So I’ve discovered that it’s quite simple really to fly to Spain and not have to worry so much about trying to get over the jet lag if you just go with the Spanish timetable of life: breakfast in the mid-morning, lunch in the mid-afternoon, and dinner around 10:00 or 10:30. Then it’s off to bed around midnight (or 2:00 a.m. if there’s really something going on worth staying up for: a party, for example). I would never be able to stay up this late at home, but it’s not so bad when my internal clock is still set several hours earlier. The key to this, of course, is not having to get up at or before the crack of dawn like so many of us do at home!

At any rate, I spent much of yesterday morning playing with Raimundo and Pepa’s charming 2-year-old daughter. Then, in the early afternoon, I met Raimundo and several of his friends for a drink. This was accompanied by the ubiquitous (delicious!) serrano ham and manchego cheese, at a small bar in the Santa Cruz neighborhood. My guidebook says that the Bar de las Teresas, on one of the busiest crossroads in Santa Cruz, is “surprisingly authentic.” Raimundo said that it’s often very touristy now, but that when he was young, the customers were mostly local Sevillians. I felt like a complete tourist, taking these photos, while standing at the bar with Sevillians in business attire, chatting animatedly in Spanish, but here you go (at least I did this with the little, inconspicuous camera and not the “real” one):

the Bar de las Teresas is on a corner in Santa Cruz, and we were standing just inside the door at the corner of the bar; the man at the end is cutting thin slices of serrano ham

... and the view in the other direction; the walls are covered in tiles to about halfway up, with photos and old posters, etc. above; those are hams hanging from the ceiling

Later in the afternoon/early evening, I walked around to get a few more photos:

I've mentioned, haven't I, that there are beautiful tiles covering any and all available surfaces? I saw this delightful one on the side of a building

another out-of-the-way plaza, with a statue of Don Juan, who (I hadn't realized this) was from Sevilla

one of the narrow (but not the narrowest!) streets in Santa Cruz; behind the facade halfway down on the right, with the columns, is an amazing baroque church, with colorful paintings covering every available space on the walls and ceiling

Then (you remember the timetable I mentioned earlier, right?), I met Raimundo and Pepa at about 10 p.m., and we walked over to the feria, where I had kindly been invited to have dinner in one of the private casetas. Here, once again, we enjoyed a delicious succession of food and, for feria, manzanilla. At midnight, the lights came on and the feria was officially opened.

the lights are on and the feria has begun!

Once dinner was over, the tables were cleared away, the musicians set up in a corner, and the singing and dancing began. Watching everyone singing along to the traditional songs, clapping in time, and young and old dancing the flamenco-like Sevillana was great fun.

I don’t think I’ve showed my face on this blog till now, but I couldn’t resist getting my picture taken with the famous matador who came into the caseta to visit with friends (and have his photo taken with the ladies).

I must admit that I'm not familiar with the roster of famous bullfighters, but this is apparently one of them: that's me on the left and Pepa on the right, with "El Tato"

Today will be our first day at the feria, so stay tuned for photos of horses and carriages and ladies in flamenco dresses!