Hello Seville

There were times when it felt as if Kootenay took Di, Ro and I to Sevilla. The people of Spain loved her. Before we left she had her hair cut. She went from a cut shaggy mess to a fancy poodle wannabe. As we wandered from beautiful sight to beautiful sight we were followed by comments and stares. If I was younger and a few pound lighter I might have thought they were staring at me. Instead of catcalls and whistles the soundtrack to our walks through Sevilla was… Muy elegante, grande perro. And we heard it a lot.

We cruised through town looking at the most amazing scenery. I loved the orange trees that you see everywhere. Taking pictures proved difficult. How do you choose what to take pictures of when it is all so incredible? There is the Seville Cathedral, Torre del Oro, and more plazas than you can imagine. Every few blocks you round a corner and find a park with benches, people and tapas bars. I started to experience beauty overload. Everywhere I looked the architecture seemed to scream to be recorded. Eventually I just put down the camera and enjoyed the sights. In one plaza we came across a museum. Kootenay got to hang out in the park across the street while we looked at all the paintings. It was interesting given the city’s Moorish heritage, how white all the people in the paintings were. And the cherubs had faces that seemed designed to scare people rather than comfort them. There were oddly shaped and shaded adult faces on wee little bodies with wings and arrows. Kootenay missed all this. Instead she hung out in the park and tried to get passerbys to stop and pet her. I am not sure how she made out while we were inside, but when we came out of the gallery she had a gaggle of school kids petting her and feeding her the remains of their lunches. I don’t think she minded being alone out there. I was a bit worried about leaving her there. She is a beautiful dog and while she loves me I don’t think it would take much encouragement for her to wander off with someone. But, when I decided to travel with me dog I had to be prepared to make compromises.

Before I left Nazare I made one of those compromises. Sevilla has some great places to stay in the heart of the city. But, I couldn’t find any of them that accepted dogs. Often places that will take the dog and I if we show up and they see her. She seems to know when she needs to put on her good manners. She does it when we are checking into hotels, in airports, and meeting new people. Once she is comfortable with the people around her she is a maniac, but when she needs to she can pull out the manners. But, I didn’t want to show up in Seville and not have a bed so I made a reservation at an Ibis Hotel that advertised that it accepted pets. So while Di and Ro got to stay in a quaint place in the center of town I stayed in a chain hotel devoid of uniqueness, but with a space for me and the pooch. Luckily the cost of cabs into and out of the town center came to the same about it would have cost me to park the car in the downtown, so I can come and go without resenting Kootenay and second guessing my choice to bring her to Europe with me.