piece in the gallery but no flash was allowed so this picture turned out best.