Ham Sandwiches on the Street of the King´s Head

Two of the more impressive buildings I have seen on my travels were in Seville. The Catedral (that´s right -- its the cathedral, gothic diva, the Cher of catholic churches) is the third largest cathedral in the world, and Christopher Columbus' burial site. The royal palace in Seville, Alcazar, is pretty much what I would want to live in if I were a king. Peaceful gardens, grand halls and ornate tapestries showing happy camels, emus and soldiers of medieval Spain. That´s what I would want.... along with my own palace rock band and a stable of placid dragons.

The thing about Seville, though, is that it can be hard to actually find your way to the majestic treasures it holds. The city is a fickle nervous system of cobbled paths and streets, and nowhere does it even come close to resembling a grid. One alley looks much like the one before it-- with old world houses and the occasional square tile painting of the Virgin Mary in a bejewelled crown the size of a healthy pumpkin.

As I might have expected with my nortoriously weak sense of direction, this web of stone confused me quite a bit. Most of the streets, alleys and plazas are named after saints, Spanish royalty or Jesus at some stage of his life. So, I might take a left on San Jose, run right into the Plaza of San Ildefonso, but get turned around in my search for The Head of the King Don Pedro Street on my way to Jesus of the Three Falls Street. I found myself needing brief respites, mental sabbaticals, to ease my troubled mind and grease my inner compass. Like a mouse inside a maze, I would head for the place where I knew the food pellets would be. One such place was aptly called The Refuge Bar. It was the first of many such pit stops, and where I first uttered:

Una bocadillo de jamon, por favor, y una cerveza. (a ham sandwich, please, and a beer)

But it wasn´t until later that I learned the phrase most needed -- "Donde estoy?" (where am I?). I think I will supplement it next time with "Y porque esta aqui?" (and why am I here?). Philosophy and Geography, hand in hand, as I navigate ham sandwiches and the streets of Spain.