Turning the corner

No whole fish tonight, so we had a large filet of a local pompano style fish (pez límon) they prepared it tempura battered and it was mighty tasty but light- thank God. . We also had the tuna variado which was again a MUST order dish. Shown as presented and on my plate. We also tried the fried egg with fresh truffles. The egg was excellent, the truffles could have been more flavorful. Overall still a winner and we discussed returning with our cousins and a friend who are visiting in early April.

That was Tuesday night but on Monday we had dinner at the new Red Steak location with Lope and Helena. Food was goo and the new location is easy for us and nicer than the older one- we think the guy who had the old one must have sold out to another steak place in town near the Cathedral and they found a better location to attract more tourists. In any even the service was friendly and the food good so we had a nice dinner. 

I always order the steak au poivre (black pepper sauce is excellent still!) And we had the salad but it was basically twice this size so we could all share it!

(These were photos from the old Red Steak since my phone didn't record the photos I thought I took!)

Proud of our adopted country and its understanding of the realities of remaining an economic and socially viable country. This NYTimes op-ed from our Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lays out the reasoning behind adopting a more welcoming immigration policy for the good of the entire country.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/opinion/spain-migrants-europe.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LVA.xWLt.Ddtgp-VpsYKn&smid=url-share

Wednesday night a new to us place called Morante. It has potential. I loved my caprese salad (not traditional but really good). Phil really liked his seafood pappardelle - had a nice selection of seafood. My arroz cola de toro was hearty with barely cooked tiny diced carrot adding a crunchy note. To me the dish that will be immediately stricken from future ordering would be the tuna cracklings dish which just tasted like bad over cooked fishy fish. So a lot of other offerings on the menu might bring us back again but the service was bordering on dreadful. Service had already been spotty when we finally got a chance to ask for the check at the usual leisure pace. But we had to ask twice. Then we asked to pay and waited and waited and waited. I finally said to Phil, let's go to the bar and pay. Where we were told in a very abrupt manner to go back to the table. Where we had already been waiting for nearly a half hour after the bill was delivered. So not sure we will be rushing back but the salad WAS excellent.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Sun 🌞🌞. Out to the bench in front of the church of Santa Maria Magdelena on San Pablo just to bask in the sun for a few minutes. Then, on to the Chinese store for a number of small items, then met Phil for coffee and then ran into the guy (jefe) from Manolo Mayo on the way to see Helena. Stopped with her for a few minutes and we were headed back home when we ran into our friend, Lauren Tucker out for some afternoon sun.  Sat down with her for about an hour or so. Wandered home around 6PM. Now relaxing before going out later to Tradevo. Photos of the sun on the church dome! and the Capilla Monserrat across the street from the church. #expatlife #retired.

Then on the same night (Thursday) we headed across town to dine at Tradevo Centro missing is the photo of my very tasty Cazuela of verduras (veggies) - it had mushrooms and green beans and zucchini and thinly slices potatoes and broccoli and cauliflower - and was so yummy I gave thought to ordering a second one- it was small (a side). Otherwise had some of the usual stuff - shrimp tacos and Phil had the roast pork on brioche as an appetizer. then he had pork cheeks for his main. 

Our sushi restaurant from school days is still in the rotation. Not as much variety as Hiyoki but it's a family operation with a casual warm vibe. So three years later we still walk across town to go there. Unexpectedly cold on Friday night (not in the forecast as of yesterday) so we had miso soup and their excellent gyoza and some shrimp tempura to start and then sashimi, a couple of rolls and a few nigiri choices. Will still return. Despite turnover in staff, the folks who work there are friendly and at least one speaks English (which no one did when we first went here.) We later learned from a classmate, who had learned Spanish as a teenager when living in  Chile, that they were immigrants from Peru. The restaurant is not in an area that gets tourists, so they had a solid customer base with neighborhood people.  I think we were the only ones in the place (24 seats and a brisk carry-out business) who weren't native Spanish speakers. Galentines Day found only one unoccupied four top. Might have mentioned that the lady who used to run this place with her husband told Phil that the husband was still running this. She now runs her own restaurant - the 10 second rice noodles place - that I enjoyed very much. It's really only five minutes walk from home. And isn't this a great immigrant story? Now they run two restaurants and when their kids get older they probably will open more businesses. 

Saturday night - Valentine's Day we decided to stay home and eat left overs which have been piling up all week LOL- Here are the dishes we are having - 

along with leftover steak from Red steak (no photo) and some zucchini and salad - so we won't be starving. Tomorrow is bagel day and then we will meet Becky and Sue for dinner as usual on Sunday night. Stay tuned. 

February arrives

 it's still raining - everyone talks about it constantly LOL

photo from Cordoba visit in the rain

All over Spain. The rain has not stayed "mainly on the plain"! Today we have warnings to stay away from the river which has been flooding upriver from Sevilla but now the river is at its highest level in decades (P gave me the exact number of years but I failed to commit it to memory 🙄. ) Like all of Spain we have had enough. But we're all in it together. ☔☔☔ Eventually it will end and we'll spend our time greeting folks we know with comments about how wonderful it is to see the sun. 🌞☀️😎☀️

🌞Be Saavy Spain (BeSS)

ANDALUCÍA WEATHER LOCKDOWN: OKAY… WE GET IT. IT’S RAINING.

So… remember when we spent years talking about droughts, water restrictions, and “this summer we’re all doomed”?

Yeah. The weather gods heard us. Loud and clear. And now Andalucía has entered full rain lockdown mode.

We’ve officially lost track of how many storms are happening at the same time. One has a name, the other might be its cousin, and a third one just showed up uninvited like, “Hola, I’m staying.”

For context:

This is Andalucia.

We are mostly coastal.

We are windy.

We are not built for this amount of water.

At this point, the rain is no longer weather.

It’s a lifestyle.

SIGNS THINGS HAVE ESCALATED:

– Streets are closing “temporarily” (which in Spain means who knows).

– Parks are sealed off.

– Schools, activities, and events are being cancelled depending on the town, the hour, and the mood of the storm.

– WhatsApp groups are now 80% weather screenshots and 20% “¿Alguien sabe algo?”

And yes — this is one of those moments where local authorities are doing the right thing by asking people to stay home, limit movement, and be cautious. Flooding, falling branches, unstable ground, and wind gusts are no joke.

Please, please:

• Don’t drive unless you have to

• Avoid coastal walks, rivers, and pine areas

• Secure terraces, plants, and anything that can fly

• Keep kids indoors (we know… chaos)

IMPORTANT REMINDER (BeSS public service announcement):

Weather info → AEMET

Civil alerts → Protección Civil (turn notifications ON on your phone)

Schools → Regional government

Sports / activities / parks → Your Ayuntamiento

Spain is decentralized, which means:

No, there is no single answer.

Yes, it depends on where you live.

Welcome.

So yes — laugh with us, cry with us, send memes…

But most importantly: be safe.

And if anyone spots the sun, please let it know we miss it. Deeply.

The comments are funny but telling - folks who have lived here for more than 30 years reporting things have never been like this but - it's this way all over Europe and really North America is having a shit winter too... welcome to climate change.

Dinner with Becky and Sue on Sunday night. It was the 1st of February and a start of a new month. We're thinking of doing a regular Sunday night thing. Sue will be in Sevilla until late February and Becky until mid to late March. So we have time to explore many options when we are all in town. Tonight, Islamorada.

Tried a new place on Monday night. It had been recommended to my class way back when we were in immersion (February and March of 2023.) So you can see we didn't rush. But we are seeking new mid range options to enlarge our portfolio of dining choices. Here's my thumbnail. Service was good, food was good to excellent. The arroz meloso with pork cheeks was really first rate. It came steaming from the kitchen in the tureen shown in the photo and was tasty and filling on a night that has already gone into the mid 40s as we left for dinner. The tempura eggplant was also really good. Not the best ever but better than many in tapas bars. The decor is filled with bull fighting accoutrements (it's located near the bullring.) Overall is would say it was worth returning to but not in a hurry.

Hit the jackpot Wednesday night with a new (to us) place right on the other side of the Ayuntamiento (city hall). Spectacular service only enhanced the perfect meal. We started with two amuse bouche, blini with caviar and creme fraiche and a praline tube with avocado cream. We shared a starter of sizable cannelloni of duck and foie in truffled bechamel covered in shaved truffles. (Only half shown in the photo) Then I had the skate and Phil the pigeon. We shared the Crepes Suzette for dessert. Outstanding wine selection and a lovely cozy atmosphere in a library-like setting. First rate meal. Thank you Rafa and Marcos! We will be back, because we were forced to choose only one entree each. I'm going back for the rabbit and we both were interested in the veal (for two!) This is a menu to eat your way through on multiple visits! A real winner!

We will definitely return to this place!

 

Thursday night we made a last minute reservation at Augurio tonight. Still on their game. Had the pez mantequilla tacos and the solomillo on pan cristal as our starters. Shared the tuna triptico. Then I had steak tartare bombitos and P had the special duck breast with parsnips. We didn't know the Spanish word for parsnips so the server said they looked like white carrots. Thereby proving that sometimes you need only to be able to describe things when you don't have the exact right word.

Then Friday we tried a new Asian place. A mixed review. Difficult to maneuver through an iPad menu. Food all arrived at once. But the food was good. I liked the soup I ordered once I put a bit of chili oil into the rather bland broth. The spring rolls- (we had two kinds) the beef and shrimp were better than the duck in P's opinion. The soup dumplings were decent but were made with a strange gray food coloring which I found off putting. Our server was extremely helpful but the iPad kept blacking out so we rushed through ordering. I think another visit could improve our ordering dramatically. Because we found you can use your phone and a QR code to do the same menu viewing and place your order. But we won't be rushing back. And  yes, his name tag says Jackie Chan (eye roll) 

The place is located just beyond Plaza Alfalfa so we got a slightly new view walking home - 

Today the weather is crappy again and high of 42*F so we have canceled our reservation and will forage for food in the house. We have a variety of bits and pieces to eat so it will be fine.  Not exciting but fine. We had reserved a new place to try but it will have to wait. 

Dinner with Becky & Sue (it's Sunday night again.) This time we headed to El Pinton near the Cathedral. And it was raining for a change. (Not) But the forecast promises better weather by the end of the week. 70* and sun or at least SOME sun! Woo hoo!

on the way home- 

We think the horrible weather is going to end around the end of the week. It should fall almost exactly three years to the day that we first arrived in Spain (14 February 2023) with a plan to move here. We had sold all the buildings we could divest (based on partnerships) and our Florida home and simply kept our Chicago condo to "summer" in a cool location. Our Florida stuff that was heading north was in storage there, awaiting our return from language immersion classes and exploring potential new home bases. We got back to the States in April and started the process of applying for a residence visa. 

The last three years have flown by and we are headed into our third visa application - after this one we apply for permanent residency. (Renews every five years.) So we are still exploring our city and the country of Spain and will have new adventures to report this month and next on places we have not yet been. So stay tuned.

These are the first two pictures I took (from our hotel room balcony) in Spain in 2023 - the beginning of our adventure.