Day 5- Museum Day

It wouldn’t be a Stiles adventure without a bit of drama! Leaving the door to the bathroom slightly ajar while showering set of the ultra-sensitive fire alarm in our room and subsequently the alarms on the entire floor of our historic building at 7:00am this morning. Oops!

After a chilly brunch (weather *and* waitresses 😩) we headed to the San Telmo museum to learn more about the culture and history of the Basque people. The museum is housed in a former monastery which made the experience even more interesting. We ended up spending 3.5 hours there, most of it in an amazing multimedia exhibit, The Longest Trip, about the 1519-1522 Spanish-sponsored expedition to find a western route to the spice islands (modern Indonesia). The expedition ultimately turned into the first global circumnavigation. Led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the expedition started out with five ships and over 270 crew members. Magellan didn’t make it, and only one ship and 18 men returned to Seville. In between was a harrowing tale, as you might imagine. They misjudged the size of the Pacific and ended up eating the leather on the ship’s mast. Some of the highlights included original documents such as the King of Spain’s extensive instructions to Magellan (what a control freak!) and secret instructions to the Spanish crew on dealing with the Portuguese.

One thing that we have found interesting is watching life on the Plaza de la Constitution from our balcony. Thankfully the doors are soundproof as otherwise there is an absolute roar from below. Every morning the restos lining the plaza set up tents, and every night they come down. The cleaning crew arrives with hoses in the wee hours, and then the food and bev trucks arrive. If you want to get a feel for how much food and bev is consumed in this football pitch-sized square every day, we counted an even 50 (!) trucks in the square yesterday morning. See the picture! It is like a military operation.

We will go easy on the food report today. Suffice it to say that we continue to put a dent in the pintxo population. One of those trucks on the plaza is just for us!

And speaking of trucks, we cannot help but share the sight of one that passed us on the street last night.もっと詳しく