Tapeando...

In Spain they use the verb "tapear", which means "to go for tapas". I decided to do some tapeando today, mostly because I was too lazy to figure out what to pull from my refrigerator for lunch.

I found a quote I really liked, I'm assuming it is a translation from a Spanish saying - "how wonderful it is to do nothing and then to rest afterwards". That pretty much describes my life in Spain so far. I seem destined to be a lazy bum here, and the culture seems to encourage it.

I got up around 8 as usual, lulled around eating muesli, drinking vanilla rooibos tea, checking e-mail etc., and went to the gym around 10. It seems to be a daily routine now. I can't seem to get to the gym earlier than that.

I had a short workout, mostly because there were too many people for my liking (there were maybe 8), and I was feeling a little off this morning, perhaps from the salt on my popcorn last night. I made popcorn and went to put a little salt on it and the top of the salt shaker came off and all of the salt dumped into my popcorn and some on the floor. I dumped out what I could but didn't want to make a new batch of popcorn, so I ate the popcorn, trying to shake excess salt off of each kernel as I ate it. Salt and I do not get along.

So anyway, after my mini-workout, I returned home, watched Naomi Klein on Democracy Now, and then decided to try to do some trip planning. I picked up my Lonely Planet and soon was finding myself once again frustrated by my inability to make any headway on figuring out where to go or what to do.

That was when I got online and looked for information on the Pueblos Blancos - some pretty hill towns in Andalucia and surrounding provinces, and found the quote about doing nothing and then resting afterwards. It seemed I was destined to find that quote today.

I had a snack of some manchego cheese I bought yesterday, took a little nap and finally decided to walk down to the center to grab some tapas for lunch.

I decided to walk instead of bike because walking allows me to see more and connect with people in a different way. Even though I love the bike, today I felt I needed to be on foot.

I walked down a different street from the Alameda and came to the first big plaza where Corte Ingles is located. Corte Ingles is a department store and yesterday I discovered there is a great supermarket in the basement. I picked up a few things because I was on my bike and plan to go back often. I love the selection of everything they have.

From there I chose a pedestrian street and made my way to La Giralda, the tower that rises above the cathedral that used to be a minaret of the great mosque that was once there. From there, I headed up a winding street to the tapas bar where I was initiated into the art of tapeando.

The last time (the first time) I had tapas, I had something called Carrillada Iberica. I still don't know what it is, but it was delicious. I decided to have it again, and this time try something new. I ordered spinach with garbanzos. The spinach and garbanzos were amazing. There was a slight hint of vinegar and also pieces of bread that soaked up the spices and juice. The carrillada was not as good as the first time I got it, and I suspect it was because I arrived too early. When I had it before, it was after my time at the arab baths - around 4:30 p.m., today I had it around 2:00, just as the tapas hour was beginning. I think it was so good before because it must have been simmering for hours. I'll go back and get it again, but at a later time.

It was an enjoyable lunch, two tapas and a glass of sangria. Siesta was just beginning and it seemed to be when parents go and pick up their children from school (I guess to bring home for lunch). As I sat in this little cobblestoned alley, a parade of people passed me by, some tourists, but mostly parents with little kids in tow. The kids were right at eye level of my table, and as they passed, each one looked to see what I was eating. I think they were hungry - and jealous. They were adorable.

After lunch, I decided to explore the alleys of Santa Cruz, the little neighborhood where I was that was once the Jewish, and then Muslim/Jewish quarter. I don't know the whole history, but I know that during the Moorish period, Spain, especially Seville, was a place of tolerance, where Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together in peace. Then, the Christians eventually overthrew the Muslims and regained control. At first, they allowed Jews and Muslims to stay, then they started forcing them to convert to Christianity, and finally they drove them out or burned them at the stake. It was hard for me to walk these pretty little streets and not think about the people who must have lived there at one time, who lost their lives, or were driven out and lost their property - a scene that has been replayed over and over again in history, to Jews in Spain, Russia, Germany and elsewhere, to the Japanese in the US, to the Palestinians now. I felt the ghosts in those streets that are now filled with camera-clicking tourists and shops that sell aprons that look like flamenco dresses.

I headed home, walking through as many different streets as I could, even though most guidebooks and websites I have read warn against walking through these streets during siesta. I felt safe, but was cautious, though I don't now what I would have done if someone had tried to mug me. Fortunately, nothing happened.

It was a nice little adventure and enough for today. I've since been lounging around my apartment, watching some TV on my computer and reading. Soon, I'll pull some things out of the fridge and make dinner.

I guess at some point this week I will get on a train or a bus and go somewhere and explore, but my little walk today made me realize there is still a lot of Sevilla that I have not seen. I could go off to a new place where I don't know my way around, or I can walk out my door and just try a new street, confident that I will easily be able to find my way back home.