Stories of Spain 3 at 23:10

Let's start with the most important thing, eh? Food!

On my first full day in Sevilla, I went outside across the plaza to where a few other groups of people were sitting outside, eating breakfast. Wait, is that beer they're drinking? It's 10 o'clock in the morning. Hm. I went inside, to the counter, confident in my meager strategy of pointing at something on the menu randomly (which, you know, worked out so well for me the night before). But there was no menu, no chalkboard or signs or papers of any sort at all. I guess people just know what they want for breakfast, all the time. As my eyes wandered around looking for words with a price next to them, the large lady behind the counter stared at me intensely, hands on her hips.

I looked at her and sighed, still mute. "Caffe?" She said. I nodded, and she turned around quickly and added some grounds into the machine, and turned back to me. "Con leche?" leche means milk! and con means "with". I nodded again (maybe a feeble "si" came out). She put the cup on a saucer with a spoon and a packet of sugar (azucar). But I didn't move. I wanted at least some bread, dang it. I pointed at the basket of bread I suddenly noticed, and she took one and sliced it and put it in the open toaster. She says something in Spanish that I interpret as, "Anything else?" I point at the thin slices of ham I see in front of the basket. When the bread comes out, she drizzles the halves with liquid butter from a decanter, and puts piece of the ham in it. It goes on a plate, too, and I take them outside.

Well I'll be damned if it isn't delicious. The bread is warm and very soft when I expected it to be dense. The butter, well, it's liquid butter and soaking through to the plate, but the ham is also good. I empty the whole packet of sugar into the coffee and it's palatable.

I meet up with my friend Sarah, who's studying abroad in Sevilla, and we go downtown for the sights.

The entrance of the cathedral in Sevilla

We walk around the touristy area and down charmingly claustrophobic Spanish cobblestone streets. I hardly notice any of the shops and their wares as we catch up. Sarah goes home for lunch and I find a little restaurant in an alleyway around the corner of the cathedral.

Featured in this picture: Other people, and my Kindle.

I ended up taking a nap on a park bench, with my bag as a pillow hoping I wouldn't get jacked while I slept. Which I didn't! A nice siesta for me in the shade.