Adiós Madrid, Hola Sevilla

Today was a train day. No early wake up call. We felt so proud of ourselves that we made another pot of espresso; we managed to make the stove work in record time. So, it was pack the bags, wash the coffee cups, and send a text to Fernando to let him know that we were gone.  It took about 15 minutes to walk to the Atocha Station, the principal station in Madrid. We climbed aboard at 11:45 and were traveling toward Sevilla at noon.

High speed trains started about 1992 in Spain

Sevilla at about 14:32

My clever idea of buying a SIM from our limo service proved to be a poor choice. After 1 phone call and 2 texts, we had run out of phone and SMS options. The data still works, but that is not the only reason we bought the card. I'll head to Orange, Movistar, or Vodaphone tomorrow to get a real SIM.

Not having a working SIM, I had to find a pay phone. After some skin glistening moments, I manage to get through to our rental agent. A short taxi ride delivered us to our home for the next month in Triana. A 2 bedroom, seventh floor, apartment in a residential building.

View from our apartment, not a bull ring

Ludo met us at the  apartment. He is a Frenchman who finds Spain a pleasant relief from his faux cerebral countrymen. He says, the French are too uptight. He prefers the southern Spaniards. He has been here for 3 years and has no plans to return to France.

After Ludo left us, we headed for the streets to find some sustenance. It was 16:30 (4:30 PM). The first tapas place, about 50 meters from our building, advised that it stopped serving food at 16:00 and would not resume until 20:00. The next place, 2 doors down, had cold tapas, but the hot ones would not resume until about 20:00. We chose cold.

a small cold lunch with beverage

We did a bit of grocery shopping (milk, fruit, TP, paper towels, etc.) and then a scouting of the neighborhood.

 near the Triana bridge

Guadalquivir river separating Sevilla from Triana

 along Calle Betis in Triana

 Sevilla bull ring

 along Calle Betis

Torre del Oro

We explored the neighborhood until just after 21:00 (9:00 PM). We chose the Antiqua for our evening repast. 

we forgot about photos until the sardines were gone

On the way to our Triana home, we peeked into a couple of flamenco places that were yet to open and a church for mariners. 

near Calle Betis in Triana

Our day came to an end before midnight. I did not feel like a local as yet. The tapas bars were just getting into high gear. The streets were full and we were exiting.

PS - Why do people on cell phones feel that they can speak in their loudest tone when on a public conveyance?