The official start of La Velá de Triana was last night at midnight. Laura and I went out to the bridge to see what might happen and to see the lighting of our bridge (the best bridge). Here's a before and after from below:
In this after shot, the strings of lights above the bridge are now lighted:
Unfortunately, the bridge is so beautifully lit from below, that this perspective doesn't really impress. Here's a picture from up on the bridge:
The crowds along the "tent" street were more like throngs:
As if there aren't enough beer & tapas places already, each of these tents along the river is basically a beer & tapas place. Here's one in the daylight:
The main Triana square was also nicely lit:
It was worth staying up later than usual to see the spectacle.
Today was laundry day. It's amazing how quickly our clothes dry on the rooftop clotheslines. It doesn't hurt that our washing machine spins at 1200 rpm and sounds like it's going to take off when it's really going. That high spin wrings nearly every last drop of water out of the clothes and they're practically dry when you pull them out of the washer, haha.
This afternoon we walked to the Alameda de Hércules. This open square on the Sevilla side was established in the 16th century. Laura and I had walked here before and I proposed we walk there again this afternoon, not because of the square, but because of a building along the way that I wanted to get a closer look at and to take pictures of. The building, Fundación Escuelas Profesionales de la Sagrada Familia, is one of a number of secondary and professional schools that serve students without the means to attend expensive private schools. These schools are all over this part of Spain and have a tradition in Catholicism. That aside, the facade of the building is so intricate and interesting:
This one strip at eye level had so much detail:
We looked at it for a long time. Passing folks probably thought we were weird, haha. Our walk took us home just in time to see the greased pole capture the flag event on the river. A pole is extended from a boat out over the water, liberally greased and a flag is attached to the free end. Competitors attempt to walk/run out to the end of the pole and grab the flag. People gather at the riverside to watch and cheer. Here's an example:
We watched for a while. Eventually, one of them succeeded. I really wish I had that on video. The whole crowd erupted in cheers.
There are some more events in the coming days. There is some kind of concert this evening at 10pm on the square. I'll let you know about that tomorrow.
