I almost didn’t go out today but, as I did stay-at-home yesterday, I gave myself a push and ended up so happy that I did. It wasn’t so blisteringly hot, down almost 10 degrees from last week, but I still hopped on the 32 bus for one stop to cut down on painful walking. On my way to the Flamenco Museum (researching an upcoming Bitesize Sevilla article) I was surprised to see Ultramarinos Lucas open. My friend Roger had told me about this place ages ago but every time I passed by it was closed. So of course I had to go in. An ultramarinos is a small grocery store / wine shop where you can often have a glass of something and a snack. So I went in and met Pablo, whose grandfather had started the shop more than 100 years ago. We had a nice long chat and I promised to come back to do a write up. 

In spite of the quick bus ride it was still a bit of a hike to the Museo so we decided to stop off for a quick Beer O’clock at Salmedina along the way. 

At the Museo I met with Carlos to get some help with how to structure my article and while I was there I was hit with such a feeling of… almost like homesickness? I’ve been taking people there on my flamenco & tapas tours for almost 15 years, but of course not since last summer when I started needing crutches to walk. I guess it was a combination of missing both the place and my old life. Anyhow, Carlos was super helpful and I came away with tons of notes, plus he sent me extra info by email.

By then it was lunchtime and, as I hadn’t updated Catalina La Barra in over a year, we headed over there. Even managed to find stuff on the menu I hadn’t tried! And then it was time to hobble home. Got back around 4 pm, took a shower and just felt… so happy. I don’t know, it doesn’t sound like anything special but it really was. Meeting and chatting with different people, feeling purposeful, a nice meal. A good day.