Big Trip Day 300: Vermouth Hour with Pepe
Hello! It’s Justin again.
I’m not exactly sure how I ended writing two of these in a row, but we’ll roll with it.
To begin our update on Spain, I need to take you to the other side of the world — way, way back to the beginning of the year when we were in Laos. A Canadian couple we met there told us about an online platform called TrustedHousesitters. They used the website in Europe to connect with people who need someone to take care of their pet while they’re out of town; if the hosts pick you as a sitter, you get to stay in their house for free. This couple had an amazing time staying on a Greek island, befriending the neighbors and taking care of a very chill cat.
If you are a professional pet sitter, this may sound like a scam since the pet sitter doesn’t get paid. However, for people like us who are moving from place to place looking for the cheapest housing possible, this is by far the best deal around, and this couple made it sound like a cool way to get to know a new place!
We immediately set up a profile on the platform with our picture and a bunch of information about us, but despite how perfectly Dory articulated our good and caring nature, every single one of our applications were rejected month after month after month. For our entire time in Asia, in fact! Then one September day, as we were drinking a freddo espresso in Greece and wondering where in Europe we should go next, we received a notification about a dogsit in Seville, Spain. We applied immediately, and this time, finally, we were selected! At last!!! The dog’s owners were also new to TrustedHousesitters; since neither of us had any on-platform reviews, it was mutually assured destruction. A perfect fit!
With that arrangement locked in, we suddenly had a plan for where we would go after visiting our friends in Albania. With this new information, I let my dad (Kevin) know where we would be in case he wanted to come visit, which would consequently be the final step for Dory and I to earn the prestigious Big Trip Complete Parental Visitation Badge.
Fast forward to mid-October: we arrived in Seville, Spain, ready to dogsit, and with my newly broken leg to sort out! My doctor friends in the US, Anna and Charlie, informed me that I needed to get a specific type of x-ray that would determine if I could use a walking boot or if I needed a cast. Dory had to work, so I headed out on my own to the local clinic. I asked the doctor for the specific x-ray view, but he refused, telling me that I definitely needed a cast and shouldn’t be putting even an ounce of weight on my foot. I decided not to tell him that I had already hiked on it for 6 miles in Albania.
I left the clinic empty handed after telling the doctor he was wrong, which normally would have been Dory’s job (telling people in authority positions that they are wrong is always Dory’s job.) Luckily, Dory immediately redeemed herself by figuring out that I could go straight to a radiologist for the x-ray, but first I needed to buy a prescription from some random website. That delayed things an extra day, but I eventually came away with the correct scans, a diagnosis from our doctor friends back home, and a brand new walking boot. It was a bit of shenanigan, but we’re very grateful for our doctor friends and our ability to speak Spanish, which was essential in sorting all of this out.
It was a huge relief to give my ankle some better support, but unfortunately the Spanish cobblestone streets proved to be the most difficult surface on the planet for walking with a rigid boot. To make things a little easier, I continued to use one or both of my Communist era crutches to get around, which inspired Dory to begin calling me Tiny Tim.
We settled into our new life as residents of Seville and caretakers of Pepe, the blind Spanish Water Dog. His parents, Ru and Alec, were excellent hosts even from afar. We met Ru on the first day of the sit (before she went out of town for a work conference) and she showed us around the house, and graciously gave us tons of restaurant recommendations, two bottles of wine, and a fridge full of fancy cheese and serrano ham. Our home for the next five days was their one bedroom apartment on the northwest side of the city, with an outdoor patio full of plants. We spent our days doing a bit of work, hanging out with Pepe, checking out plazas and cathedrals, and sampling the “vermut de la casa” at every restaurant establishment in our neighborhood.
Sometimes when we’d go out, we would bring Pepe along, and he would lead us towards his favorite bars and restaurants. He knew the general direction and would pull on the leash with confidence, but because he is blind, he would run into walls if you didn’t yank him back at the last second. People around the neighborhood recognized Pepe due to his ridiculous haircut, and we were happy to have a reason to chat with the locals and use our Spanish skills.
Pepe required four walks a day, which turned out to be Dory’s job since Pepe’s constant pulling on the leash was not compatible with my walking abilities. Dory may have been taking on the brunt of the work, but I still had a very important job as the official pee squirter. In Spain, or at least in Seville, it is frowned upon to neuter dogs. As a result, all of the male dogs (including Pepe) enjoy peeing on every single wall in the city. As you might expect, the city streets began to stink terribly, so the city officials passed a law that says you have to squirt the wall with water after your dog pees on it. So on walks, I would follow behind Dory and Pepe with my crutch in one hand, and a squirt bottle in the other hand, ready to be the enforcer of hygiene and cleanliness. Truth be told, most dog owners are not carrying around squirt bottles, so it’s fair to say that the issue remains unresolved.
Pepe was a good dog and he was doing his best, but to be honest he really needed a bath, so we were happy to move on when our dog sitting duties were fulfilled. Perhaps most of all, we were happy to have secured our first on-platform review on TrustedHousesitters, hoping that would lead to many dog sitting (slash free housing and sometimes free wine and ham) opportunities.
Before we left Seville, we made time to experience what the city is most known for: flamenco! We arrived for an evening show at a small venue recommended by Pepe’s parents, and found an intimate space with just eight tables and a small stage. The tickets came with dinner and sangria, but I couldn’t tell you a single detail about that because the performance captivated every ounce of my attention. Creating movement and sound in perfect unison, the singer, guitarist, and dancer curated an experience that was truly mesmerizing. If you aren’t familiar with flamenco, imagine Gypsy Kings-style guitar and vocals matched with the most intensely passionate tap dancing you’ve ever seen. If you do know flamenco, you may have found that last statement to be deeply offensive… my apologies. Truly, the talent emitting from those performers was astounding! After watching the guitar player shred for two hours, I became dangerously close to going home and throwing my guitar in the garbage. But then I remembered the guitar actually belongs to Charlie, and after all the help he’d given me with my broken leg, I decided I should just go home and practice instead.
As I’d mentioned earlier, I invited my dad to visit us in Spain. After discussing the idea with his girlfriend Serena, they decided to come! They met us in Seville for a couple days, and then again at our next stop, Barcelona. Because our travels overlapped in two cities, we really had an opportunity to explore together, which was a lot of fun. This was particularly special because my dad and I hadn’t traveled together in many years.
Barcelona was the first place I had ever dreamed of traveling to, and at the ripe old age of 39, I finally made it happen! Unfortunately, we were no longer receiving free housing in exchange for blind dog guiding, and those Western Europe prices were really starting to do some damage to the ol’ pocket book. In Spain, we were spending 3 times as much money per day as we were in Southeast Asia, but I guess that’s the price you pay to be surrounded by historical architecture and vermouth bars at every corner. We just kept reminding ourselves that we were only in Spain for a short time, so we should enjoy it to the fullest and do as the locals do by enjoying a tinto de verano (rioja with sparkling lemonade!) or two with a merienda (snack) every afternoon.
By night, we took advantage of Bareclona’s great live music scene. Music is something my dad and I both love, and Serena and Dory both generously humoured our limitless enthusiasm for it. Over the course of just five days, we saw the bands: Ghost Note, The Marias, Afro Latin Jam All Stars, and a New Orleans jazz open mic set that my dad sat in on drums for. My dad and I even had a hotel room jam session; Serena was our most enthusiastic fan and is formally invited to any and all future performances.
We made sure to tour a few sites that featured the architecture of local legend, Antoni Gaudí, including La Sagrada Familia, La Casa Batlló, and Parc Güell. Gaudí drew inspiration from nature and incorporated the most imaginative and ornate detail into every inch of his projects. I kept joking with Dory that we needed to adopt some of Gaudi’s ideas for our future home.
The days flew by and before we knew it, it was time to pack up again. I’m so grateful that I got to spend some quality time with my dad and it was really fun getting to know Serena. Perhaps we can all travel again one day! I don’t know if Spain lived up to the expectations I once held for it (before I had traveled internationally at all) but it was pretty cool to finally go to Barcelona after dreaming about it since high school.
There is so much more we’d love to see and experience in Europe, but we’ll have to leave that for another time when we somehow have loads of money.
Speaking of spending loads of money, our next stop was London, where on a one day layover our cost of living reached an all time high (it turns out a pound is a lot more than a dollar.) And then we launched across the Atlantic for our next destination… America!!!
But don’t worry, Big Trip isn’t over. We were simply making a little pit stop so that Dory could attend a work meeting in Dallas.
So after a long and uneventful flight, we stepped onto US soil for the first time in 10 months! Hilariously, we were met with our first truly terrible immigration line at the Las Vegas International Airport. Through a stroke of good luck I still don’t understand, an employee noticed my walking boot and Tiny Tim crutches and simply escorted us to the front of the passport line, bypassing probably two hours of waiting. Thank you to our Vegas Immigration Angel, wherever you are!
I’ll wrap up there, but more to come soon about how we turned this American stopover into an overland expedition to our favorite country.
Until then…
Hasta luego!
Justin + Dory