Outward bound

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! Our actual anniversary is today (Sunday).

S had noticed a 16th century barque moored on the river when he went for his morning run, the Nao Victoria. Googling revealed that it is a replica of the Victoria, the only ship (out of five) to return from Magellan’s round the world exploration of 1519. So after a leisurely breakfast we set off to see it.

There is a permanent exhibition on shore, so we visited that first. It consists of slideshows on large screens and a few cases of objects and documents. It was more interesting than it sounds though; like probably most people I’m vaguely aware of the expedition, but this gives you more detail. For example I had wondered on seeing the ship whether it was a reduced size replica. But no — they really did sail round the world in wooden ships less than 20 metres long. The Victoria had a crew of 48, who somehow had to cram Into this tiny space along with all their supplies — bearing in mind that quite a large chunk of space was taken up by the captain’s cabin. Visiting the ship itself really brought home what an ordeal it must have been. Of the 270 men who set off, only 18 returned, three years later, in the Victoria, which was the only ship to survive.

So it was an interesting visit — a couple more in extras. From there we returned to the hotel to change into our glad rags and set  off for our anniversary lunch. I was responsible for finding the venue; there are only a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants in Seville and I knew I wouldn’t find anywhere to match the stupendous meal we had in Madrid for our 30th (still the best restaurant meal we’ve ever had, the most expensive too). In fact I was extremely underwhelmed by the menus of the starred places, as well as being overwhelmed by the prices. So I picked Az-Zait, which has a Bib Gourmand. I’m now convinced this is the best way of enjoying an outstanding meal at a reasonable price. We had a seven-course menu for 49 euros each, and after reflecting that it would cost 90 euros to have matching wines for two, ordered an excellent bottle for 30.  For this type of food, it was great value.

As an apero we were served a little pot of gin and tonic jelly with a blob of lemon sorbet. I immediately wanted to try this at home. Later tiny courses were all delicious and usually surprising, especially the balls of blue cheese enclosed in a crisp chocolate coating with a reduced PX sherry jelly (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, they were amazing). So I was very pleased with my choice and would certainly go back.  We walked back to the hotel and luckily were nearly there when it started raining. The weather has been very unseasonal so far!

No need for more food after that — in the evening we just snacked on jamón and wine bought from a nearby deli, and some freshly baked pasteis de nata, yum.