Spain spring 2022..

An open-ended adventure by CL Wanderlust Read more

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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
barrio santa cruz
May 16, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Cruz de la cerrajenia. cross at the former site of the synagogue demolished in 1391. then Christian church where the artist Murillo went. then the french, napolean destroyed it. tiles of st Theresa of Avila-the same theresa bernini did the statue of. she lived in spain for a bit. the white and yellow church of iglesia de santa cruz. it was open and we saw the start of mass. and some Roman columns made of Egyptian granite. from Hadrians time 200 AD used in 600 ad for a church at this site.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
canos de carmona sevillle
May 16, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Roman aqueduct 68-65 bc, re done by the moors 1172 and used up to 1912 according to wikki
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
rudy's bar seville
May 16, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Colin's birthday dinner. tapas at rudy's. ox tail, spinach and chick peas, cold tuna mix, hake in a light lemon sauce and meatballs nd salsa. very tasty and the oxtail was great!
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
wander home from rudy's
May 16, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
we made our way back to botaras via a slightly different route. lots of churches and what I think is casa pilatos inspired by pilates house in Jerusalem. the big red church- san salvadore -seems to be our landmark. good icecream around there.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
alcazar seville
May 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
we visited here all day 930- 745 they kicked us out as they were setting up for a special event in the palaces garden areas
there is so many rooms and so many carvings it was magnificent and hopefully one day i will get the 600 pics I took sorted but for now here are a few. the patio de leon (lion porch), hall of justice, patio del yeso (courtyard of plasterwork) patio de la monteria (hunting patio) pedro I palace facade 1364-67

this palace is still in use by the royal family upper floors -cuarto real alto- you need a special ticket to get in. the original palace is from the 10th century built for the moors and was heavily rebuilt in the 14th century for Christian king pedro I (1334-1369) by Muslim workman hence all the Islamic details.

queen Isabella and Ferdinand the catholic monarchs built the series if rooms in the admiral hall. 1503 and used them to meet with her explorers-columbus being one of them.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
patio de las doncellas
May 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
this may be my favorite room with the central pool and horseshoe arches.
this was the centre of king Pedro's palace. pedro I abandoned his wife and moved to the alcazar with his mistress Doña María de Padilla. the courtyard was originally a single story and Charles vi -isabella's grandson and katherine of aragons nephew-added the upper renaissance 16th century storey.

mudejar style lobed arches and elaborate tracery. renaissance style rounded arches and less declaration- rick steevesRead more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
alcazar Seville
May 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
some examples of the Islamic calligraphy
there was a great mix of Islamic and christian art. a style called mudejar. "this was a Christian rulers palace built in the moorish style by moorish artisans after the reconquista" (rick steeves)Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
alcazar seville gardens
May 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
there are so many different gardens
most with a water feature of some sort. most with tiled benches if in traditional moorish style. some of the fountains were not working which was a pity but those that were it did have this amazing cooling effect. the gardens were pretty peaceful lots of birds parquet and doves...but world cup soccer is on and apparently there are over 60000 soccer fans here. I am told 30000 of them are from Scotland as the rangers are playing the Germans. there is so much cheering by drunken soccer fans you can hear them everywhere....and the game isnt even being played till tomorrow!Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
plaza de la allanza and eve walki
May 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 29 °C
dinner at a Mexican restaurant. la carina by sed. cerveche, tacos and prawns on a bean paste. very busy because of world cup. so we just grabbed a table. rangers fans from Stirling sitting next to us and German fans at restaurant next door. lots of cheering, the guitar player had to leave as he was being drowned out. then we went for a walk along the river front. passed a marching band practicing then people at an outdoor gym this all at 10 pm. we walked to the Puente de triana also called the Puente de isabel II, the iron bridge with the circles, and then walked over it and back. the bridge was inspired by an 1834 crossing over the Seine river in Paris. then we meandered back home passing lots and lots of inebriated soccer fans..
apparently 100,000 ranger fans here mostly from Scotland. 150,000 fans total.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
cathedral de sevilla
May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
we were having a leisurely morning thinking we had tixs for the cathedral for after 1115 only to realize at 10 we needed to be there for 1115.....timed entrance for the tower. we made it!
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
cathedral of seville giralda
May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
there are 36 ramps to get to the top of the giralda with some stops on the way to enjoy the views. you can look down to the patio of the orange trees. tthe pic that looks like a crane up against the dome is a bridge way off in the distance and the dome of the church of san salvadore- the big red church- close to our apt. another pic the yellow and white church is the santa cruz church where we were in when mass started. another pic the square -plaza de la virgen de los Reyes- with the baroque fountain lamp black wrought iron sculpted in 1929 below us and the white building a former augustian convent. another pic the alcazar and the patio of the flags-patio de banderosRead more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
cathedral of seville
May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
so many chapels and art works it's a lot to take in. we had an audio guide and went in reverse as we started at the giralda tower exit. a highlight was the red chapter house with murillo painting of the immaculate conception. as was the sacristy with paintings of both isidore and leander brothers and former archbishops of seville. I even recognized a painting of st Theresa in the sacristy. I really liked the stain glass of saints justa and rufina- sister saints of seville martyred in 2nd century- the lions licked their toes instead of eating them. they were potters and when there was an earthquake in the 1300,s they appeared and held up the giralda tower so now are shown with the tower and their pottery. there was also a fabulous painting by goya of the pair. the little angel in the crown , her body is made of the 2nd largest pearl in the world....queen Elizabeth has the largest one. this crown is not for a human dead but rather for their mary floats head.... this cathedral is the largest in the world but is on the footprint of the 12th century mosque so has an irregular layout. colin is in the patio of the oranges, the former main entrance to the mosque where the faithul would wash hands and feet before entry.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
san salvadore iglesia Seville
May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C
the cathedral tix included entry to the big red church- san salvadore- also on the footprint of the former first mosque of Seville 800-1200. it is the 2nd largest church in seville built in the 1700s and very baroque. the square in front was full of rangers fans o various states of rivalry before the bug game at 930 pm tonight. many of the chapels here have removable statues that are then installed on the mary floats and paraded during holy week - semana santa- . st Christopher is the statue where he carries christ across the river. st christopher is patron saint of travellers. we were lucky when we left that we were exiting by the old orange patio, part of the mosque. I could see the original arches now incorporated into the walls of the buildings next door. the other night when walking down this alley people were coming out of this side door and I tried to go in- but was told it was closed apparently it opens for the faithful to go to pray. the christ of passion chapel.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
beaux arts museum sevillle
May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
we headed to this museum after we had had a snack and a rest back at the apt. it is still very warm so another museum would actually be cool to be in. this one is the 2nd best in spain after the Prado in Madrid. it was only 1.5 e to get in....but they shooed us out at 845. we only got to room 5 with the murillos. the building itself was a former convent for friars of the order of mercy and had beautiful courtyards.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de
May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
after a late dinner at Puente triana we went for a walk to the bull ring. just after this there was a cheer as the rangers had scored. then we walked across the triana bridge or queen Isabella bridge II to the triana area, along the water and back over the Puente de San Telmo and home. the game tied at 1:1 and in a shoot out the german team won. our area only had lots Scottish accents going by, no cheers. there were a lot of helicopters patrolling overhead.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
leaving sevillle
May 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
we headed for the train station and went by plaza san Leandro. nice fountain. we took a bit of a wrong turn to get to the station and find the car rental place but eventually found it after wandering for over an hour. we went north instead of south and then on the wrong side of the train station. lots of soccer fans at the station and renting cars as no flights available out of Seville today!Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
Galp - Estación de Servicio - Los Palaci
May 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C
Some more hiccups. after leaving plaza Leandro we headed for the train station heading north east instead of south east....after an hour walking in the high 30's we got to the station. then we went to the wrong side of the station to pick up the car from Europe car. eventually we got the right place and have a nice small blue opel Corsca Heading out of Seville we got on the A4....but heading east to Cordoba instead of south west to Cadiz. eventually we got on the right track and had a lovely picnic lunch at Galp - Estación de Servicio - Los Palacios under the shade of the ramada. we had the iberian ham that our host gave us, some Viejo cheese and some olive oil. went into the rest stops restaurant for espresso and we picked up some of the tortas de aceite- our host had left some of these and they were very yummy but we had eaten them all. she said seville is famous for these. they are sweet with honey and I think a touch of cardomen. I just googled, it is anise seed the recipe goes way back, influences from Arab Jewish and Mozarabic. i hope we will be able to find them back home. Back on the road and outside of Cadiz we didnt take the correct exit and ended up back tracking on the E5 for 20 km. eventually we found our way to Zahara de los Atunes but it was around 5 pm instead of 4. The trip was suppose to take 2 hr 15 and I think we were closer to 3 hours....or more. very long sandy beaches here like Oregon or long beach just beautiful!! and some very cool rock formations. ....and very windy so you dont notice the 33 degree temp. winds around 40-50 km/hr. The highway barrier was white and pink oleander and Spanish broom and pine trees at the side of the highway. we noticed irrigation troughs in the fields. and quite a few wind turbines.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
La Fresquita de Perea
May 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
had our dinner in zahara de los atunes at this restaurant La Fresquita de Perea after getting groceries. There is a Tuna festival here that our host told us about. she is down from Madrid to enjoy it. the restaurant was ok a bit overpriced for what you got and no small tapas plates. the diced tuna with seaweed was good and presentation was lovely but it is very similar to our poke bowls back home. the corvina and prawns were excellent. nice fillet grilled well with a sweet onion mix on top and again presentation was great. the clams were a disappointment they were far too salty and no interesting herbs. they also punched in an extra 20 e when we paid the bill which we caught and colin got back 20 e but I got the feeling because we didnt speak Spanish they knew we were tourists and maybe they could get away with it. it was just the clams that are bugging me. went back to our place and enjoyed the sounds of the waves with a glass of wine and one of our tortas de aceite on the patio. I think we will need to get better at Spanish, and the accents......
our host just told us that they should have tapas and they should be participating in the festival so she wasnt sure why we weren't allowed to have tapas. she did say after 830 in the eve is when it starts......she also said he had a very good kitchen as he had trained with Antonio who has one of the best places in town.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
our place Zahara de los Atunes
May 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 21 °C
this is our unit in the complex. it is absolutely beautiful with an infinity pool and beautiful gardens. it is perched on the hillside. our units patio is enclosed so the wind is not so bad. apparently there are 2 winds,one from the land that is very strong and hot. this wind from the east called the Levant and it comes from Africa. this is what we have right now 40-50 km/hr. The other wind is from the water is cooler and comes from the west off the Atlantic it is called the Poniente and allows you to see over to Morocco clearly which is 14 km across the water. last night we saw some lights on the African side. it was like sitting at French beach east of sooke and watching the lights from the Olympic peninsula......I keep singing the Joni Mitchell song -Carey: "The wind is in from Africa
Last night I couldn't sleep
Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here, Carey
But it's really not my home…"
We had no trouble sleeping😊 the jasmine smell from the vine over the entrance is phenomenal!!! I'm in heaven....Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
brunch
May 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
our late breaky lunch after our swim. I love the drying rack so practical!
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
relaxation day
May 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
it's still very windy but lovely on the patio. great views of the Costa de la Luz or Coast of the light. refers to the light off Africa I believe. Colin is enjoying the pool.
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
beach walk zahara de los atunes
May 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
went to town to get some spices. then decided to walk the beach. yes I did end up at the end of the beach that is for the nudists, what's new? but there were not many there as it was so so windy. this is part of the senendro arco atlantico trail. there is an elevated boardwalk that runs parallel to the beach. this is Friday night and as we came from the parking area we passed a beach bar with a live band doing Spanish guitar type music. further down the beach there was a rock and roll band and further again there was a salsa band...guess where we stopped? doing salsa and cha cha on the sand is even harder than on a dance floor and it has been some time since we have been dancing. we then did some more beach walking to walk off the glass of wine. there were some birds as the sun was setting. maybe egrets but we were so far away I'm not sure. we headed for the tuna tapas festival around 9 but it was so busy we just stayed at the first restaurant that we got a table at. the tuna tapas was tuna cheeks in a canolli wrapper with a pureed pea mayo. quite good. for dinner I had grilled sea bream -fillet pargo plancha- very good, and colin ordered an iberian pork dish called carrilleras. it was good and reminded me of beef that is slowly braised in a Dutch oven.....which is similar to how this is prepared. after dinner we walked through the town and it was very very busy. live music in the streets though the beach bands were all finished. had some gelato for desert and got home around midnight. these late hours are taking a toll....but it's fun. see the life guard chair? and tides are recorded from Morocco !Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
baello claudia
May 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
we went to see this old Roman ruin on the next beach from where we are staying. you could walk it approx 6.5 km or so to get there or if you drive 33 km....there is no road over the headland! we drove being lazy. it was an interesting site. the phoenicians probably started the settlement prior to the Roman's taking over. the Romans arrived on the Iberia
peninsula approx 300BC. because we are so close to Africa it was an important port city. the tuna also migrate by here twice a year on their way to spawn in the Mediterranean. the Roman's loved this sauce made from the entrails of both tuna and mackral. salt was also used in the preparation of this "garum" sauce. it was made at this site and transported by ship throughout the Roman world. The main east west road-Decumanus Maximus- has huge flagstones and sewage pipes under it but is a bit jumbled and uneven because of numerous earthquakes that have occurred here. a big one in 200 ad. after the big earthquake the walls were rebuilt with the smaller grey stones. another large quake in 600 ad led to the abandonment of the area. there is a large forum with numerous columns and a statue of Trajan - Roman emperor born in spain. (italica just outside of Sevilla.). the salt/fish procesing area. There are some Roman baths showing the underground heating system. a theater including the vomitorium where everyone exits the theater. a space for 3 statues the Capitoline triad of the gods Juno, Jupiter and Minerva. also later a temple to Egyptian goddess Isis. all roman towns were laid out similar, grid pattern, city walls with gate towers, forum, market , temple to the gods, public baths. there is also some of the old aqueduct still In place.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
baleo claudia more
May 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
few more pics. there is a 2nd north south road that Roman roads have called the cardus maximus. the ionic columns with trajans statue is the basilica. the forum would have an elevated platform for oratory to happen and it had a fountain behind the platform.....maybe to drown out the speaker??? the steps were quite high. and lots of daisy like flowers blooming.Read more
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Spain spring 2022..Traveler
beach south of bolonia
May 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
colin had to put is feet in the straight of Gibraltar. it was cold and the wind was really blowing. lots of windsurfers, kite boarders some swimmers but not a lot I think there may be some strong currents. I was hoping to get to a site called Piscinas naturales de Bolonia but we didnt walk far enough. the south end of the beach is the nudists end and we did see a lot of topless sun bathers but no nudists today.Read more
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