The Art of Doing Nothing: Part 1

Unlike most Americans, Spaniards are excellent at simply "doing nothing," as most Europeans are. All of Spain, including Borja and I, spent the last few days of our trip recovering from the New Years festivities and doing--what many would define--nothing. In all fairness, we did take two day trips outside of Sevilla, but we didn't leave for either until around 11:00am.

I spent New Years morning wandering around Sevilla while the rest of Spain was still asleep. I had breakfast in the Parque Maria Luisa--one of the only bars open that morning--and then spent the day walking around Sevilla without the slightest idea of where I was at any given moment. It was glorious.

La Catedral y la Giralda

A small callejon I found wandering around Sevilla

On the 2nd, Borja's parents and I took a day trip to Aracena. We toured the Cuevas de Gruta de las Maravillas--caves that look like they could have been in "Pirates of the Carribean." They were thousands of years old and still perfectly intact.

After the tour, Borja's dad took us to eat in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere (usually where the best restaurants are and restaurants only locals would ever know about). It took about 30 minutes driving off the main road down a narrow, windy road to get there. The town probably had a population of about 500, if that. It was all white, had a tiny plaza, a church, houses, and about 3 restaurants. It reminded me of Dilar--the town I taught English in while living in Granada. Places like this are why I love Spain. They are so traditional and "local" that you wish you could live there for a few day if only to absorb such a beautiful life--one consisting of "doing nothing" and knowing how to appreciate the art of it all.

The restaurant (of which I will never remember the name) was a typical Spanish restaurant in the campo serving traditional Spanish food. There were maybe 8 tables in total and each one was filled with the locals. Borja's dad being a foodie, I knew that the food would be beyond divine. For the four of us, we opted for a 7 "course" (or 7 dish) meal. The food was absolutely fabulous. We started with migas and orejas de cerdo (pigs ears), then had croquetas de setas and garbanzos, and finally a revuelto de esparragos and carne con papitas. For dessert--paster de nueces (a chocolate almond cake) and crema de yogur (an amazing yogurt parfait-type dessert, only ten times better). On the way back to Sevilla, we stopped back in Aracena and went to a pasteleria to buy pan de cielo and many more sweets (as if we hadn't had enough food already!).

Orejas de Cerdo

Migas

Croquetas de Seta y Garbanzos

Revuelto de Esparragos con Jamon

That afternoon we met Javi at Aljibe for a few drinks and then headed back home to play set and watch a movie. What a great two days of enjoying the Spanish talent and art of doing nothing.