La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
Feria (the fair) is gone until next year when I do hope to get there one night for photos of the lights. They’re magical. The photo above of the entrance to the fairgrounds which is custom-built every year, is taken from the newspaper, El Diario. Meanwhile, I did see the effects of Feria in our neighborhood, traditional costumes, horses and carriages.
I had to phone The Kid Brother on his landline last night because he hadn’t yet paid his mobile phone bill. I’ve told him in the past when he does that we can only talk briefly because I have to pay for the call (and it bugs me when the call would normally be free).
In addition lately, all my calls to DHL in the States, as well as to the company they’re supposed to deliver to, have not been free and I have no clue what those extra charges will be. I’m tired of throwing away money that shouldn’t have to be spent. I’d rather throw away money on things I want but don’t need.
DHL again posted online that they couldn’t deliver the envelope because the office was closed. I phoned the USA again, almost in a rage but I calmed myself. The person I spoke with told me he was in the call center in Tempe, Arizona. He said he was immediately filing a complaint on my behalf.
Another thing I was grateful for was that he checked the driver’s GPS and determined that, although they were in the general area in the business park, they were not at the exact correct address. What I’ve been saying for more than a week. I told him I didn’t understand why the driver wasn’t calling the office phone when he was unable to deliver. It was an 800 number, but I also found a local line for him to call. They could have told him any one of those times he was obviously in the wrong place. He said he would get a message to the driver and to the manager of the service in San Antonio. So, today I again wait to see if there will be delivery. The customer service agent seemed to be excellent. He was appropriately apologetic and said at the end, “I hope after all this you’ll consider using DHL again.” I told him it would have been easier to deliver it myself, so wasn’t so sure about DHL anymore, my formerly favorite shipping service. In nearly 15 years in Spain, we have never had a problem with DHL.
I didn’t need any digestion pills yesterday, but I’d already taken four today before going out for coffee at 11. That has gotten annoying and I’m hoping to soon rein it in. Not sure how yet. Humor me.
La Feria ya terminó hasta el año que viene, cuando espero poder ir una noche para fotografiar las luces. Son mágicas. La foto de arriba de la entrada al recinto ferial, que se construye especialmente cada año, es del periódico El Diario. Mientras tanto, vi los efectos de la Feria en nuestro barrio: trajes tradicionales, caballos y carruajes.
Anoche tuve que llamar a mi hermano pequeño a su teléfono fijo porque aún no había pagado la factura del móvil. Ya le he dicho antes que cuando lo hace, solo podemos hablar brevemente porque tengo que pagar la llamada (y me molesta que normalmente sea gratis).
Además, últimamente, todas mis llamadas a DHL en Estados Unidos, así como a la empresa a la que se supone que deben entregar el paquete, no han sido gratuitas y no tengo ni idea de cuáles serán esos cargos adicionales. Estoy harta de tirar el dinero. Prefiero gastarlo en cosas que quiero pero que no necesito.
DHL volvió a publicar en línea que no podían entregar el sobre porque la oficina estaba cerrada. Llamé de nuevo a Estados Unidos, casi furiosa, pero me tranquilicé. La persona con la que hablé me dijo que estaba en el centro de atención telefónica de Tempe, Arizona. Me dijo que presentaría una queja en mi nombre de inmediato.
Otra cosa que agradecí fue que revisó el GPS del conductor y determinó que, aunque estaban en la zona general del parque empresarial, no estaban en la dirección exacta. Lo que llevo diciendo desde hace más de una semana. Le dije que no entendía por qué el conductor no llamaba al teléfono de la oficina cuando no podía entregar el paquete. Era un número gratuito, pero también encontré un número local al que podía llamar. Podrían haberle dicho en cualquiera de esas ocasiones que obviamente estaba en el lugar equivocado. Me dijo que le transmitiría el mensaje al conductor y al gerente del servicio en San Antonio. Así que hoy vuelvo a esperar a ver si se realiza la entrega. El agente de atención al cliente pareció ser excelente. Se disculpó debidamente y al final dijo: «Espero que después de todo esto considere volver a usar DHL». Le dije que habría sido más fácil entregarlo yo misma, así que ya no estaba tan segura de DHL, mi servicio de mensajería favorito. En 15 años en España, nunca hemos tenido ningún problema con DHL.
Ayer no necesité pastillas para la digestión, pero hoy ya me tomé cuatro antes de salir a tomar un café a las 11. Eso ya me está molestando y espero poder controlarlo pronto. Todavía no sé cómo. ¡Sígueme la corriente!
• El otro día salí del supermercado Mercadona.
• La muralla de los siglos XI-XII llamada muralla del marrubial, que se sabía que crecía de forma silvestre por toda la zona. A unos 10 minutos a pie de casa.
• A pocos minutos de casa. Tomando un respiro a la sombra en un día caluroso.
• En camino otra vez.
• Supongo que podría haber hecho autostop (caballostop?).
• Estilo influenciado por Feria. ¿Qué opinas?
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
All it takes is one stupid and/or lazy and/or incompetent delivery person to screw things up. I had a similar experience with UPS saying a package was undeliverable; it went out and back from the distribution center every day for a week or more. I finally called and raised the proverbial hell. I think the problem may have been dealing with the backlog after a big snowstorm, but they didn’t say “We’re backed up this might take a while.” They gave no clue why the package was undeliverable, just kept trying and failing day after day.
wickedhamster:
And it appears there’s been only one delivery person to that area for the past 10 days. Unbelievable. It’s 11 a.m. in San Antonio and it hasn’t been delivered (well, attempted) yet today. And this began around May 4th with FedEx delivering our first try to a house somewhere in San Antonio. As far as I know, it’s still under the doormat. They haven’t responded since I told them I want a refund.
That whole structure is rebuilt every year?! Or just the lights?
Hopefully you finally talked to representative who can get the job done.
ellen abbott:
The portada has been the same since 2004, but it’s re-erected each year for the fair. Check this out: https://www.eldiadecordoba.es/fiestas-mayo-cordoba/video-montaje-portada-feria-cordoba-2026_8_2006204675.html. When we lived in Sevilla, they installed a new one every year, beautiful but not as enormous nor as well-built.
Beautiful pictures and I’ll bet that Festival Fair is fun to attend. And what do I think of the mannequin in the window? It’s by far not the worst outfit you have ever featured on this blog. I’ve seen some of those cartoons walking around your town with those weird combinations on. Some of them should be arrested!
Mistress Borghese:
I think the mannequin’s jacket is fun but the blouse is the wrong color and clearly isn’t meant to be worn under something. It’s actually a high-quality shop. I don’t see enough of the wild outfits on the streets of Córdoba.
We had a similar experience in Fuengirola, the one and only time we stayed there – missed the Feria completely but saw loads of flamenco-styled ladies and horse-riding (or at least dressed for riding) gents in the centre of town. No totty, nor matadors, mores the pity.
That outfit in the window would be OK if it weren’t for all the extraneous trimmings – typically Spanish! Perfect for an old lady on el paseo on her way to a tea dance, having just had a shampoo-and-set on her hair… Jx
PS between DHL and the Kid Brother, I’m not surprised you’re on Omeprazole…
Jon:
I love the jacket in the window. I don’t like the way it was accessorized. So I didn’t buy it! I’ve seen some hot men on horses during feria (not here this time). Once in Fuengirola a guy rode by who looked like he had come off the cover of a romance novel.
That green lace shawl is giving me shawl envy. Maybe I can make one..
I feel for your anger about the non delivery. So far away, you can’t threaten to show up at their door. No wonder you’re loading indigestion pills.Boud
Boud:
I thought of you of course when I saw that shawl. I loved it, too. I’m sure you can make one. It’s been a pill-filled couple of weeks.
A fringed green lace shawl. Oh my. Yes. I like that. The fiesta-inspired clothing is not a bad look and honestly, I would love to wear it at least once, just to have all of that swirling going on.
It almost seems as if the universe was out to make you insane right now. Or is it just DHL? This whole thing reminds me of a time when Glen left his phone in a rental car which he returned right before he boarded a plane. He knew exactly where it was and of course there were records of which car it had been and so forth and the rental agency just would not make an effort to find it or see if it had already been found. Finally, some sweet person did but I swear Glen was on the phone five times a day for two weeks. After at least that amount of time, the phone finally got shipped back. They’d had it the entire time. And when these things happen you feel so helpless!
I agree- it would be far better to spend your money on things you want but don’t need than to spend it on phone calls which you shouldn’t need to make and certainly don’t want to make either. You could spend it taking a horse-drawn carriage home!
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
I knew you and Boud would love that shawl. I could imagine you wearing it. Yes, I’ve been feeling like the entire Universe has been trying to make me insane. And, you know, I’ve actually considered taking a horse-drawn carriage home a couple of times recently. So many people are against those carriages, but at least here the horses are protected and well cared for. Málaga finally banned all horse-drawn carriages because even after years of fines and threats, the horses were not being treated well.
Oh, how _frustrating_ with DHL, and also how all these annoyances are physically effecting you. No bueno. I like the Féria influenced style. It can be fun to just be dramatic and unexpected. Olivia
Olivia:
I love feria style. Too bad many man don’t follow the traditions and just wear contemporary clothes. Then again I did see men in Sevilla in Feria dresses! Yeah, this recent aggravation has been making me sick.
Back in my Centex Homes days, we sent a closing package to Germany, by FedX and a week later it was returned as undeliverable. Big Jim wanted to count the closing in his end of the fiscal year numbers – and it was becoming time critical, one of the clerks from the title company flew to Frankfort, met the buyer in the airport to get everything signed, and flew back on the return flight the same day. 20 hours of flying in 24 hours. Flying to Europe sounded like a great adventure, 20 hours in coach was NOT fun.
David
I had a passing thought of flying to San Antonio. It passed quickly b
You’re a better man than I, who would have been raging on the phone by now and making everything worse.
Luckily you got someone who really seemed to want to help and hopefully he will!!
Bob
Sometimes I surprise myself. Some times.