Crossing the pond 2

Something I forgot about our ride to the hotel in Tangier: we had a police escort in, and another one in the morning to the ferry, because apparently teenagers will try to hide under the bus (in the luggage compartment?) and sneak rides to the ferry, where the bus drives on.  People have gotten hurt, so the police on their motorcycles stayed with us to prevent that.

A ferry similar to ours, in the background.  Big catamaran.  Impressive to see them come in, then turn 180 degrees to dock.

We left for the ferry at 6:30 am and filled out the forms to cross back into Spain.  The crossing was rough this time, and there were plenty of people puking in the bathrooms, but that end of my alimentary system was fine.  Once we were properly stamped and recombobulated, we boarded the bus for Jerez.  They make what we call sherry wine there, and our destination was the Tio Pepe winery for tour, tasting, and lunch.  Sherry, brandy, amontillado, etc.  A heady smell to the place.  Have a look:

 They like to have celebrities sign the barrels.

Tapas and 3 kinds of sherry, with gluten-free bread.

Back on the bus to Seville for a 2-night stay.  Tonight's dinner is combined with a flamenco show.  Now I have seen some very touristy shows of "local culture", and then there's the difference between Irish dance and "River Dance".  Was it either of these?  I have no idea how authentic it was, but the dancing was breathtaking.  Dinner was good too, if only I could have eaten more of it.  Insides still not right, and my stomach still hurts.

Next day: Seville sightseeing.  Seville is one of those places walled in by Romans, then Arabs, and there are signs of human presence dating back 20,000 years.  It's full of beautiful architecture, much of it left from an expo in the 1920's, I believe.  We visited the Plaza de Espana, which was filmed as part of the planet Naboo for Star Wars.  Although rain broke out while we were there, I loved the tiles and mosaics.  This describes it, but does not show the tiled niches for each Spanish state.

Next stop, the Cathedral of Seville and tomb of Columbus.  I didn't take many pictures, because they would not do it justice, but if you like detail, see if you can find pictures online of the many carvings.  I spent most of my time looking up through binoculars to see as much as I could.  I feel that if somebody spent hours of his life carving the top of a pillar way above our heads, it's only right that I should spend time looking at it to balance the universe.

Lunch was excellent, and I managed to eat it.  This is typical of the kind of tapas lunch a gluten-free person can get in Spain: bread and jamon, sangria, torta (like a potato omelet) with mayonnaise, thin fried eggplant slices with honey, tuna over chopped onions peppers and tomatoes, spinach with chickpeas, codfish, stewed lamb, pork cutlet with fried potatoes and some kind of sauce, and torta de queso (like cheesecake).  Now that was good.  Dinner at the hotel was also good, although the definition of paella seems to be a bit loose - could have been risotto, but it was good.  I listened to my companions complain until I couldn't take it any more and went to bed.

Next day: not feeling well, only tea for breakfast.  Today we leave for Salamanca.  I saw my first small mammal that wasn't a farm critter or cat/dog - a bunny on the slopes through which the highway cuts.  No squirrels anywhere.  Plenty of smokestacks spewing filth that carries in the air for miles - what is going on there?  We stopped in Carceres for lunch - some locations here were filmed for King's Landing.  We had a nice lunch in a converted stone stable, including "sepia" or cuttlefish stew.  Very good!  Although I kind of feel bad eating such a clever creature.

Feverish again.