I read an article on Cordoba Spain today and it brought back memories of the two days I spent in Seville while on a trip to Malaga with my husband. We took a train up to Seville so he could present at the European Dental Conference in 2009. While the LaCosta Club outside Malaga and overlooking the Mediterranean was beautiful and romantic, we discovered a nice surprise at the Hotel Corregidor in Seville and were swept away with the Flamenco performance we saw at the Tablao El Arenal on Roco Street, a spiritual experience that has stayed with me over a decade later.
The Hotel Corregidor, a three-star property was $65 per night ($85 today), and only a three-minute walk from the famous Sierpes Street for shopping and Constitutional Avenue where you will find the Seville Cathedral. It is the largest in Europe, and the third largest in the world. The Giralda, a 76 metre high minaret (Turkish for a slender lofty tower attached to a mosque with surrounding balconies and used by the muezzin to summon prayer) sits beside the Cathedral. The Giralda was built by the Moslems in the late 12th century and then modified with a Renaissance-style belfry and unique weathervane in the shape of a woman in the 16th century. If you climb the 35 ramps, you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the city.
Hotel Corregidor provided a’s charming, authentic Andalusian-style atmosphere and is tucked back from the street and down a couple stairs to the entrance. Suddenly you are surrounded with brick, ceramic tile, beautiful grills of wrought iron amidst fresh flowers, imposing Greek or Turkish urns and statues, and comfortable seating alcoves. The traditional mustard tones, deep terra cottas, watermelon and brilliant white created a cozy environment. At the back of the lobby and sitting area, two ornate gates opened into a lovely outdoor eating area where the waiter/bartender quickly transformed a casual wood table into fine dining with white linens, sparkling glasses of water, good silver and cloth napkins.
Even though we booked for an overnight with breakfast, the bartender prepared a tasty lunch upon our arrival at noon, sandwiches with beer (cervesa) and lemonade for my husband who would be speaking at 3 p.m. that day. Senor Juan Mamzano greeted us at the front desk and made you feel like a guest in his home instead of a hotel. He was plenty busy as he juggled our lunch needs and questions about the area while checking in other guests. He handed us a map and a Tour Magazine and insisted after we got settled in our rooms, lunch would be ready, and he would try to answer any questions about the city.
I had read before our trip that Seville was the best place in all of Spain to see Flamenco and Senor Mamzanuo directed us to a wonderful intimate club Tablao El Arenal where a dozen performers brought the emotions of the art to life. They appeared to be a family and yet you knew they were not. Three classical guitarists and three singers or chanters gave the feel of an operatic story while each dancer would perform as if their life depended on getting the point across. They were dedicated, gypsy-like and quite different from the Flemenco show we had seen in Florida or anywhere else for that matter. The tapas and Sangria served completed a wonderful evening.
I had been working on my Spanish before the trip and while I am not fluent, I can usually converse a bit which always enriches a trip. It was fun to describe my excited husband as a “loco Aleman” (crazy German) to the cabby and watch his reactions. I also learned through piecing words together that the cabby was a classical guitarist with his own Cds for sale. It shows musicians struggle everywhere juggling days jobs with their art. That trip to the Andulsia region of southern Spain left lasting impressions between the Flamenco in Seville to the Alhambra palace in Granada to the seaside city of Picasso’s Malaga. The blend of the Moorish, European, Spanish and Gypsy cultures made for a unique historic experience that I am anxious to repeat.