Be Savvy Spain

 I love it here- I love the pace of life and the people we meet day in and day out. It is not a place where over processed foods have overtaken the day to day lives of families. People naturally get exercise walkiing to most places they need to go. I have a hard time being away from - still light at 9:30 pm  - and stopping in the street when we encounter folks we know. Late nights were made for the two of us. The ability to have a good bottle of wine with dinner for 25-30 Euro and the reasonable cost of daily living. A prescription (with no drug coverage) for 5 Euro. It's not about the costs it's about the mindset that not every single thing one buys has to be an extraordinary profit center. It's that the ordinary citizens are not just folks to feed the money machines of big pharma or ridiculous mark ups on wine in restaurants because the owners won't price their food items appropriately. People are paid living wages and don't fear for a healthcare catastrophe. They don't need to save hundreds of thousands of dollars for a child's college education. Sure, it isn't perfect but it's a lot less stress inducing than other choices. These are just random thoughts on life in Sevilla. Moving here could rank in my top five best decisions in my life. 

I posted that commentary over a repost frrom Be Savvy Spain- 

This post is for you.

Yes… you. Our favorite immigrant. The one who came to Spain with a suitcase full of hope, a million questions, and maybe a slightly unrealistic Pinterest board 😅

You arrived thinking you were coming for:

• the tapas

• the cerveza

• the beaches

• the cheap flights around Europe

And somehow… you stayed for completely different reasons.

You stayed because one day you realized you had fallen in love with much smaller things.

With the abuelas at the mercado.

With somebody saying “buenos días” when entering a tiny shop.

With lentejas on a rainy day and cocido that tastes like somebody’s grandmother put her whole soul into it.

You fell in love with:

“¿Quién es el último?”

With the little bench outside the house where neighbors sit at sunset.

With Pepes and Manolos discussing life like philosophers outside a bar at 11AM.

With hearing “mañana, mañana” and somehow learning not to panic anymore 😅

You learned to use “vale” for almost everything.

You started greeting strangers.

You discovered that people here still share lemons, oranges, tomatoes, olive oil, recipes, and life.

And somewhere between the paperwork, the language mistakes, the long lunches, the voice notes, the sobremesas, and the “nos vemos prontito”…

Spain slowly became home.

Not perfect.

Not always easy.

Definitely not fast 😅

But real.

And that’s the difference.

Because there’s a beautiful line between visiting Spain and truly living Spain.

Living here is not collecting landmarks like Pokémon cards while running from one city to another.

It’s learning the rhythm.

The pauses.

The people.

The little rituals that make daily life feel human again.

It’s understanding that happiness sometimes looks like:

a slow coffee,

fresh bread,

a neighbor waving from the balcony,

and absolutely nowhere urgent to be.

And for those of you who have embraced that version of Spain… this post is for you.

We see you every day in the comments:

“That is SO real.”

“That happened to me yesterday.”

“I thought it was just me.”

We see it in your emails, your stories, your messages.

And honestly? It’s one of the most beautiful parts of what we do.

Because sharing the country we love with people who genuinely learn to love it too… feels incredibly special.

So today we celebrate you.

Not the tourist.

Not the checklist traveler.

You.  The one who stayed long enough to understand why Spain is not just a place… it’s a way of living

And my own photos of recent days - just because I happen to live in one of the most beautiful cities on the planet- ACTUALLY I live in TWO of the most beautiful cities on the planet- 

Below is the church interior of the church our converted convent apartment used to be part of. I just went in recently after living in this apartment for more than two years. Not too religious as you can guess. LOL

At this point. I have thousands of photos of the food and the sights and the streets of Sevilla. But there is always something new... 

the farewell tour

 MAY! and the jacarandas are in bloom all over the city. I took these photos as I crossed the Isabel II bridge on the way to the Mercado  de Triana this morning. There were paddle boarders  on the Guadalqivir and we had bright sun. When I  went into the market I had to stop for a half minute or so to let my eyes adjust to the shaded interior. I bought some local paprikas and olive oils to take back for our neighbor. Then, I made a stop near the ceramic factories before heading back across the bridge to home. The weather was cool in the shade but just a tad too warm in the sun for me. So I stayed on the shady side and dodged numerous tourists taking photos of themselves on the bridge. The market was packed with people wandering around aimlessly. Luckily I knew what I wanted and which stalls to go to. I was in and out in about fifteen minutes having made two stops. We are heading into full on tourist months, so our own "farewell" tour for the end of the "season" of our Sevillano favorites has already begun.

Above: This is a classic example of why tourists are not beloved in Spain. Who leaves their glass on the wall along the bridge rather than returning it to the bar or even discarding it in the many trash recpetacles in the city?  Phil always says "If you can't find a trsh can in Seviila, you just haven't looked." They are EVERYWHERE but they are unobtrusively painted to not interfere with the beauty of the city.

Our week includes Tradevo, Acento, Islamorada, and Hiyoki so stay tuned. 

Wednesday night - Our last visit to Tradevo Centro this season. We said our farewells after a very delicious dinner and went off to MITO for a gelato. White asparagus, tacos gambones, briche with calamarcitas, pargo (snapper) and red shrimp from Huelva, along with the veggie cazuelita.

Thursday night - Hiyoki - The farewell tour continues with Hiyoki tonight. Over ordered. But we can recover tomorrow when friends are visiting from Ireland, a very nice surprise as all our schedules created time to see them. Phil met Hugh on his first Ireland trip and traveled again with him when I first went on a music trip along the Wild Atlantic Way. Then we both returned for another Hugh led year. Phil has been on five or more trips than I, so it's possible Hugh was on some of them. I'm sure I'll find out just how many times tomorrow, when we get together with Hugh and his spouse Agnes. 

An early dinner on Friday night as Hugh & Agnes had a bus to catch back to Dos Hermanas where they have parked their camper. Tapas at Islamorada, but a drink before dinner with Hugh and Agnes Carthy at Meson Serranito. Great to catch up with folks we know from past travels (in Ireland) when they visit Sevilla.  Tapas choices included the tuna, tortilla trufada,  pork cheeks, presa etc. All good.

On Saturday afternnon we met up again at Senora Pan for lunch with Hugh & Agnes and Janet & Mike for lunch. About a year ago, Phil's teachers introduced us to another expat couple who live here in Sevilla. Mike & Janet Thompson. We both headed off for our summer destinations. When we returned in the fall we got together for dinner. During the meal we learned we had a common friend in Ireland, Hugh Carthy. We sent a photo of the four of us to him that night and told him that he and his wife, Agnes should visit us in Sevilla when doing a planned trip traveling through Spain. And  on Wednesday we got a message from Hugh that they would be in Sevilla area starting Thursday afternoon. Various configurations of the six of us have been hanging out together for the last two days and possibly into the early part of next week. Today, we all had lunch and Janet & Mike brought their friend June, who lives in Italy. And Hugh, Agnes, Phil and I went for gelato at MITO. Turns out Agnes feels the same way about ice cream as I do. #kindredspirits

Phil, Mike, Agnes, Tor, Janet, June (friend of Janet's from Italy) Hugh

Saturday dinner, was supposed to be for four and was planned to be with Lope and Helena but when Lope's schedule changed we changed the reservation to two so we wouldn't miss our farewell tour stop at Afuego by El Pinton. We had  costilla de ternera and the presa. Phil had another round of Jamon before he goes into withdrawal over the summer.

 

We had a milestone tonight when the diners behind us disrupted a nice dinner in an upscale restaurant with a face time call she HAD to have during the meal. I felt sorry for her date who just sat there staring at her. So Phil turned to them in his best Spanish said what all old Spanish men say in the face of boorish behavior, in a rather imploring tone, "POR FAVOR!" 

So the woman did at least turned down the volume, but took her time finishing her Face Time call (she did not speak Spanish but was also not a native English speaker.) I will say her date did not defend her behavior. And also they were not young. People in their 50s really should have better manners, especially  when not in their own country. 

Why should everyone in the dining area be subjected to their telephone conversation? Is it impossible to step outside or at least into the vestibule for your personal calls? I guess if there was something positive about the new experience it was that at least they weren't American. 

So now we are in our last full week here for this season. Stay tuned for the final round of the farewell tour and our last dinner before the fall, with Helena. And maybe some more stuff along the way.... who knows?