Dry and happy again in Seville.
….following -inevitably- the changes we are presented with.
Riding the upswing wave for the past few days since the day we arrived cold and damp
in the marvelous, glorious city of Sevilla! The strong north/eastern head winds gave us a good work out, but it was well worth it.Our host has been the most! Upon reaching the city we were told per text that the place would be available for us for one night and space in this one small bedroom apartment had been already taken by 2 other WarmShower (in case you don’t know: Home | Warmshowers.org ) cyclist. Luis’ (our host’s) concern about riding conditions had been genuin and he had been flat out worried checking in almost hourly until we finally arrived at his apartment close to downtown.
We were welcomed like some long lost friends, fed like we were deprived of food for a visible time - like we finally came home!
Dinner table talk - after a nice hot shower - was like one could imagine in an Italian household at meal time with uncles and cousins, kids, mommas and papas …the whole famn damily talking all at the some time! And maybe a Spanish household isn’t that much different after all. The air was buzzing with so many stories, so many questions….such a relieve for all of us to be out of the wind, cold and rain.
It didn’t take Luis much time to offer us the apartment keys the same night we arrived and told us: You can stay as long as you want - enjoy!
I was floored…speechless…..
Someone on FB said we hit the jackpot - again! Couldn’t be more true!
Next day the sun shone as if nothing happened and the city sparkled in its best light.
What a joy to keep the bikes parked, walk around, eat the best ice cream, get lost in the narrow alleys, smell food everywhere and hit the bakeries every 30 minutes.
Overjoyed I (maybe finally) have to admit to myself that familiarity has quite the relaxing, even southing element as a side effect. As much as curiosity is such an important part of traveling in the style we do, there is an undeniable very stressy part involved.
Big cities are a comfort to me! I grew up in one - European.
Nature is part of us - we are nature! I love being in nature too. Maybe surviving in a city can be tough as well…there are significant amounts of homeless people in Sevilla lots of people -strangers helping each other out. Citizens taking in refugees - thank god!
There was a time when it was a self inflicting challenge for me to rough it…..deal with the elements, build a shelter….stay dry in the rain….keep warm in the cold…cool off in the desert heat…find food, cook in the wild…eat a snake, scare a bear! Maybe times have changed?
For now I am loving city life with the most generous, friendly people around -suits me just fine, thank you very much!
Here a summary clip from Portugal
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