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Along the Natchez Trace

Monday, March 11, 2013

It's Monday... but Sunday Photos...


Monday already... time to head back to classes.
It's raining again today, but I took enough photos yesterday to fill at least one more blog....

Here's the place Bill & I stopped for lunch...
You can barely see him, but Bill's just below the "R" in the plate glass window.

We had some beggars approach us...
This little guy is an English sparrow, or as we more commonly call them in the US...  a House sparrow.
Sort of the bane of all bird houses we put out to attract bluebirds.  Here the little guys are so tame they hop around on your table... and will even light on your hand if you hold out a morsel for them.  It was hard to hold a grudge towards this fellow despite his bad reputation in the States.

After lunch we headed back to the park and came across this tiny automobile...
It truly seats only 1 person...  and quite honestly, I know some folks who would NOT fit in it at all!  It's totally electric...

Sevilla is right on top of things...  they actually have "electric kiosks" where you can plug in your car so it can recharge while you're out and about...
Here's Bill...  pointing at the "outlet" for another brand of electric car.  In the left of the photo is the little kiosk where you can plug in.  We checked one out today that had a car actually plugged in...  looks like you might have a card (like a credit card) that you use to pay for your time.  Much like an ATM, except here you get electric, not cash.

We pass this building as we're entering the Parque Maria Luisa.  It's known as "The Queens Sewing Box"
Looks like it's straight out of a fairy tale, doesn't it?  Now a tourist office, Princess Maria Luisa liked to visit here.

More of the park...
There are numerous fountains, pools, and other water features.
I am always delighted to come across yet another one.

The statue of Gustavo Becquer (1836-1870)
Born in Sevilla, he was a poet...  his works were not well received during his lifetime, and he became more famous after his death.  He wrote romantic poetry... but apparently the love of his life did not appreciate this... thought he was too bohemian... (poor) to marry.

At the side of his statue are these ladies...
(Someone has placed a fresh bouquet of flowers in the arms of one)
There was no plaque narrating what exactly is going on here, but having read of his unrequited love, I wonder if his lady-love had second thoughts after he died of TB?

This is the main reason we headed back to the park today..
The Plaza de Espana
Built for the 1929 World's Fair, it's opulence is overwhelming!
Somewhat horseshoe shaped, the huge building has towers at each end.  In the huge courtyard there are fountains, and gardens.

This is a very popular spot for tourists and locals alike...
Especially on Sundays you'll see many people just relaxing on the benches.
Behind each of these benches is a tile mural depicting a region of Spain.

The rains began again...  people scattered!  Bill & I headed up onto the 2nd floor of one of the buildings where we could look over the plaza...
We waited out the rain...
(You can see the south tower in the background)

Sure enough, the sun came back out after about 20 minutes...
But most of the Sunday strollers were gone...  look...  not a person left on any of those benches lining the walls on the right.
(Now.. the north tower is in the background)


We continued looking at all the tile murals...  at the incredible architecture...
The rain-washed walks are deserted...  the rain has driven the Sunday people inside or home...

By this time, we, too, are ready to head home.  I never tire of our visits to this park.  Soon the trees will be in bloom and there will be flowers everywhere....

We have 3 more weeks here...  we're hoping to see what Spring is like in Sevilla!

That's All For Today!


12 comments:

  1. Neat, Neat, Neat!!
    You are really lucky to do everything you are doing!!

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  2. What a beautiful place to go to school! Thanks for the beautiful pics

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  3. I love the little sparrows. Cheeky fellows. Remind me of pansies.

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  4. That looks like a Smartcar. Not editorializing - isn't that what we call them here?

    Rain? In Spain? You must be on the plain, Audrey.

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  5. I can't believe you are showing us pictures with blue skies! :)

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  6. I am so enjoying your time in Seville with you. Thanks for all the wonderful photos.

    Thought I'd let you know we are heading out to Hawaii in a couple of days. We arrive in Honolulu Thursday morning to be exact. I've set up a separate Blog called Hawaii 2013 which you can find here http://matarangigirl.blogspot.co.nz/ should you want to follow this New Zealand couple abroad. Most of our time in Hawaii will be on Big Island including a few days on a coffee plantation.

    Blessings

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  7. Very interesting post, and a wonderful line-up of photos again! That tiny little car looks like a couple of guys could just pick it up and carry it off! lol

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  8. You convey a lot of excitement wonder in your posts as you see as much as you can.

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  9. That plaza is amazing. I can see why you like visiting that park. I always enjoy the water features and fountains. Just something relaxing about moving water.

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  10. The plaza is perfect for pictures...love the colors, the arches, the towers, and the water on the bricks.....it's all really pretty!

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  11. Excellent photos! And that rain-washed Plaza de EspaƱa is stunning. I fell in love with that little car, a Twizy, the first time I saw it. Unfortunately, I'd probably be chewing on my knees once I folded myself inside it!

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  12. I thank you for the photo of the friendly little sparrow. The little buggers really are ubiquitous, aren't they? We're still surrounded by increasingly dirty snow so I'm wistful at seeing the green trees and rainy day pictures. It will be another couple of months before we have much green around here.

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