Our day has unfolded in a fashion that illustrates the pace of Spanish life.

We arrived in Jerez de la Frontera at 1045 with tickets for the Andalusian Horse Show at noon. After a not-so-brief stop at the ticket window at the train station, we decided to have a coffee at a bar beside the train station. We had just under an hour of free time and the arena was a 10-minute cab ride away.

We paid our bill at about 1130 and walked 100 yards to the taxi stand. There were no taxis and we were seventh in line. By 1145, I was getting very nervous about missing the beginning of the show.

The taxi finally dropped us off at noon and we got to our seats about 1205. We were far from the last people seated and the first horse didn’t enter the arena until 1213. I guess I was stressed for nothing.