11 Hours Out in Seville

Friday, May 26, 2017--Seville

Sirens, blaring sounds, and honking horns awoke us this morning at 8:00.  As I stayed in bed trying to go back to sleep, but hindered by the continuing noise, I began to wonder what was happening.  Could there have been a nuclear attack and the sirens and blaring sounds a part of a warning system?  Could there have been a terrorist attack?  Eventually, there were chanting sounds, too.  That's when we realized that a demonstration was occurring.  We still do not know what the purpose of it was, but it lasted about two hours nearby.  Maybe it has to do with the anniversary of the end of WWI.  Maybe it was against the EU regulations that keep requiring Spain to tighten its budget.  Whatever it was, it was loud and long, and we just had to go ahead and get up.

When we finally left the room around 10:30, we walked across the street to see the building that was the centerpiece of the old world's fair and is known as the Plaza de Espana.  It is currently a military headquarters, but it is open to the public in the mornings.  We had already seen and heard a military guard as the flags were raised earlier.  Although there were guards and a military display inside the building, it was the architecture of the building itself that interested us.  We walked through taking photos of the ceilings, the general design, etc.

From there, we walked across town to the Museo de Bellas Artes.  The guidebook said it was the second most important art museum in Spain (after the Prado in Madrid).  We spent at least 2 hours there seeing the exhibits, but were a bit disappointed.  Too much of what was displayed was religious art.  I know that painters in the 1500s and 1600s weren't really allowed to paint anything else for the most part, but seeing a major museum with 90% of the paintings covering the same old topics that we have seen in other museums and in churches along the way was a bit of a bore.  Yes, the quality of the paintings was great, but still, how many versions of Christ being crucified, of the Virgin Mary with child, of John the Baptist baptizing Christ, etc., can one see before it becomes boring?

From there, we walked to a nearby square where Bus 13 would leave to give us an American experience.  It took us to one of the two Costco stores that exist in Spain--one that is closing this next week on May 30. (The other store is in Madrid, and I do not know if it is closing, too.  But Costco had plans to open 3 stores--one here, one in Madrid, and one in Barcelona.  Barcelona never opened.  Now this one is closing.  My guess is that the poor economy of Spain, plus Brexit have led to a plan to exit the whole country eventually.) 

We had Costco hot dogs with drinks, then shared a slice of Costco pizza.  Then we walked through the whole store enjoying samples and seeing what they sold that was different from at home.  What's strange is that the food court was packed solid when we arrived around 14:15.  The store, however, was mostly empty and remained that way; therefore, people were probably entering the food court which doesn't require a membership to eat cheaply and then leaving without shopping.  We asked a food sample server about the store closing, and she knew nothing about it, but the website clearly states that it is closing on May 30.

Some of the observations:  Most of the clothing was known brands at a high price.  Maybe Spaniards only want the known brands and are willing to pay for them.  There were wonderful quality food choices from all over Europe.  Over half the items were the same ones that can be bought in the US.  The hot dogs with a drink cost 1.25 Euros--just about the same price as in the US.  Also they had the rotisserie  chickens were 4.99 Euros--just slightly more than in the US, but half the price of what I have seen them at supermarkets.  So those are loss leaders like in the US to get people into the stores.

Back in town, the plaza where we got off the bus had a religious procession beginning.  We had seen band members on our bus.  This was a totally different band, so maybe this was a special day for processions.  Anyway, we followed this one as a cross was carried down the street with the band playing dirges along the way. 

Leaving the procession, we went to the Cathedral.  They were having mass when we entered.  It is a huge one, but not nearly as beautiful as the one we saw in Burgos.  What was interesting was that the service was shown on TV screens scattered throughout the facility--maybe as many as 15 huge ones.  People sitting in pews and chairs mainly watched on TV without being able to see the live priest and others otherwise. 

We sat in front of the Cathedral to watch people for a while and to listen to a keyboard musician playing on the street.  Then we slowly made our way back to the hotel.  As we arrived at 9:30--11 hours after having left in the morning--a military bugler was playing as the flags at the Plaza de Espana were being lowered for the night.  (Sunset isn't until about 22:15 here in May.)