We are really spoiled staying in Paradores, service,
food and accommodations are top notch, not to say That the Eurostars Hotels are
bad, they are fine but Paul does not think breakfast is up to snuff! NOT the same as a PARADOR breakfast by a long
shot, oh and this whole week they are OUT of orange juice for breakies. No
cooked eggs you must make do with rubberized scrambled eggs from an hour ago!!
Oh the coffee was just OK. LOL! Those are his words but he is right, I kind of
made do with fruit and yogurt and toast,
though I really like the homemade yogurt that is available at some hotels.
Paul still has this aversion to walking, he insists he feels
fine so I just leave him behind. Off I went to find the tourist office. This is
a totally new town for us and we need help finding out where to go and what to
do. La Plaza de Monjas houses the Tourist Kiosko. The lady talked nonstop and
plied me with maps and instructions! Very sweet gal, I gamely stuffed all the
information in my bag and headed back to pick up the Hubs.
Most of the center is pedestrian and very pleasant walking,
we passed the ornate Ayuntamienta building (government) and aimed for the Plaza
de Monjas. Actually I think I am out of sequence a bit. I got the maps the
night before and we went back to the kiosko to ask about buses. A different
lady (Christina) but equally nice who gave us some more maps and bus schedules!
I have so much paper….! As these places
we are visiting are not big tourist areas there are few touristy options you
really have to work at this so the tourist office is absolutely essential.
Assuming you can find one during their limited opening times!!
We started by taking a number 7 bus which just does a
circuit of the city, we do this sometimes just to get our bearings and have a
look at the town. When we got to the end of the line the poor bus driver was
quite flummoxed and came back to make sure we were not lost, homeless or nuts!
We explained our purpose and, shaking his head went back to driving! We got off
at our original starting point about 45 minutes later.
The embarquadero(sp) which was built by the British in about
1873 to export copper from the Rio Tinto mine. It was quite a big operation
with a railway from the Rio Tinto, about 60 miles away to Huelva, there is a
neighborhood called Barrio Obrero Reina
Victoria which housed the British engineers and workers. To Paul it
looks like cottage row. Very attractive and different for Spain. The huge
structure which at one time joined up with the railway is a wonderful spot to
walk out over the river on three levels. They have recently renovated it and it
is used quite a lot by the residents of Huelva. There was a lovely breeze and a
horde of schoolchildren on a field trip, driving their chaperones crazy!
We had taken a taxi over there but I wanted to walk back as
it not that far. Paul grumbled but acquiesced, Perhaps it was his stomach
grumbling it was time to eat again! Next
to the central market we found a small place with a cute chica eager to practice
her English! She explained all the house specialities and we tried quite a few.
Paul tried a pulpo ensaladilla, which is similar to ensalada rusa but with
pulpo! I tried the chicken salad al curry, which was awesome and Paul finished
up with flamenquin which is traditional in Andalusia. It is pork tenderloin,
flattened and rolled up with ham and cheese and cooked up crispy. Listen I have
to give you these details or Paul wont post the blog . The food is very
important to him!
After siesta we moseyed back up to Plaza de Monjas for a pre
dinner drink and some very serious people watching. There is a fountain where
various small children were determined to dunk themselves and a toddler kept on
escaping and hotfooting it down the street! It was so busy and vibrant, you
just don’t see this in towns in the US. The place was packed with families.
We stopped at a really nice restaurant for dinner, by now it
is getting towards 1000pm so we had to eat….again. I had fish, delicious and
Paul had solomillo and that is all I am
saying about food .
Down at the end of our pedestrian walkway are the Casa de
Colon (Columbus House) and the local museum. Looked very interesting but there
were herds of very small school children all dressed up as bees, fairies,
pirates or whatever, advancing on the museo. I have no idea what was going on
but there must have been a very social occasion. We did ask but no one knew and
assumed that as it was the end of school and cursos that it was a reward for
the children. All very cute and we sat there and waited for that damn tren
touristic and it did not come! I will slip into Spanish every now and then. An
affectation, I know, but it lends a little flavor!
 |
| Barrio Obrero Reina Victoria |
Across the street
there is a fabulous piece of bronze sculpture of many men carrying Nuestra
Senora del Rocio. She is big here! The faces of the men are so perfect, I swear
one guy was looking right at us, others are anguished or happy . There is a
pilgrimage every year and people come from all across the south of Spain to
participate. A million or more! Can you believe it? Tomorrow we go to El Rocio
and I will tell you more about Hermanidades and religious fervor and their
“camps” in El Rocio but in the meantime think about 1 million people crossing
Andalucia for several days, imagine the camps, the singing and dancing and partying
that goes on. I will leave you here, I still have to catch up on this blog but
it is nearly 40 degrees out there and the pool is calling me, at least for a
quick dip. I will return!
Another great day of exploration finished and in the books,
good night Dano!!
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