FEMALE, Final Post

OK, it's ridiculously late to be writing a Sevillano postscript to our Jan.-Feb. 2017 trip, but we do have some photos and I do have a few last observations:

• I'd go back to southern Spain over and over. There's so much to explore, and the culture is similar enough to Mexico's to appeal to me after our 11+ years in Puerto Vallarta. The people aren't as friendly, the pace is a bit brisker, but the costs—once you're away from the coastal tourist zone—quite similar. I'd never buy property there, due to the bureaucracy and hassles, but a long-term rental is very appealing. I loved Sevilla, but now want to go north, south, east, and west from there: to Málaga,  Granada, Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, and the many small towns north of the coastline. Renting a car would be ideal, though city centers are a challenge... we never did figure out how one-way streets were marked, if at all! 

• If we didn't drink, we'd have missed making a lot of friends! Chatting up waiters and bartenders is the easiest route into sociability, and we always make full use of those venues. See the photos! (Spanish food isn't my ideal, but there are lots of Italian restaurants...) 

• The older we get, the more our travel habits morph. Two cell phones are now essential, as we often intentionally (or not) go in different directions yet need to meet up. They (partly) saved us from total meltdown when we lost one another in a cavernous Parisian rail station.  Being 70 rather than 20 was a huge advantage for me: more pesos with which to escape jams, more wisdom and patience with which to surf snags, and above all less self-consciousness, more willingness to communicate with strangers and throw ourselves on their mercy if need be, no matter how foul our language skills.

• Travel in winter is an exchange: you get easy access to sites, fewer obnoxious crowds and tourist scenes, and much lower prices, but you lose flowers, foliage, and sunshine—and also gain the need to seriously bundle up (hence more luggage). An obvious observation, but true nonetheless.  I missed flowers and green stuff a lot.

• You can't pack enough ibuprofen nor take enough bathroom breaks, given opportunities. Note to self: bring more tissues, a washcloth, and a lint roller!

And on that homely note, here are the final photos for Sevilla:

Bar Estrella, with our pals

Estrella Boys on a ciggie break (everyone smokes...)

Gallo Rojo Brewmeisters

Weird landmark near our apt., nicknamed "the mushrooms"

Wall Nun—tiles last longer than paint

Just another ordinary, gorgeous doorway...

And another...

Ad for a liqueur in El Rinconcillo—note the monkey

Unrepentant Breadstick Thief

Home brew skeptic (product of the Gallo Rojo Brewpub)