December arrives

As I mentioned in the prior post:  The weekend came and we went out for lunch on a beautiful blue sky day in the 70s - everyone else had the exact same idea! LOL - that day was the day scheduled for the holiday lights to be turned on. Many families were in the city center for the event. All of a sudden we got busy... Must have been the Thanksgiving slow down. 

Holidays are now in full swing here. The crowds were overwhelming as we fought our way to lunch, through hundreds on the sidewalks, all out on a blue sky day in the mid 70s. We headed to Sal Gordo on the recommendation of Frank Patterson.  We had the cola de Toro donut - have to say I'd prefer it as an empanada (had a sweet note I wasn't crazy about.) I enjoyed the Gazpacho Amarillo and the Ceviche. Phil had the tuna tatar and risotto.  We split the donut. It was very meaty but I would not order again. The rest of the meal was very good. We had an upscale dinner planned so I didn't want to overdo the lunch. 

On the way home from lunch I took some photos of some of the tilework we see in various locations around the city. These are sometimes like our ghost signs advertising for long gone businesses. And sometimes they are like our street signs (just more attractive than ours.) We stopped for coffee at a new place. I changed it up and ordered mocha. Pretty good but I won't rush back.The holiday lights came on later in the day (part of the reason it was so crowded in the Casco Antiguo Sevilla.)

As mentioned. The city's holiday lights came on. So we had a lot of people in the city to see them. More will follow as there are different choices on each street and in neighborhoods across the old city. But  first - about dinner at El Traga. A terrific meal with first rate service and fabulous food. And dare I say it? The best arroz dish I've had in Spain. 

We walked home through street lit with holiday lights - but the lights get their own post... 

The following night we tried a Mexican place - which was also great! Called Sede Mexican. A fun meal that satisfied the yearning for some Mexican food. Started with Margaritas for Phil and Aperol spritz for me.  The guacamole was excellent but the chips were on the thick side. Then we went to tacos. We had two al pastor and one cochinito. Both good with a slight preference for the cochinito. Then on to a chicken mole dish not exactly enchiladas but leaning there. And Phil had a tasty dish of pork in black bean sauce. For dessert it was a first rate tres leches cake,  and of course the chocolate dessert for Phil. We walked home under the holiday lights. The night was coolish, so we ate indoors, but the place has a fabulous patio in a. plaza with a fountain, a beautiful atmosphere for al fresco dining during daytime or warmer evenings. We will be back.

Our walk home was beautiful in the quiet of the Santa Cruz streets until we got to the area of the Cathedral and Avenida de Constitution where the holiday lights were on display (and attendant crowds were still hanging on for the pleasant Sunday evening) - lights in a post of their own but the walk - here...

And finally, a photo of the street we live on where they have just completed the street plaza paving and landscaping with planters and trees... we are thrilled with the improved look -

 Sadly it turns out there will still be vehicle traffic on Zaragoza but not all the way through like it was before they repaved- so we seem to have a permanent plaza here at our end where Zaragoza nd Madrid meet up.  Holiday lights coming - I promise!

Thanksgiving week

 So last year we had Thanksgiving on the road between Sarasota and Miami at an Alligator rest stop.  We had packed Jimmy John's sandwiches and chips and sodas.  We knew even the fast food joints along the highway would be closed on the holiday - so we got sandwiches ahead of time. This year we have a different story. Much has changed since last Thanksgiving. We completed the process of obtaining a visa for residence in Spain. We entered the country on December 26th.  

Reflecting on the last year(s) as we spent what I am fairly sure was our first Thanksgiving out of the States.

We started the process of moving to Spain in June 2022 when SCOTUS in one weekend 1. Overturned Roe v Wade 2. Decimated the EPA authority to keep our environment clean 3. Decimated the Native American justice system and 4. Restricted voting rights. I turned to Phil and said "that's it, we are leaving. This is no longer our country!" In the next months we sold off our remaining real estate holdings. Then we went to Florida and sold our place there in November 2022. In early 2023 we went to Spain to scout out possible places to live and did six weeks of immersion Spanish classes in Sevilla. We spent another month checking out Malaga, Alicante, and Valencia. Valencia was still in the running until we returned to Sevilla after obtaining residence visas in December 2023. 

It wasn't long after we returned to Sevilla that we both knew we had found our "home.". We did spend a month in Valencia in spring 2024 just to be sure but although we loved it - we lived Sevilla more. By February 2024 we had signed a three year lease on our place here.  We are in process with renewal of our visas (this time for two years) and consider ourselves political refugees. Not kidding. Saw the handwriting on the wall in June 2022. Not at all surprised by the election results. 

Told Phil "you can leave in a suitcase or you can leave in a coffin; I pick suitcase." Antisemitism is growing and we've seen this movie before. After this renewal of our visas we have one more two year renewal and then have permanent status (kind of like green card) to reside in Spain. 

We love it here. The lifestyle is much more stress free. People stop on the street for conversations. The fruit stand and shop keepers greet you when you pass by. The cost of things is lower than the States. So we go on... Sad for what has happened to what we thought was our country but clearly was not a shared vision of America. Time marches forward and the world changes. We lived in the best of times. We didn't know it but we sure do now. 

So here was my FB post on Thanksgiving- 

"Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🦃🦃 I know I won't get a lot of tearful emojis when I tell you that this is as close as I am going to get to a Thanksgiving dinner. Being political refugees, as we are, the ingredients for a classic American Thanksgiving are few but we do have some potatoes that I could make into "mashed potatoes." No gravy. No stuffing. No turkey. But the potatoes have authentic lumps 🤣🤣🤣. Mom's recipe!  Hope everyone has a good holiday! And GO LIONS! (always root for cats❣️ and against billionaires who want public money to build a stadium when they RUINED the first one we gave them 🤣🤣🤣)"

on the night before Thanksgiving we had Chinese (I know it's a "Christmas tradition but hey...")

 

Then on Thanksgiving Day we  had dinner at Azotea- 

Then a nice walk home- 

Then we had dinner at La Casapuerta with Phil's teacher Natalia and her son Santiago. 

The weekend came and we went out for lunch on a beautiful blue sky day in the 70s - everyone else had the exact same idea! LOL - that day was the day scheduled for the holiday lights to be turned on. Many families were in the city center for the event. But that will be another post.