I was glad to read the train strike has been cancelled! I wondered whether I should have warned about the possibility of a strike, because I didn't want to stress you out needlessly, but in the end I figured it would be better to know.

Thank you Diamantina--it was really useful information and I appreciated it a lot. It was easy to buy a zero cost to cancel backup bus ticket on the ALSA site. And I had already enrolled in the loyalty club. Cancelling it was just a simple click once process, and having it in the event of a train strike gave us peace of mind. So, I consider the kind of info you shared invaluable. Many thanks for it.

Studenttobe, I am really struggling with what coat’s to bring. What are you seeing in Seville — most our time will be spent there!

I totally understand, lrice. Getting the coat right is the hardest part of packing for me (followed by shoes, though a few years ago I finally cracked my travel shoes "code"--in late fall/winter/early spring--blundstone waterproof shearling lined Chelsea boots and a pair of sort of high top waterproof Ecco sneakers--I have difficult feet and these work perfectly in re comfort, keep my feet dry without looking like they are waterproof, and I think also look nice).

In Seville last week I wore my just above the knee unlined waterproof (hooded) raincoat with a synthetic down (lightweight, Northface brand, to the hip length) vest underneath the coat. During the day I wore either a light weight cotton sweater or a medium weight cotton sweater (some days it was cooler than others), with a long sleeved blouse or a long sleeved lightweight knit top underneath the sweater. Most nights I wore the same, though a few cooler evenings I switched the cotton sweater for a lightweight wool sweater (more for a feeling of coziness rather than the need for extra warmth). I always had my medium weight wool shawl-long scarf (it's kind of a cross between a shawl and a scarf) during the day (usually not tied up tightly), but at night I tied the shaw/scarf around my neck. Some days I ended up just tying the shawl to my purse to get it off my neck. Two evenings, I felt more comfortable wearing my gloves, but I was often walking around for an hour or more after dinner (around 1030/11pm).

In Madrid (where I am now) I am wearing the same except that the sweaters are lightweight weight wool with a. blouse or knit top underneath. Gloves at night always (not heavyweight gloves--just a thin pair of unlined leather gloves). Most people esp at night are wearing light to medium weight down jackets (though as adlmllr noted above a long (above the knee) down vest (usually with a hood) seems very much in style here and saw lots of them everywhere. In Madrid several woman have had a lightweight long sleeved down jacket layered underneath the hooded vest.

Corduroys seems to be having a big moment in Spain. Perhaps they are in the USA, too--I hadn't noticed then before I left. But here it seems everyone is wearing either straight leg or wide leg corduroy pants (indeed, I felt "moved" to buy two pair) and almost bought a third but the sizing wasn't right. (I did also bring my Northface down sweater (hip length light weight) bec I was worried that Madrid would feel too cold. It folds up into a little packet so didn't really change things for me in terms of suitcase bulk. I didn't end up wearing it bec I found the vest/raincoat/sweater combination perfect, but say if it were ten degrees cooler I might have broken it out (since I didn't bring a medium or heavy weight wool sweater. I'd be inclined to throw a light down jacket in my suitcase if I were leaving for the trip now.

I've been very lucky weather wise. One day in Seville a few hours of light mist; in Cordoba one day of off off and on light mist; one day with a few hours of light rain (in two intervals), and the morning I transferred to Madrid it was raining heavily. In Madrid the day time has felt like a perfect New England fall day (crisp, bright, dry, cool, but not cold)--evenings a bit colder but not frigid. Madrid is awash in gorgeous holiday lights. I will be very sorry to leave tomorrow. (Will work on a TR on the plane or shortly after I return home). It's been wonderful+++++. I'm so excited about your trip, which sounds phenomenal. Happy to answer any other questions.

Thank you for the details! And good to hear that cords are popular; I just packed a pair! Definitely leaving some space in my bag for shopping.

Did you find many people eating outside at night?

Glad the details were helpful. I should have said that mid day in Seville I removed the synthetic down vest and carried it in my cross body bag. It was cool in the early mornings (I started most of my days with long early morning strolls), and by 4 or 5pm on a few of my days I felt more comfortable grabbing the vest from my bag.

Re eating outdoors—yes, there were lots of people enjoying lunch and dinner outdoors in Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, and Madrid (with far fewer people doing so in Granada, though there were some at lunch). There were lots of restaurants and cafes with the outdoor heat lamps that become ubiquitous during Covid times. For me, lunch would have been comfortable eating outdoors, dinner less so (though not impossible, and surely would have been quite fine in Malaga, Seville, and Cordoba). I didn’t eat outdoors at all bec I didn’t need to (i.e., I was able to get seated at an indoor table or at the bar, though in some cases I had to wait a bit—not a problem). I think that with all of the outdoor dining when it was really cold during Covid times, I’ve been less inclined to eat outdoors unless it’s truly a shirtsleeve only kind of day.

(And on shopping, Corte de Ingles—fabulous dept store—I could live in it—did a great, efficient job processing Global Blue (tax free) purchases made at any store (not just at the dept store itself). This means that when I head to the airport sadly later today I will only have to scan a bar code on the invoices that were created at the Global Blue desk at kiosks marked as DIVA at the airport upon my departure.)