Not knowing two weeks ago, when I packed my bag, that this kind of temperature was possible in May, even in southern Spain, I have no shorts and no sandals and no hat. It is HOT. H O T. The perfect setup for dehydration, temper flares, and meltdowns. In Salamanca this morning, though, it was so chilly that I got my jacket out of the trunk.
We had a four hour drive today to Sevilla. We got into territory where there is a type of agricultural area called dehesa. It is mostly large swaths of grassy, rolling hills, dotted by random oak and cork trees, and is where they raise bulls for the ring (also pigs, for jamon). According to Wikipedia (thanks, Jorge, for the link), they also raise other kinds of things like mushrooms.
places for people who are there to do other things besides buying gas.
We stopped in Plasencia at a grocery store to buy bread, meat, and cheese for sandwiches along the way. Before that, though, we had coffee at a nearby bar called El Diario (the newspaper). It was decorated with historic front pages of newspapers from all over. The main theme seemed to be disasters of all sorts - Kennedy's assassination, 9/11, the Madrid train bombing, D-Day, Hitler invading Poland, etc., etc. I said it should be called Bad News Bar.
Soon we got into olive tree country. I don't know why this came as such a surprise to me, but the leaves of olive trees are actually a very distinct shade of olive green. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to get a picture of either the dehesa area or an olive grove. It kept getting hotter and hotter as we drove along - and I got a little nervous when we passed exit 666 (no lie). When we arrived in Santiponce, the temp had reached the predicted 38C. Great.
When we checked into the hotel, I gave the reception guy my passport (as I have had to do at every stop). He asked me why it said "We the People" on it, and I explained that it was the first part of the US Constitution, something every school child has to memorize. (I also heard another hotel guy tell Jorge that I had a beautiful passport - it's the new one with the colored pages and photos throughout. I've never had my passport be a topic of conversation before). We then drove into Seville to see the Real Alcazar. Its Moorish architecture, with all of the stone carvings, and tilework, was gorgeous.
After photographing everything from every possible angle, we headed back to the car. We still had time left on our parking and no desire to walk any further, so we got popsicle-type bars and ate them, then headed back to Santiponce for a break from the heat. We met back up at 7:30 to see Italica, the archeological park right across the street from our hotel. It contains the ruins of a number of Roman houses, with many floors of inlaid tiles still in place. The best was the floor in the House of Birds.
What I most wanted to see, though, was the Roman coliseum. We were able to walk inside, even going into the chambers under what used to be the seats - an incredible feeling. Our voices echoed in the circle just like others must have done centuries ago.
Afterward, tired and sore, I opted for no dinner and an early bedtime. The whirlwind moves on tomorrow to Cordoba.
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