Where's Bertie? He's at an Aire in the port area (container ships) on the S side of Seville. It costs €12 per night to stay here. Electricity and a service point are available at extra costs. Exact location: 37.36036, -5.99481
Weather: wall-to-wall sunshine. Particularly warm in Seville (22 degrees)
Just after eight o'clock last night, the noise from the port died to nothing. About ten minutes or so later, I thought I could hear a trombonist outside. Over the next half an hour the sound of brass instruments got louder and louder, joined by some very loud drums too. It was not, however, a harmonious sound.
At just gone 9pm we went out to investigate. It turned out that there were at least four brass bands, and one drum band, at intervals along the road in front of the car park. They were all playing at the same time, but not the same music.
I took a little (40 second) video, from in front of Bertie's bumper. Turn the volume up to max and you'll have an idea of what it was we could hear.
Weather: wall-to-wall sunshine. Particularly warm in Seville (22 degrees)
Just after eight o'clock last night, the noise from the port died to nothing. About ten minutes or so later, I thought I could hear a trombonist outside. Over the next half an hour the sound of brass instruments got louder and louder, joined by some very loud drums too. It was not, however, a harmonious sound.
At just gone 9pm we went out to investigate. It turned out that there were at least four brass bands, and one drum band, at intervals along the road in front of the car park. They were all playing at the same time, but not the same music.
I took a little (40 second) video, from in front of Bertie's bumper. Turn the volume up to max and you'll have an idea of what it was we could hear.
Click here for video
They played without a single pause (in that if one lot stopped, some of the others would still be going) until just after 10pm when all went quiet. "Well that wasn't too bad" we thought.
Two minutes later they'd all started up again, but it was the beginning of a very slow end. By eleven they had dwindled down to just one brass group, plus the drums (which had now moved down the road to be nearer to us), and after another few false-ends, just after eleven they finally all stopped.
A few minutes later one of the nightclubs started playing music. That music, with a thudding base, occasionally augmented by the sound of screeching revellers, went on until 6am.
I have to conclude that we were unlucky. No previous commenters on Park4Night have mentioned brass bands, nor nightclub noise midweek. Google tells me that none of the clubs (there are three along that street) is open on a Wednesday. There was obviously something special going on last night.
Despite all of that, and thanks largely to the help of audiobooks with the volume turned up loud, we didn't have too bad a night of sleep. Each time something woke one of us up, we'd put our respective audiobook back on (we're both listening to stories we know well, so they're good to fall asleep to). The noise of the port didn't start up again until gone half eight this morning.
I was, admittedly, a little later getting up than normal, so the sun was properly up by the time I went out for my run.
I should, perhaps, at this point stop assuming that everyone knows where Cadiz is and what it looks like, and put a little map to show that it's a little city almost surrounded by water:
To run around the exterior of the historical city, most of which is along a seafront promenade, is almost exactly 5km. So, I ran two circuits, plus a little out-and-back by the port. A good time was had, eyeing up the historic buildings and structures as I went.
Cathedral to the right, sea to the left. Prom and cycle path by way of self-powered road infrastructure.
Looking out to La Caleta
With not much time available to us, once I was back, second-breakfasted and washed, we headed back out. Our first port of call, per Humphrey's suggestion, was to pop by the Mercado Central. What a wide range of fish you can buy there! Unfortunately, we were too early even to salivate over the wares of the eateries inside, as they were only just starting to set out their tables, but we did stop by one just outside for cafés y tostadas.
A while later we were about three quarters of the way across the causeway to the fort at La Caleta when Mick pointed out that we were out of time. We were now over 2km away from Bertie and we needed to leave town in about half an hour.
On our way across the causeway
Winding our way back through the city streets (we saw a good array of them today)...
They played without a single pause (in that if one lot stopped, some of the others would still be going) until just after 10pm when all went quiet. "Well that wasn't too bad" we thought.
Two minutes later they'd all started up again, but it was the beginning of a very slow end. By eleven they had dwindled down to just one brass group, plus the drums (which had now moved down the road to be nearer to us), and after another few false-ends, just after eleven they finally all stopped.
A few minutes later one of the nightclubs started playing music. That music, with a thudding base, occasionally augmented by the sound of screeching revellers, went on until 6am.
I have to conclude that we were unlucky. No previous commenters on Park4Night have mentioned brass bands, nor nightclub noise midweek. Google tells me that none of the clubs (there are three along that street) is open on a Wednesday. There was obviously something special going on last night.
Despite all of that, and thanks largely to the help of audiobooks with the volume turned up loud, we didn't have too bad a night of sleep. Each time something woke one of us up, we'd put our respective audiobook back on (we're both listening to stories we know well, so they're good to fall asleep to). The noise of the port didn't start up again until gone half eight this morning.
I was, admittedly, a little later getting up than normal, so the sun was properly up by the time I went out for my run.
I should, perhaps, at this point stop assuming that everyone knows where Cadiz is and what it looks like, and put a little map to show that it's a little city almost surrounded by water:
The orange line is my route
To run around the exterior of the historical city, most of which is along a seafront promenade, is almost exactly 5km. So, I ran two circuits, plus a little out-and-back by the port. A good time was had, eyeing up the historic buildings and structures as I went.
With not much time available to us, once I was back, second-breakfasted and washed, we headed back out. Our first port of call, per Humphrey's suggestion, was to pop by the Mercado Central. What a wide range of fish you can buy there! Unfortunately, we were too early even to salivate over the wares of the eateries inside, as they were only just starting to set out their tables, but we did stop by one just outside for cafés y tostadas.
A while later we were about three quarters of the way across the causeway to the fort at La Caleta when Mick pointed out that we were out of time. We were now over 2km away from Bertie and we needed to leave town in about half an hour.
Winding our way back through the city streets (we saw a good array of them today)...
...back to the car park we went, where the attendant only charged us €3.10 for our stay. As much as I'd be happy to return to Cadiz, I'm not sure I'd be champing at the bit to go back to that car park, even if our assessment was that the saving of over €25, compared to the other motorhome parking option was worth the disturbed night. In fact, the whole brass band thing was so bizarre that it made our stay in Cadiz all the more memorable.
The drive to Seville was an hour and a half or so, at the end of which we dived into an Aldi for enough provisions to see us through to Monday, as we may not move again until Sunday afternoon.
The motorhome parking area here is surprisingly busy. Last time we were in Seville (the same weekend, in 2016) we were one of only a handful of motorhomes parked in what was then the motorhome parking area (which was conveniently nearer to the city).
It was only once we parked up that I asked Mick where it is he has to go tomorrow to pick up his race number. We'd both assumed that it would be somewhere central, near to where the race starts and ends, but we were both wrong to assume. It's actually 10km away, with no convenient way to get there. Had we checked that in advance, we probably would have timed ourselves to arrive here tomorrow morning, driving first to the exhibition centre for that purpose. We have a few options as to what we do about picking up his number, the two most sensible of which would be to drive, or for me to cycle to pick it up on Mick's behalf. I will report back tomorrow...
Well firstly all the very best to Mick for Sunday’s marathon! Beyond exciting! I’m sure that he’ll have a terrific day.
ReplyDeleteNow, as you can imagine I’ve a couple of suggestions. First up is the oldest bar in town, El Riconcillo, on Calle Gerona. It’s gorgeous, and tho’ no longer a secret still retains all its charm and atmosphere. I used to live just around the corner, on Calle Peñuelas. In the spirit of surrealism I decided to only go out with women whose names were palindromes. I never got further than Ana Jiménez. She was a mighty soul – and re-named me as Umberto … We’d spend many the evening in El Rinconcillo, and later in the night would search out impromptu flamenco. Ana worked as a waitress and was paid triple time for serving Northern Europeans who insisted on eating at midday when the temps could rise to over 40 degrees.
And it was Ana who led me to the delights of my second suggestion - the Convento de Santa Inés. Which is but a hop step and a jump from El Rinconillo – turn left outside the door, then left again. It’s on Calle Doña María Coronel.
https://www.andalucia.org/en/sevilla-cultural-tourism-convento-de-santa-ines
The nuns, bless their little cotton wimples, will sell you a selection of exquisite delights (macaroons, sweet pastries, almond cakes and so forth). But … the nuns remain out of sight! Go through to the courtyard and you’ll find a window with what looks like a lazy susan. Ask them what they have today, put your money in, and it’ll then turn around revealing your delights.
If after leaving Sevilla you find yourselves travelling north-west, then I suggest that you head to the Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena. It’s a region that’s scarcely visited by tourists. And right in the centre of the gateway town – Aracena – you’ll find the extraordinary Gruta de las Maravillas. This is a beyond spectacular cave system, well worth a visit.
http://www.aracena.es/es/municipio/gruta/
And if you’ve worked up an appetite, then take in El Museo del Jamón de Aracena.
https://www.andalucia.org/en/aracena-cultural-tourism-museo-del-jamon
The Sierra de Aracena is famous for providing the very finest cured ham – and the museum will tell you all you need to know, and then some.
I loved Sevilla – I lived there for almost a year, and so speak Spanish with a heavy southern accent and a mass of street-slang!
I do love reading your comments, Humphrey, and am not sure whether I should be sorry (or, for Ana's benefit, not sorry) that you didn't meet Eve or Viv!
DeleteI'm afraid that we're going to disappoint you on this occasion, as, save for Mick's run on Sunday, we won't be venturing into the city on this visit. We have an appointment to gatecrash a honeymoon, and delivery 1200 tea bags, on the east coast by the middle of next week, so will be heading over in that direction just as soon as Mick finishes running on Sunday.
I have, however, noted your comments about Aracena for a future trip. Indeed, I feel it's likely we'll even return to Seville.