Enjoy Living Abroad
  • Start Here
  • My Blog
  • My Travel Books
    • My San Francisco >
      • SF BOOK CONTENTS
      • SF BOOK SAMPLE
    • GREAT MED COMFORT FOOD BOOK
    • MOVING TO SEVILLE
    • EASTERN EUROPE BY RAIL
    • PACK LIGHT
    • Seville's New Normal
  • FINDING HOPE
  • The Amigos Project
  • Cheap & Cheerful San Francisco
    • My Picks: Best of SF
  • Cozy Places to Eat in Seville
    • Romantic Restaurants
    • Tapas Bars
    • Cocktail Bars
    • Breakfast
    • Sweet Indulgences
  • The Nutters' Tour
  • Med Comfort Food Tour
  • Mediterranean Recipes
  • Dive Bars
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing
    • Enjoy the Best of Seville
  • About
    • PRESS
  • Contact

Finding hope

My Harrowing Pandemic Journey from Seville to SF

5/20/2020

 
Harrowing Pandemic Trip from Seville to SF / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
The journey started smoothly enough, with a nearly empty train from Seville to Madrid.

​How harrowing was it? I was reminded of a thriller I read when I was nineteen. This young woman is walking home from choir practice, alone, in the dark, knowing there is a vicious killer around preying on people her age. Obviously anyone with any sense would have clung to a pillar of the church — literally or in the person of the priest — and demanded sanctuary, or at least a ride home. But this intrepid idiot walks the whole way, past the graveyard and the old quarry, wondering if each snapping twig is just an animal and whether those are footsteps behind her or simply wind rustling the leaves.
 
My point is, I was a bit jittery. In fact, I leapt out of my skin if anyone coughed, even if it was me.
 
Our journey began Sunday with a walk to the railway station, our luggage stuffed with hand sanitizer, face masks, latex gloves, moist towelettes, three kinds of spray disinfectant, blankets, inflatable pillows, and enough Oatmeal Raisin Spelt Cookies to sustain life for days. I’d made a donation at the shrine of San Pancracio, the patron saint of health. My bases were covered. It was all systems go.

Patron Saint of Health / Harrowing Pandemic Trip from Seville to SF / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
As you might imagine, San Pancracio, the patron saint of health, has been extra popular lately.

Seville's railway station set the tone for the trip; it was as dimly lit as the set from an apocalyptic movie, with a few silent, masked figures skulking in the distance. On the nearly empty train, I sprayed our seats, arm rests, and tray tables with antiseptic before settling in. 

Picture
A sanitation worker disinfects Seville's Santa Justa railway station. Photo: Niccolo Guasti/Getty Images

“Did you see that?” Rich later whispered to me. Actually, he was practically shouting, but his voice was so muffled by the mask and shield I had to lean in and listen hard.
 
“See what?”
 
“That skinny, nervous guy who got on in Cordoba? He just left his seat and went to join another guy. They don’t seem to know each other. And now they’re sharing a bottle of water."  Wow, talk about living on the edge.
 
In Madrid our chatty cab driver gestured so much with his hands that I figured he must be steering with his knees, giving me something fresh to worry about for the short ride to the hotel.
 
Rich had requested a room stripped of all pillows, blankets, and duvets, which we’d read are potential germ vectors; our boxy little room was very bare. As the team member in charge of hygiene protocols, I insisted our masks and shields stay on until we’d sanitized the room.

Harrowing Pandemic Trip from Seville to SF / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Just some of the protective measures we brought to the hotel near Madrid's airport. The upside down can at the back is the one that went berserk on us.

“Saturate everything,” I said, handing Rich the extra-powerful disinfectant spray I’d ordered online.
 
I headed into the bathroom with some household disinfectant, grabbed a hand towel, and got to work. I was swabbing the sink when a great cloud of noxious fumes rolled through the door, a hideous, a mix of cockroach spray, tear gas, and brimstone.
 
“What the hell?” Coughing and choking, I dashed into the bedroom. Rich was wrestling with the spray can, which was spewing great geysers of chemical fog in all directions.
 
“I can’t shut this thing off!” he yelled, arms flailing wildly, like the famous “Danger: Vacuum” scene in Airplane II.


Gasping, eyes watering, lungs on fire, I croaked,“I have to leave. Now.” I tore open the door and sprinted out into the corridor. The fumes followed. I rounded a corner. Still couldn’t get my breath. Turning again, I finally found breathable air. As I collapsed against a wall, wheezing and coughing, I noticed maids poking their heads out of doorways, eyeing me with alarm.
 
Meanwhile, Rich struggled manfully to subdue the spray can. Personally, I’d have been tempted to chuck it out the window, like a live hand grenade, but he was right not to risk the loss of life below.
 
“I managed to get the cap on,” he told me afterwards, “but then it was spouting out the sides in all directions. Finally I turned it upside down, and eventually, it stopped.” Setting the can down very carefully on its cap, Rich flung wide the window and flapped the door until the air quality was such that I could return.
 
“You said ‘saturate everything,’” he said.
 
“I didn’t mean the lining of my lungs.”
 
We laid out our blankets and inflatable pillows and eventually slept. The next morning we had a couple of the cookies for breakfast and donned the shields we’d be wearing continuously for the next 24 hours, masks we’d swap out occasionally, and gloves we’d re-sanitize incessantly.

​
The Madrid-Barajas Airport, which ordinarily serves sixty million passengers a year, was deserted. Nothing was open, not even a coffee stand. Our Boeing 788, designed for 180+ passengers, had perhaps thirty, spaced widely apart. And yet, inexplicably, they’d placed someone directly behind us. Rich and I hurridly switched to a more remote seat. The staff fed us as quickly as possible, then darkened the windows and turned off all the lights. I slept for much of the ten hours to Dallas.
 
Before landing, we were handed a form: Did we have any COVID-19 symptoms? Had we been with anyone who had the virus? CDC personnel met our plane and repeated the questions, but it seemed surprisingly perfunctory. We were through health screening, immigration, and customs in less than 15 minutes.
 
DFW’s main concourse was jumping; the fast food joints were open and there were plenty of passengers, many brushing past us with unmasked faces. When I learned our flight was 80% full, my horrified expression must have been visible even through the mask and shield because the woman at the desk kindly arranged to keep the third seat in our row empty. Arriving in San Francisco, Rich and I zipped through a nearly deserted terminal to meet the Uber driver who transported us to San Anselmo, making record time over empty freeways.
​
Harrowing Pandemic Trip from Seville to SF / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Thanks to California's stay-at-home order, the Golden Gate Bridge is no longer jammed with traffic. Photo: Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner

​We’re in quarantine for fourteen days to make sure we didn’t pick up the virus en route. It’s an honor system, and we intend to honor it fully. My sister Kate and her husband stocked the house with enough groceries for the duration, plus homemade bread, soup, and hummus. They left us two bottles from Sonoma Brothers Distilling: their signature gin and a gallon of hand sanitizer. This public-spirited company has risen to the occasion by retooling their factories to provide both essential products to a grateful nation.

Harrowing Pandemic Trip from Seville to SF / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Just some of the groceries Kate and Jeff dropped off to make sure we won't starve in the next two weeks.
 
​Now I know what you’ve been wondering. Whatever happened to that young woman in the thriller? Did she make it home safely? Well, she finally got frightened enough to run the last block; fumbling open her front door, she dashed inside and bolted the door. Had the danger, she wondered, only existed in her imagination? The last line read: “And then someone behind her cleared his throat.”
 
Here’s hoping that COVID-19 isn’t going to provide us with that kind of shocker ending. So far we feel fine, our temperatures (checked twice a day as instructed) are normal, and we're grateful the long, unnerving journey is behind us. Yesterday, clearing out a cupboard to create more storage to accommodate all that food, I ran across this towel inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s good advice, and I plan to keep on taking it.

Don't Panic Towel / Harrowing Pandemic Trip from Seville to SF / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com

​Special thanks to all those who wished us luck on the journey. And bless you, San Pancracio, for doing your bit to watch over us along the way.
​
More Pandemic Perspectives & Humor
International Travel — In a Pandemic? Are We Nuts?
Coming Soon: Nostalgia for Quarantine?
​
Scofflaws, Naysayers & Coronavirus Myths
In the Pandemic: Desperate Situations, Ingenious Solutions
Why We All Feel Hopelessly Unproductive in Quarantine
​
Quarantined? Take Mini-Vacations. For Betty White's Sake
​
Months of Quarantine? OK, If That's What It Takes
​
Yes, You CAN Stay (Relatively) Sane During Lockdown
"Stranded" in Seville's Pandemic Lockdown
Want updates? Sign up here
Mary W
5/21/2020 04:10:21 pm

Whew! Glad you made it, if a little worse for wear. Another harrowing tale for the archives. May it make the look-back-and -laugh file! And I'm glad you're well equipped for May 25th, aka Towel Day, honoring Douglas Adams. This year I'm going to carry my towel as a talisman that we all will have many more stellar, if not interstellar adventures!

Karen McCann
5/21/2020 06:08:21 pm

Mary, I had no idea there was a Towel Day in honor of the late, great, wacky author Douglas Adams. And with the official date just around the corner on Monday, I think Rich and I will have to plan a stellar celebration. Thanks for this hot tip!

Rosa Deming link
5/21/2020 04:23:06 pm

I thought you lived in Sevilla, why did you return to California in the midst of the Pandemic?

Karen McCann
5/21/2020 06:13:28 pm

A good question, Rosa! Rich and I divide our time between Seville and my native San Francisco. We consider Seville our home, but we have personal, professional, medical, and financial interests in the US that are important to us, and for various reasons were put off to give us more time in Europe. Those interests became pressing, and we felt this was likely the best window of opportunity we'd have for returning to the US this year. For more, see last week's post: https://www.enjoylivingabroad.com/my-blog/international-travel-in-a-pandemic-are-we-nuts

sandra towers-clark
5/21/2020 04:25:26 pm

Good to read that, despite the horrendous journey, you are back home safely, fever-free.
You left at the right time as here the temperatures are rising but Fingers crossed, the beaches will reopen in 2 weeks...
Enjoy your 10 days at home, you seem covered on the food front. Gardening, cooking, painting, reading, writing will help.
Besitos!

Karen McCann
5/21/2020 06:15:30 pm

Thanks, Sandra! We miss you guys and look forward to hearing about all your adventures this summer, starting with some beach time soon, I hope. Stay cool, amiga, and much love to you, TC, and the girls.

Nicole Kosar
5/21/2020 04:36:53 pm

I’m so glad to hear you made it to the US safely! Enjoy Marin....I’m dreaming of the drive down Sir Francis Drake right now!

Karen McCann
5/21/2020 06:18:36 pm

Marin is as beautiful as ever, Nicole, although the whole area seems strangely quiet and deserted with everyone sheltering in place. The up side is that driving down Sir Francis Drake — or just about anywhere — is a breeze these days with virtually no traffic. Once we're out of quarantine and cope with our car's dead battery we look forward to hitting the local roads and enjoying the scenery.

JOAN FALLON-COOK link
5/21/2020 04:46:42 pm

Glad you got back to the US safely. Hope it was worth the awful journey. More travels soon for you both, I hope.

Karen McCann
5/21/2020 06:23:38 pm

Thanks, Joan! Much as I love travel, I have to admit that I'm looking forward to two peaceful weeks at home to catch my breath. I'll need that time to figure out all of CA's regulations and recommendations, which are quite different from Spain's. And to cope with the ant invasion in the kitchen and other domestic chores. Beyond that, I do look forward to more travel under less hysterical conditions!

Tricia Pimental link
5/21/2020 05:05:57 pm

I am so happy you both arrived safely, Karen.

You had my nerves going to the point when you wrote "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" I read "..."Hitchcock's" Guide....

I would love to be in touch with you directly as a fellow North American who lives on the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal, for me). Would you contact me, please?

In the meantime, here's to homemade bread (and good gin) in the Corona circus.

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:18:34 am

Yes, there was a sort of Hitchcock atmosphere to the journey, Tricia; I can see why you read it that way. Feel free to write to me at [email protected] if you want to discuss expat life. Portugal is a great choice; I hope you're enjoying it, despite the crazy circumstances we're all living in these days.

Pia Alliende link
5/21/2020 05:13:10 pm

I am glad you and Rich arrived safely,in the US and hopefully without catching the virus at Dallas airport. Now you can enjoy your cozy home in San Anselmo. It brings me such good memories. You are quiet a trooper. Never a dull moment hahaha. The scene of the Danger Can made me chuckle. Hopefully we can visit our cousins from CA in the near future. Stay strong, safe, healthy and with lots of patience. Un beso y abrazo gigantes!!!!!

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:24:47 am

Now that we're back in the same country, it would be great to see you, Pia! We'll make it happen as soon as possible, although of course, there is no telling when that will be. Hope you, Steve, and the kids continue to be OK. It was lovely getting back to the house and garden; Rich is enjoying puttering around pruning and raking up leaves and so on. And after such a crazy trip, we are both happy to hunker down quietly for a couple of weeks. Hugs to all the northern McCanns!

Faye
5/21/2020 05:39:28 pm

Whew!....glad you guys made it through that harrowing experience with spray can. Hope your lungs are okay...!
Enjoyed photos and video, especially of Rich doing a little jig!

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:27:00 am

I love that clip of Rich doing his jig; glad you liked it too, Faye. As for the spray can incident, I try not to think of the effect it probably had on my poor lungs. But hey, we survived and lived to travel another day. Grateful for that.

Denise Zeman link
5/21/2020 05:43:03 pm

So happy to see that you made it back to San Anselmo! Here's to a smooth and healthy quarantine! The time will fly by. It's almost two months back for us, and we're still displaying the "Welcome Home" sign that our grandson hung when they stocked our kitchen. Looks like you took all the right precautions. And I learned about "Towel Day" from one of your followers...who knew that was a thing!

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:33:49 am

Towel day is a new one for me, Denise. I'm so charmed that Mary knew about it and mentioned it in these comments. Apparently you celebrate it by carrying a towel around all day. Why? As the book Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy points out, "A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value -- you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-tohand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you -- daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough." That's a pretty handy thing to carry around all day! For more seetowelday.org.

Phil Ziegler
5/21/2020 05:54:01 pm

Glad your back. See you in 14 days I hope.

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:34:25 am

My well-sanitized fingers are crossed we can make that happen, Phil!

Barbara
5/21/2020 06:51:03 pm

Welcome back to Marin. I have been sheltering at home for the last 10 weeks but have enjoyed planting my victory garden. The coved 19 figures are relatively low in Marin so you are in the right place to be. That was very brave of you to make such a long journey. Welcome home to San Anselmo. Our beautiful wonderful town. Hopefully one day we can meet for coffee.
Barbara Chambers
San Anselmo

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:38:16 am

Thanks, Barbara. It's great to be back in San Anselmo, and Rich and I are looking forward to hunkering down at home until quarantine is up and then enjoying all the town still has to offer. As for meeting up for coffee ... what a lovely thought. I will look forward to that when circumstances permit.

Linda Wright Reilly
5/21/2020 07:44:43 pm

Cheers! Welcome back to the States. Thanks for allowing me to live vicariously through your trip. All mine, including a ten day trip to Oberammergau, have of couse been cancelled.

I'm glad you made it healthy and in one piece, and are now evidently well fed. Hopefully, you'll get some wine and will soon be able to walk the streets and get some fresh air.

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:41:43 am

Thanks for your kind words, Linda! Sad to think your travel plans, and so many other people's, have had to be cancelled. Everyone's lives have been disrupted on so many levels! Luckily there is still good food, wine, and fresh air to enjoy. That's something to be very grateful for.

Shéa
5/21/2020 08:03:19 pm

So glad you made it home safe. How unnerving! Especially that last flight. 😬 Stay sage and healthy!

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:43:32 am

It was pretty unnerving, Shéa. I am SO glad that trip is over. Now we're just enjoying the peace and quiet of our cottage in California.

Catherine Hutchison
5/21/2020 08:10:30 pm

You have been on my mind. Thanks for letting us know how the trip went and that you arrived in one piece.

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:44:29 am

It was some crazy adventure, Catherine, and I'm thrilled to be here in one piece.

Kitty
5/21/2020 08:29:10 pm

You can't drink the hand sanitizer but they did a study in Singapore where the vodka worked better on the hands than the sanitizer. I know you will drink the gin before that happens. Welcome back! Do you think the planes or the airports are safer? Of course, you made your trip home seem funny. Cheers!

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:47:31 am

The airlines and airports seem to be working very hard to improve their safety protocols, Kitty. I'm glad I traveled this month and not, as some friends did, just before Spain went into lockdown. They traveled with no protection except a little bit of hand sanitizer, and sat on crowded planes the whole way, with no masks or social distancing at all. So yes, I feel it was safer than that. However, I'd rather not repeat the experience any time soon (possibly ever).

Esther del Rosario
5/21/2020 08:48:42 pm

Welcome back! I don't remember how I came across your site/blog/Facebook page, but I'm happy I did and have been following you for some time. Reading this last entry about your journey back to the States, I find out we're practically neighbours! I live in Larkspur. Maybe when it's safe to gather again we can meet some day. Stay healthy!

Karen McCann
5/22/2020 01:48:59 am

Gosh yes, Esther. Larkspur is just up the road from us. So good to connect with an almost neighbor! Keep in touch, and let's hope the world gets safe enough to meet up one day.

Jackie Smith link
5/22/2020 07:46:50 am

Glad you made it safe and sound, hopefully healthy as well. Thought of you yesterday as we took our first road trip after the lockdown on cross prefecture travel was lifted and we chose Gythio as our destination. As we walked along the waterfront we were pondering your whereabouts ~

Lynn McBride link
5/30/2020 03:44:35 am

So funny! Y'all had such a great attitude. Happy you're home safe. I'll link your post to my blog this week. We are going the opposite direction in a month, pray for us!


Comments are closed.
    This blog is a promotion-free zone.
    As my regular readers know, I never get free or discounted goods or services for mentioning anything on this blog (or anywhere else). I only write about things I find interesting and/or useful.

    Picture
    Picture
    Paperback now available from independent seller ​Rebound Bookstore!
    LEARN MORE​
    Picture
    I'm an American travel writer dividing my time between California and Seville, Spain. I travel the world seeking intriguing people, quirky places, and outrageously delicious food so I can have the fun of writing about them here.

    Don't miss out!
    SIGN UP HERE
    to be notified when I publish new posts.

    ​Planning a trip?

    Use the search box below to find out about other places I've written about.
    And check out my other bestselling travel books
    Picture
    ​Winner of the Firebird Book Award for Travel
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    BLOG ARCHIVES 

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    CATEGORIES

    All
    100 Days On The Road
    1950s Sci-Fi
    2020
    2021 Holiday Tips
    2021 Puzzle Craze
    2024
    32 Years Together
    3 Food Tribes
    7 Best Travel Tips
    826 Valencia
    Abacería Puerta Carmona
    Accordion Festival
    Acupuncture
    Address To A Haggis
    Adriatic Sea
    African-American Disaspora
    Aging Gracefully
    Agrigento
    AirBnB
    Air Travel
    Air Travel Myths
    Alameda
    Albania
    Albanian Farm Food
    Alcalá De Guadaíra
    Alicia Bay Laurel
    Ali Kali
    Amazon
    American Resistance France
    American Taboos
    Amigos Project
    A Month Of Italy
    Amsterdam
    Angel Island
    Animal Artists
    Anthony Hopkins
    Anxious Traveler
    Any Book Book Club
    Apocalypse Chow
    Apps
    Arizona
    Armadillos
    Artichokes
    Artificial Intelligence
    Arts & Customs Museum
    Artwalk
    Atomic Bunker Museum
    Attention Test
    Austria
    Authentic Travel
    Automation = Apocalypse?
    A Year Of Travel
    Bad Art
    Bagpipe Music
    Balsamic Vinegar
    Baltasar
    Banana Bread
    Banned Book Club
    Banned Books
    Bari
    Barletta
    Bar Plata
    Barrio Abierto
    Bar Santa Ana
    Bathroom
    Batman
    Bears
    Beastly Spasm
    Becherovka
    Bed Bugs
    Beer
    Belgrade
    Best Apps 2016
    Best Foodie City
    Best & Worst
    Bet
    Better Homes And Gardens Cook Book
    Betty Soskin
    Betty White
    Bev's Peach Pie
    Bey's Soup
    Bhutan
    Bigfoot Museum
    Big Rail Trip 2016
    Biohazard Bag
    Biosphere 2
    Bird
    Black Angels
    Blogger Robots
    Blogs & Websites
    Bodega Bay
    Bong Appétit
    Book Banning
    Book Club
    Book Cover
    Books
    Bookstores
    Bosnia
    Botiza
    Brain-enhanced Chimps
    Brains Of The Pig
    Breakfast In Seville
    Bruce Lee
    Bucharest
    Budapest
    Budget
    Bulgaria
    Bullfighting Museum
    Bull's Head
    Burgos
    Burns Supper
    Buzzworthy Words
    CA
    Cabalgata
    CA Cheese Trail
    Ca ‘de Anime
    Caganer
    Cagliari
    Calvin Trillin
    Camels
    Carbon-Conscious Rail Travel
    Car Crazy
    Cars Vs. Trains
    Casa Fabiola
    Castle Houska
    Castro District
    České Budějovice
    České Budějovice
    Chained Wallet
    Chakra Stone
    Chatbots
    Chef Lenny The Lizard
    Chickens
    Chocolate Nativity Scene
    Chocolatour
    Chris Brady
    Christmas
    Christmas In Seville
    Christmas Traditions
    Chulalongkorn University
    Clara Bensen
    Climate Change
    Coca-Cola
    Coffee
    Coit Tower SF
    Collywobbles
    Comfort Food
    Communism Museum
    Community Fridges
    Compassion
    Consular Agent
    Controversial Poster
    Cooking With Weed
    Coping With Pandemic
    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus & Travel
    Costa Women
    Covid Insurance
    Covid Weddings
    Cowgirls & Cowboys
    Cows Come Home
    Crete
    Croatia
    Cruz De Mayo In Seville
    Cuba: 10 Tips
    Cuba: Legendary Snafu
    Cultural Deforestation
    Curated Reality
    Czech Please
    Czech Republic
    Dan Brown's Inspiration
    Dance
    Dancing In The Fountain
    Dancing In The Foutnain
    Dancing On Bars
    Dark Chocolate
    Dark Tourism
    Date Nights
    Death Café
    Debunking Travel Myths
    Detours & Delays
    Devil's Museum
    De Young Museum
    Digital Nomad Visas
    Diners
    Disappointing Destinations
    Disaster Survival Tips
    Dive Bars
    Dive Bars Of Italy
    Dive Bars Of Seville
    Dive Bars SF
    Doga (Dog Yoga)
    Dog-friendly Bars
    Dogs
    Doing Good
    Doing It
    Donna Red Wing
    Dragon
    Dragon Bridge
    Dragonpit
    Drink-Ease
    Driverless Cars
    Duck Plaza
    Duquesa De Alba
    Earthquakes
    EatWith
    Emergency Measures
    Emergency Preparedness
    Empathy Museum
    Endangered
    Enjoy Moving Abroad
    Enna
    Entrails Soup
    Epiphany
    E-readers
    Erratic Boulder
    Estonia
    Eurail
    European Dinner Plate
    European Food
    European Pandemic
    Evernote
    Exercise On The Road
    Expat In Dark Times
    Expats In America2.0
    Expect Delays
    Eye-popping Landmarks
    Failure Museum
    Fairfax Festival
    Fake Art Masterpieces
    Fake Wallet
    Family
    Family Reunion
    Farruquito
    Fellini
    Feria De Abril
    Finland
    First Aid Kit
    Five Meals A Day
    Flat-Earthers
    Flea Market
    Flophouses
    Fondu
    Food Fetishes
    Food Photo Secrets
    Food Tours
    Foreign
    Foreigners
    Forgetfulness
    Fork In The Road
    Fountain
    Free Wi-Fi Finder
    French Bistro
    French Women Don't Get Fat
    Fried Flies
    Full Catastrophe Living
    Fully Vaccinated!
    Galileo Offline
    Game Of Thrones
    Gaslighting
    Gates Of Hell
    Gazpacho Recipe
    Genoa
    Genova
    George Floyd Protests
    George Takei
    Georgia
    Georgian Grey Bear
    Germany
    Ghost Stories
    Gin Joints
    Glass Wall Of Tourism
    Gluten-free Italian Recipes
    Going Spiral
    Good News
    Good Samaritan Scammer
    Google-glass
    Google Translate
    ​Gourounopoula
    Gps
    Grandma Cooper
    Granola Recipe
    Grapes
    Gratitude
    Greece
    Greek Coffee
    Greek Coffee Culture
    Greek Wines
    Group Tours
    Grumpiness Course
    Grumpiness Seminar
    Guest Blog
    Guest Etiquette
    Guests
    Haggis
    Halloween
    Handyman's Guide
    Hangtown
    Hannibal Lecter
    Happiest Cities In US
    Happiest Jobs In US
    Happiness Course
    Harvard
    Harvey Milk
    Helsinki
    Heraklion
    Herzeg Novi
    Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy291cb11256
    Holiday Lights
    Holiday Shopping
    Holidays In France
    Holidays In Seville
    Holiday Survival Guide
    Hollidays
    Holy Grail
    Home For The Holidays
    Home Improvements
    HonorSnacks
    Horse
    Hospitals
    Hot As Hades
    Houseguest
    House Hunting
    House Of The Spirits
    Houska Castle
    How Normal Am I?
    How To Meet People
    Hrad Houska
    Human Towers
    Hungary
    Hydration
    Hygge
    Iberian Lynx
    Ibrik
    Icloud
    Ikaria
    Ikaria Solution
    Immigrants
    India
    Indiana Jones
    Indy Booksellers
    In Search Of America Tour
    International Pet Travel
    Ipad
    IPhone Photos
    Irail
    Is SF Doomed?
    Italy
    Jacket
    Jaén
    Jan The Beachcomber
    Japan
    Jet Lag
    Jet Lag Apps
    John The Baptist
    Jo Maeder
    Joseph Campbell
    Joya Shoes
    July 4th In USA
    Justice Course
    Kalamata
    Katka Lapelosa
    Keep Going!
    Kgb
    Kgb Muzeum
    Kindle
    King Wenceslas
    Kitchen For The Mind
    Korçë
    Kotor
    Koyono Jacket
    Krakow
    Krakow's Dragon
    Ladies Room
    Lady And The Tramp
    La Font De La Figuera
    Laptop Ban
    Larissa Olenicoff
    Latvia
    Laughter Project
    Learning Spanish
    Lederhosen
    Legal
    Legal Marijuana
    Legend
    Léon
    Lesbos Refugees
    LGBTQ Seville
    LGBTQ US Military
    LGBT Rights
    Library
    Lindsay Lake
    Lithuania
    Little White Lie
    Little Women
    Live Longer
    Live To 100
    Local Food
    Lockdown Survival Tips
    Longevity
    Lord Peter Wimsey
    Low-Tech Travel Tips
    Lübeck
    Lucky Grapes
    Lucky Red Underwear
    Luggage
    Luggage-free Travel
    Luggage-Free Travel? Try It
    Lviv
    Lynne And Tim Martin
    Madrid
    Magellan
    Maps
    Marijuana
    Mars One
    Mask War
    Matrimony
    Mbt Shoes
    Meal Schedules
    Meal Sharing
    Meaning Of Home
    Medical Emergencies
    Mediterranean Dive Bars
    Memory Course
    Menlo Park Library
    Mentally Unpack Your Bags
    Mermaids
    Metropol Parasol Building
    Me Worry?
    Miracle Tile Of Vilnius
    Mobilize America
    Modern Art
    Modern Comfort Food
    Modern Witchcraft
    Money
    Money Handling
    Monster Of Milpitas
    Montenegro
    Mood Food
    Most Dangerous Woman In America
    Moussaka
    Move Abroad Checklist
    Museum Of Communism
    Muskrat Love
    My Octopus Teacher
    Mystery Spot
    Naples
    Napoli
    National Lampoon's European Vacation
    Nativity Scene
    Nepal
    Neurodiversity
    New
    Newark Of Italy
    New Orleans
    New Roaring 20s
    New Year's Eve
    New Year's Eve Abroad
    New Year's In Seville
    New York Times
    No Cancelling The Holidays
    No-Jet-Lag
    Nomad Eating
    NORCs
    Not A Good Week
    Novelty Weddings
    Nutter California
    Nutters Tour
    Obatzda
    Offbeat Roadside Attractions
    Off The Grid
    Olive Oil
    Optimism & Survival
    Orichiette Pasta
    Osuna
    Outhouse
    Overlook Effect
    Oviedo
    Pack For 4 Months
    Packing
    Packing Demonstration
    Packing For 161 Days
    Packing Tips
    Pad Thai Cooking Class
    Paella
    Painting
    Painting Disasters
    Palacio De Las Dueñas
    Palencia
    Palermo
    Pamplona
    Pandemic Endgame
    Pandemic Humor
    Pandemic Infodemic
    Pandemic Makes Us Better
    Pandemic Solutions
    Pandemic Travel
    Pandemic Travel Story
    Pan Y Circo
    Parlor Games On The Road
    Parma
    Parma Ham
    Parmigiano-Reggiano
    Part-Time Expat Living
    Passport Issue
    Pasta
    Pasta Recipe
    Patriotism. US
    Peaceful Resistance
    Pécs
    Peruvian Pavilion
    Pesto Sauce
    Petaluma Butter & Egg Day
    Photography
    Picking Tapas Bars
    PIzza
    Platter Of Salome
    Plaza De España
    Plaza De Pato
    Plumbing Nightmare
    Podgorica
    Poet Billy Collins
    Poltergeist
    Pop-culture Museum
    Pope Benedict
    Pop-up Restaurants
    Portugal
    Post-pandemic Predictions
    Post-pandemic Travel
    Prague
    Predictions
    Presidio
    Print On Demand
    Project 2025
    Propaganda Museum
    Pub Culture
    Public Library
    Purgatory
    Purpose-driven Travel
    Pussyhats
    Quarantine
    Quarantine Bar Hopping
    Quarantine Mini-Vacation
    Quarantine Nostalgia?
    Quarantine Thanksgiving
    Queen's Gambit
    Quirky Travel Pix
    Racing Pigs
    Rainbow Flag
    Ramona Langley
    Reading Group
    Ready To Move Abroad?
    Rebounding Seville
    Recipe
    Recombobulation
    Recycling
    Red's Java House
    Red Underwear
    Rennes-le-Chateau
    Reptilians
    Republic Of Užupis
    Rescue Dogs
    Residency Visas
    Resistance School
    Resistance Summer 2017
    Retire Abroad
    Retire Where?
    Revisited
    Reyes Magos In Seville
    Rfidblocking Rogue Money Clipb4d0c62eac
    Rich Interview 2020
    Rich-on-packing
    Riga
    Risotto
    Road House
    Roadhouses
    Roadrunner
    Roadside Attractions
    Robert Mugabe
    Rocket Scientists
    Rodeo
    Rolling Stones
    Romania
    Romería Del Rocío In Seville
    Romesco Sauce Recipe
    Rooster Recipe
    Rosie The Riveter
    Ross Williams
    Rota
    Rube Goldberg
    Rural Romania
    Ruse
    Russian Mafia
    Sacramento
    San Anselmo Flooding
    San Ildefonso Church
    San Jose
    Sarajevo
    Sardinia
    Sassari
    Science Museum
    Scottevest
    Scottevest 8-pocket Pants
    Search For ET
    Second Breakfast Seville
    Secret Supper Clubs
    Security On The Road
    Seinfeld Episode
    Semana Santa
    Senior Gypsies
    Senior Nomads
    Sephardic Search
    Serbia
    Setas
    Seville
    Seville 2022 Update
    Seville Dining Customs
    Seville Holidays
    Seville Holidays 2021
    Seville In Pandemic
    Seville In Winter
    Seville's Best Cod
    Seville's Best Tapas 2021
    Seville's Tapas Bars
    Sex Shops
    SF
    SF Chinatown
    SF Ferry Building
    SF Fort Mason
    SF Sea Lions
    Shackleton Ad A Myth
    Shared Dining
    Shoe Bomb
    Shoes
    Shoestring Travel
    Short Story Vending Machine
    Šiauliai
    Sicilian Grandmothers
    Sicily
    Siestas
    Silicon Valley
    Singularity
    Six-word Stories
    Skeptics Society
    Skunk Remedy
    Skype Wifi7994daf88f
    Sleep/Insomnia
    Slovakia
    Slow Fashion
    Smart Pigeons
    Snack Foods
    Snail
    Snail Museum
    Snail On The Rails
    Snails In Slime LIght
    Snail Slime Skin Cream
    Snakes
    Snowed In
    Social Distancing
    Sofia
    Sophia Loren
    SOS File
    Space Tourism
    Space Travel For Pets
    Spaghetti
    Spain
    Spain Savvy
    Spain's Cold Soups
    Spam
    Spanish Wisdom
    Spark Social SF
    Spicy Shrimp In Mango Salsa Recipe
    Spiritual Path To Resistance
    Spiritual Weightlifter
    Springtime For Hitler
    Stanford Prison Experiment
    Staycation
    Stephen King
    Still Expecting Delays
    Stockholm Disaster
    Stone Lifter
    Strange
    Strawberries
    St. Tecla
    Suitcase
    Survival Food
    Survival Songs
    Survive October 2020
    Surviving Catastrophes
    Surviving Pandemic Holidays
    Swiss Cheese Solution
    Switzerland
    Symbolic Thinking
    Syracuse
    Tango Lessons
    Tapas
    Tapenade Recipe
    Tapeo
    Taxi
    Tblisi
    Teenagers In The Kitchen
    Teen Vs. Squirrel
    Telegraph Hill SF
    Temple
    Thanksgiving Games
    The Balkans
    The Big Tomato
    The Blonde Gypsy
    The Exorcist
    The Joy Of Eating
    The Long Now
    The Mothership
    The Next Big Thing
    The Other Turkey
    The Power Of Myth
    The Producers
    The Return 2021
    Thessaloniki
    The Wave
    Three Kings
    Tiger House
    Time Travel
    Toad Jam
    Tomares
    Tonga Room
    Tortilla De España
    Track My Tour
    Train Lag
    Train Travel
    Transylvania
    Travel
    Travel As Political Act
    Travel Boosts Your Brain
    Travel Clothes
    Travel Companions
    Travel Destinations
    Travel Experiments
    Travel Fashion
    Travel Photography Tricks
    Travel Photos
    Travel Prep For Pandemic
    Travel Vest
    Travel With
    Triana Ceramics
    Triposo
    True Cross
    Tsa
    Twelve Days Of Christmas
    Tyrolian Alps
    Uber
    Uc Berkeley
    UFOs & Ghosts 2020
    Ukraine
    Ultra-Light Luggage
    Underrated Extras
    Upotonek
    Utrera
    Valdepeñas
    Valencia
    Vampires
    Veliko Tarnovo
    Verona
    Vest
    Victoria Twead
    Villages Movement
    Vilnius
    Virgin Of The Napkin
    Virtual Tax March
    Visitors
    Vodka
    Vodka & Pickles
    Voodoo Cooking
    Wall Street Journal
    Wandering Earl
    Warsaw
    Washington
    Water
    Watermelon Gazpacho
    Weasel Coffee
    Wedding Disaster
    Weird At The Holidays
    Weird Gifts
    Wenceslas Square
    What
    Whiskey Every Day
    Wild Goat Recipe
    Winchester Mystery House
    Winner
    Winter In Seville
    Wireless Generation
    Wolf's Lair
    Women Of Seville
    Working Abroad
    World Chocolate
    Worst
    Worst Travel Moment
    Wow Finish To Long Trip
    Writing
    Xe Currency
    Yerba Buena Gardens
    Yoda
    Yodeling
    Yoga
    Zagreb
    Zigzag Fountain953a67c066
    Zimbabwe
    Zombie Viruses
    Zurich

  • Start Here
  • My Blog
  • My Travel Books
    • My San Francisco >
      • SF BOOK CONTENTS
      • SF BOOK SAMPLE
    • GREAT MED COMFORT FOOD BOOK
    • MOVING TO SEVILLE
    • EASTERN EUROPE BY RAIL
    • PACK LIGHT
    • Seville's New Normal
  • FINDING HOPE
  • The Amigos Project
  • Cheap & Cheerful San Francisco
    • My Picks: Best of SF
  • Cozy Places to Eat in Seville
    • Romantic Restaurants
    • Tapas Bars
    • Cocktail Bars
    • Breakfast
    • Sweet Indulgences
  • The Nutters' Tour
  • Med Comfort Food Tour
  • Mediterranean Recipes
  • Dive Bars
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing
    • Enjoy the Best of Seville
  • About
    • PRESS
  • Contact