More Sights

Obviously, I´m not working and have all day to wander the city. Consider this a continuation of the previous list.

5. Heels are definitely in (watch the sidewalk grates), as are rain boots. Tennis shoes, Berkinstocks, and fuzzy pink flipflops are out.
6. Just because a man is a smooth-talking tango dancer from Argentina doesn´t mean he´ll pay for your lunch.
7. If they want to, shopkeepers will treat you badly. I guess it´s retaliation for the way I speak their language.
8. People make out everywhere - sidewalk, bus, metro, even their car as they´re waiting for the light to change. Do not be surprised.
9. Rebajas = fabulous. Think Old Navy on a 50% off day, but with better clothes.
10. Do not ride the metro from Banco de España to Sol at 19.00. Or from Santo Domingo to Aguelles. In fact, wait until 21.00 or 22.00 when all decent people are at home eating dinner, and then ride the metro.

My life approached the sheer fabulous this afternoon. After reading and taking a siesta, I wandered to the kitchen, where the grandmother was cooking paella, a traditional Spanish dish of rice, vegetables, and meat (in this case, rabbit. But not one I had known personally). She loves Louis Armstrong, and we listened to him while we practiced each other´s languages. Her English is improving, and I like to think the same about my Spanish. The windows of the small, warmly-lit kitchen were foggy with the heat of cooking, and outside the clouds were letting down mists in tiny gusts. The dog slept on the wooden floor just outside the kitchen. We talked about jazz, dancing, Colorado, her education with Irish nuns in Seville, and the nature of saffron. Given a choice, I would do exactly the same thing tomorrow afternoon!