2019 Andalusia In Autumn

Halloween. The stores are decorated and I'm looking forward to see what goes on in Madrid. I did not find that many costumes this evening, so I'm either too late or too early. Probably the latter, as Spanish children can be found out past 10 pm many nights riding their bikes and on the playgrounds. Happy Princess and Sad Princess at the Sofia.  I changed my mind on bike riding today, as the Reina Sofia Art Museum is just across the plaza and opens at 10 am. While I visited it on a prior trip, I finally realized that the exhibits change. I can ride anywhere but not visit a world class museum. I explored my neighborhood last night and found a specialty bar offering perhaps 16 craft beers and 16 wines by the glass, all listed on a chalk board. So, after the museum . . . Repacking. Keeping the bike case under 50# or 22 kilos is tricky when I lack a scale. This morning I removed the tools seat post, bike cable lock, and pedals to place in the duffel. Hopefully, that will b...

I rode 1 mile to the Santa Justa train station via the Seville bike lanes, then packed the bike in the case, about 45 minutes. I didn't draw many spectators this time, then watched downloaded Amazon Prime videos while I waited. I have now finished both 6-episode seasons of Fleabag, prompted by it's Emmy awards. Well done, worth watching. Upon arrival, I investigated how to get to Madrid's Barajas Airport for a 6 am flight. Results: My flight is out of T2. The train arrives at T4. Train service to the airport, the C1 line, begins at 5:30 am and takes 25 minutes. Taxi's have a fixed airport fare of 30 euros. I have one scheduled, thanks to the helpful check-in clerk.  I finally got with it and downloaded the Uber and Lyft apps. Uber is available; Lyft—not yet.  My pick up is 3 am, the cab ride is 20-30 minutes, perhaps longer with traffic. Should not be much traffic at 3 am, but who knows?  The airlines' on-line recommendations are to allow 3 hours before d...

Purely a sights of Seville  day, all walking and no bike riding. Rather than write about my day, enjoy the photos. Dog of the Day #1 Metropol Parasol or Setas de Seville The Metropol Parasol, popularly known as the Mushrooms of the Incarnation, is a wooden structure with 2 concrete columns that hold the access elevators to the viewpoint and is located in the central Plaza de la Encarnación in the city of Seville. It measures 150 x 70 metres and is approximately 26 metres high. It was the winning project in the competition opened by the Seville City Council to carry out the renovation of the square in which it is located; its designer was the architect from Berlin, Jürgen Mayer. The structure consists of six large, mushroom-shaped parasols, whose design is inspired by the arches of Seville's cathedral and the ¨ficus¨ of nearby Plaza del Cristo de Burgos. All in all, it has five levels. The upper level contains a lookout point and a panoramic route that covers most of t...