WITH ALL DUE APOLOGIES, ETC My lessonmates are still asking me about my holiday in Seville, and it occurs to me that, well, the writing's okay, but it lacks that feeling of being there. Unlike many of my other posts, even the 'historical' ones. I'm pretty sure I know why that's the case. Ach, they're …
Hasta Luego…
THE REST OF THE HOLIDAY It's not like it's fading, but what with daily life, trying to drum up enough freelance so I don't have to rechain myself to someone else's desk [although that sounds like a porfession that has absolutely nothing to do with mine!], Seville is transmuting into a series of snapshots, a …
Just Beachy
26 DECEMBER, 2007 Right before I left for Spain, I'd felt a cold coming on. It followed me. The morning was cold, colder than we'd had the last two days, cold enough to see my breath. I felt achy, and annoyed that I hadn't brought the antihistamines that had fallen off a shelf in my …
Happy Christmas!
25 DECEMBER, 2007 Another glorious day, another frugal breakfast— I didn't fancy making a run for the very low lying bushes in the middle of a trek— and one last round of coffee before someone realised it was Christmas Day. We all laughed, and exchanged the greetings of the season, and it was a wonderful …
Muy Guapo!
24 DECEMBER, 2007 After a gorgeous, authentic Spanish lunch cooked by Fernando's wife Jane, we repaired to our rooms to relax before our afternoon lesson. I had chosen the holiday primarily not only for its proximity to Seville, but also due to the offer of an hour's equitation in the afternoon. After three hours on …
The Reins in Spain
STAY MAINLY IN... ER... LOS MANOS? NEVER MIND: 24 DECEMBER, 2007 Breakfast at nine, first trek at ten. I hate to eat first thing in the morning, and this morning, forget it: too nervous. We're all chatting away at table— there are eight of us, the perfect number that I'd had in mind— and I …
Limbo
DECEMBER 23, 2007 I arrive in Málaga after an uneventful flight. I sleep through most of it, although it's difficult. The flight attendants are always trying to sell you something, food, water, fragrances. I get a bit of a kip, though, and flow into the feeling of travelling, disembarking, following signs, turning on my phone, …
In Which It Appears I May Not Make it to Spain
23 DECEMBER, 2007 Up at 4 a.m., into the taxi at ten to 5, and I arrived at Dublin Airport at 5.15. Plenty of time. Except that we've driven straight into Bedlam. The taximan looked at me in the rearview, after we'd both assessed the mile-long snake of taxis trying to make their way up …
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