La Casa de Pilatos

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The breakfast room is full, but the lights with the motion sensors still go on and off at regular intervals. I think that they need put up some signs telling people that they need to keep moving while they're having breakfast. I'm not sure the alternative of putting up signs telling people that they're not allowed to move at all would be all that practical.

First stop today is La Casa de Pilatos which is about a ten minute walk from the hotel through some very narrow and windy streets. We read that this palace was built in the early 16th century as the residence for the Mayor of Andalusia. It's now in private ownership and serves as the permanent residence of the Dukes of Medinaceli. I'm not too sure who they are; there seem to be quite a few obscure dukes in Spain. The name La Casa de Pilatos arose from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land by the founder's son, who became the second owner of the palace. After he came back from his pilgrimage, he established a tradition of people walking the Holy Way of the Cross during Lent in Seville, from a chapel in the palace, to a pillar in a field just outside the city walls. The distance along this route was supposedly exactly the same as the distance from Pontius Pilate's palace in Jerusalem to Calvary. Much of this impressive structure has been built in the Moorish or Mudejar style, with the customary spread of courtyards, restful gardens, fountains and arches. Later sections are in gothic and other styles, and there's a good supply of Roman statues on display.

We've noticed that the ice blocks that they put in drinks in Spain are enormous. Two ice blocks fill a glass. This is good for keeping your drinks cool, but it makes them a bit hard to get to. The ice blocks we get in our drinks at lunch today are the usual enormous size. Issy can't get any of her Coke Zero out from under the ice blocks in her glass so she needs to wait for them to melt. I try to eat one of mine just to get it out of the way, but it won't fit in my mouth.

We're hot and tired so we decide to pass on any afternoon activities and go back to the hotel for a swim. It should be just a few minutes walk away. We walk in what we think is the right direction, but none of what is around us looks very familiar. We try to see the Giralda Tower to get our bearings, but the streets are too narrow and the buildings are too high. I leave Issy standing on a street corner trying to decipher the rudimentary map that came with the hop on hop off bus tickets, while I try to find somewhere that I might be able to see the Tower from. I walk a long way. I find a small park, but it's got too many trees and not enough open areas for me to be able to see over the adjacent buildings. I walk some more. I climb an overpass, and from there I can just see the very top of the Tower. I walk back to the street corner that I left Issy on, or at least I try to, but I've walked so far that I can't remember where it is. By the time I get back I've been gone for a long time and Issy isn't happy. She tells me that she was about to give up on me and catch a taxi back to the hotel, but then realised that I hadn't left her any money. On the way back to the hotel we see a Japanese restaurant that serves raw fish, and Issy tells me that because I made her wait so long we're coming here for dinner. I'm not brave enough to disagree. She starts drooling and is now happy again. I hope we can re-find the restaurant.

We go for a swim in the pool on the roof of the hotel. The view is good but there's not much shade, and it's still over 40 degrees.

We visit the Metropol Parasol to watch the sunset. We read that this was completed in 2009, and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. It's built as six parasols in the shape of mushrooms. It's apparently very controversial amongst Sevillians due to both its appearance and the huge cost overruns that were incurred during its construction. We reach the viewing platform about a minute before the sun goes down. It's certainly a very different sort of structure. It looks quite spectacular, but doesn't quite seem to fit with the very old buildings that surround it. Entry is only three Euros per person, and for that you also get a free drink. The free drink must be something really spectacular if the length of the queue waiting to get it is anything to go by.

Issy is determined to eat some raw fish. We decide that we'll go back to the hotel and look at a map to try to track down the Japanese restaurant that we saw earlier, but as we leave the Metropol Parasol we spot a Japanese restaurant in the same square. Issy looks at the menu, sees that it includes raw fish, and starts drooling again. She looks like she's about to drown in drool. She orders a plate with fifteen pieces of sashimi on it. The waitress asks her twice whether she'll be sharing it with me. Issy doesn't know the Spanish for "it's all for me", but the waitress seems to get the message. I think I might be in real danger of getting stabbed with a chopstick if I try to get anywhere near her plate.

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Comments

[COG]

La Casa de Pilatos looks very pretty and I'm glad Issy finally got her sashimi!