After much anticipation and planning we were leaving snowy Ohio to enjoy sunny Spain in January of 2005.  A special part of our good time on this trip was having our older son John to join us.  John, flying up from Nashville, met us in Philadelphia for the big hop over the pond.  I'll always remember the Philly cheesesteak I had in one of the airport delis before boarding the plane.  I think it was the best I ever had.

After a short train ride from the airport we checked into our lovely quarters in Costa del Sol where we would hang our hats for a few days.  One of the consessions we dutifully made on behalf of our son was to request two rooms if possible in the hotels we would be staying at, the reason being our past snoring history. 

Enjoying our first walk along the golden strand of seacoast that sunny afternoon we indeed realized how far away we were from the ordinary.  One surprise was that the dinner hour was not our normal 6-9 pattern of the 'States'.  Dinner in Spain might not begin before 10 or 11 in the evening.  We even noticed young families strolling around after midnight, especially in Madrid.

Our travel agent in Ohio, following our requests, had arranged our transportation and lodging for the cities we had selected to visit.  Although I love group tours, that's not Jack's cup of tea.  He prefers making his own itinerary.  So with that we were very fortunate to have an agent who was looking out for us at each destination of the trip.  Sure enough our room phone rang upon arrival at our first hotel.  It was Brooke our agent checking up to make sure all was going well.

Train travel was to be our transportation between cities.  Not being veteran travelers we had packed way too much for Spanish taxis and actually had to pay for two getting to our hotel in Seville!  With our son John along we found out where all the Burger Kings and McDonalds were in each place.  I broke away in Seville and enjoyed a delicious meal in the hotel that was very reasonably priced.  Jack was in his element with the grand museums to be discovered.  John and I toured many beautiful cathedrals, climbing bell towers for spectacular views.  The day we left Seville I did my own thing, visiting a downtown department store for a few souvenirs while John and his dad took in yet another museum before boarding our train.

We had just connected in the lobby of the hotel we had that morning checked out of when Jack discovered his wallet missing!!  We had heard stories about the pickpockets of Seville --  Upon retracing his actions Jack remembered what had happened.  In the process of paying the taxi driver he had failed to return his wallet to his pocket and it was left on the seat.  You know that pit-in-the-stomach feeling, we all had it that day.

There was nothing to do but proceed on the train to our next destination Cordoba since it was paid for.  John was going to have us use his credit card from this point.  Soon after we checked into our hotel in Cordoba we received a phone call from the hotel in Seville.  The person, who subsequently rode the taxi just after my husband and John, had found the wallet and brought it with all documents and money intact to the hotel!  She had found the hotel receipt.  Jack then retraced his steps back to Seville by train the next morning to retrieve his wallet, leaving a generous gift for the honest person who saved us.