Tag Archives: sevilla

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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constancia is back!

26 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by in animals & pets, music, sevilla, welcome

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constancia-2

You may remember Constancia from back when I first met her in October 2018. Well, I had known of her for years previous to that, passing her in the streets almost every day, but that was the first time I stopped to chat with her. And we became friends in a way. After that I would always greet her and chat a bit, blow her a kiss (she loves blowing kisses) and sometimes I would give her some cash or some food. She lives with her husband just beyond 3 mil, and she really does work hard, out there every day with her little dog and her accordian. Often I would pass her coming home after a tapas tour, going on midnight.

Anyhow, just before Christmas I saw her while on my way to pick up clients for a tapas tour… and she was without her little dog. And my heart just sank. So of course I stopped to ask what happened, and of course the dog had died (ripe old age, she’d had a good life) and I couldn’t do anything but hold Constancia in the biggest hug I could manage and kiss her cheeks. Oh man, it was so heartbreaking to see her without her dog and knowing how much pain she was in. And worse then to tell her I had to go (I ended up late for my tour) but that we’d talk soon.

 

Next time I saw her we talked about her getting another dog and I said I could check rescue shelters and help her find a new pup. But Constancia was very clear. She wanted the exact same breed as Piti, she wanted a female, and she wanted a young puppy. Well, I’m all about adopting rescues rather than buying from breeders, and how would she even find another Bichón Habanese anyhow, but you know what? In the end her husband found one, a mini replica of her old dog.

And I know all this because when I was doing a “rubbish run” last week (wearing my latex gloves!) I took the long way home and suddenly saw Constancia with her accordian and five-month old brand new little Piti out in the street. Oh my god… big air kisses all around and the little pup was so adorable and very friendly. And I saw Constancia smiling again. Made my day.