Tag Archives: sevilla

short-sighted quick-fix high-risk “solutions”

05 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla, tourism, travel, welcome

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byebye

This was rather a cheering sight during my first (and probably last for some time) river walk since lockdown. Because upon seeing this very dead scooter on the river bank I realised that I hadn’t actually seen any of these annoying things these past couple of months, not from my balcony nor during quick trips to the supermarket. Obviously most were being (mis)used by tourists, riding them on pavements and leaving them just anywhere all over the city, so this has been one of the other positive aspects to getting our city back.

Then I read this morning that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has named Sevilla (where they held their annual global summit last year) as one of the five travel destinations IN THE WORLD to receive their new Safe Travel Stamp, to “reassure and restore the confidence of travellers and make travel safe again”.

We are excited that Saudi Arabia, which is Chair of the G20 tourism group, as well as popular destinations such as Cancun, one of the biggest destinations in the world, Portugal, one of the fastest growing countries in Europe and the holiday cities of Barcelona and Seville, amongst others, are among the first destinations to back the stamp and implement global standard protocols to recover faster.

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lockdown day 82

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, lockdown, lockdown sevilla, sevilla, welcome

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triana bridge

Sevilla is now in Phase 2, with Phase 3 supposedly coming up on Monday June 8th, the final two-week stage of the government Covid de-escalation plan, scheduled to “finish” on June 22nd, at which point… who knows? Well, it means we will no longer be in an official state of emergency, though since not all provinces are in the same phase right now this will probably be extended until at least the end of June. But other than opening up our borders again to international tourists in July I haven’t heard of any other major changes coming up after lockdown.

We were supposed to have some travel restrictions lifted in Andalucía on Monday, allowing people to move about between the eight provinces, but since Granada and Málaga are still going to be in Phase 2 then, it looks like this is going to be postponed. The rest is mostly relaxing restrictions for businesses that deal with the public and I think hotels (and tourist apartments) can start reopening then too. Nightclubs, theatres and cinemas will also be allowed to open with limited capacity (30-50%). Oh and beaches too, as long as people respect social distancing. Srsly? Just waiting for all those super crowded beach pics on social media. So, as for me…

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green sleeves

02 Tuesday Jun 2020

Posted by in home, sevilla, welcome

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green sleeves

So yeah, I don’t sleep much. Or well. Never have really. So not surprisingly I’ve been sleeping (or not sleeping) less (or more) and even worse during lockdown. Not because I’m locked down per se, more because I can’t let my mind wander too far into “what ifs” and this is easier done while awake than when asleep.

But one indulgence I now allow myself, being locked down and all, is that I can get up whenever I damn well please. I mean, there’s nowhere to go. And I have no work to do. Before I used to find it hard to stay in bed after sunrise, even if I’d only slept a few short hours, because it seemed a waste to miss a beautiful morning (I love mornings). But now? Fuck it. I probably only average about 4-5 hours of sleep a night, waking up anytime after 4 am. And there’s no way I can get back to sleep because, well, I can’t. So I read stuff on my phone, play with the cats, maybe get up two or three times because I’m restless. Before I know it it’s 7 o’clock. I know this because Loki has been spending the past hour or so moaning and pawing at me to feed him breakfast. So then I get up, feed the beasts, open the windows and go back to bed.

And since I’m not forcing myself to get up I sometimes even manage to doze off for another blessed hour or two, which feels amazing. Once or twice since lockdown I even surprised myself by waking up again at noon (!!). Unheard of. But it’s all part of the whole becoming a cat thing. So what does this have to do with green sleeves you ask?

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getting back to normal

27 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, lockdown, lockdown sevilla, sevilla, sevilla shutdown, shopping

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roof

So as of last Monday we are in Phase 2 in Andalucía (Madrid and Catalunya are catching up and are on Phase 1). This means that more public spaces are opening, bars and restaurants have a bit more flexibility, non-essential shops and department stores are also allowed to open, and some restrictions are lifted for general circulation around town and within the province. All of course with the required “social distancing” measures, and all kinds of disinfecting, cleaning, etc going on. Ah, and masks have been mandatory since last weekend. If all goes well, Phase 3 is meant to start on June 8th.

What could go wrong? Well, plenty. I still see (from my balcony) too many people not wearing masks, walking too close to others, basically not giving a shit. So I am personally still in Phase 0, only going out for essential shopping and taking out the rubbish, otherwise I am staying home and staying safe. And walking on my roof (view from rooftop in photo above).

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