Joaquín is going to fuck up your weekend, my friend told me in a Facebook message. Who is this Joaquín and what has he got to do with my weekend, I wondered.
Joaquín turned out to be a hurricane set to tear through Andalusia last bank holiday weekend, when everyone had made travel plans. Including me. Sigh.
Well, a little wind and rain wasn’t going to deter us, and so my pal Noelia and I embarked on the five-hour drive down south on Friday evening to spend the weekend with some friends who had shamelessly abandoned us in Toledo and moved to Carmona, a small town about 30 minutes east of Seville.
In the end, Joaquín was very considerate, unleashing his unholy fury in the dead of Saturday night while we slept off our dinner.
However, despite being spared a torrential downpour in the daytime, it wasn’t the best weather for taking photos. But I shall post a few of them anyway. Coz my mum likes them…
A handful of shots of Seville:
Seville is a stunner of a city, even on a gloomy day. Oh, and the food! But here’s the one thing I didn’t like: The town centre is thronging with hundreds of horse drawn carriages, waiting to take tourists around. Nothing wrong with that per se, but at least one quarter of the horses I saw – though scrupulously clean and brushed up to the hilt – were way too thin, too old and/or clearly unwell. Spain loves bureaucracy – so why is there no veterinary inspection service making sure that the only animals put to work were those that are fit and healthy??? I found this really quite distressing.
And a few shots of Carmona:
Talking of which:
So much to see! Virgins, cakes, maids! Cakes! And of course, cakes! You’ve given me a great taste of both places : )
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The savouries are so much better down there, though. We had the most amazing tapas!
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Looks a great trip. I would have been unhappy about the horses too though!
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It was a lovely trip… nice to see my friends again, I miss them a lot. One of them said that it’s even worse in the summer, when the animals suffer in 45 degrees heat 😦
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Yikers – that spiked window is mighty formidable! This takes protecting virginity to a whole new level!
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Hmmm… might be able to smuggle a few crumbs of cake though, that would have kept me happy 😉
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Cake is the answer to everything 😉
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Yup 🙂
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Ah, my puente de Triana! And this horrible Divina Pastora, I remember her well. Oh, the absolutely wonderful, gorgeous food! All my dreams coming true. I had similar thoughts about the horses, however.
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I quite liked the Pastora, at least she’s got a stick 😉
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Glad Joaquín didn’t ruin your plans!
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He took pity on us… I’ll be forever grateful 🙂
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😀😀
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It seems ridiculously unfair that you make it seem like every corner of Seville is picture perfect even with a hurricane!?
As for the horses… you would have a coronary if you saw the typical horse condition for the carriages that ply touristy places like Marine Drive in India. Part of the reason I’ll never take my sis the vet along those spots either! 😉
And you cruel creature continuing to tempt with delicious morsels of sweet goodness!
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I don’t even want to imagine… am already upset about the cat situation right in front of my house. And people do feed them, at least.
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A pudder tat in front of your house? Seems like s/he has been semi adopted if being fed. Our old building cat tabby passed away and the kitten disappeared.
The ‘village’ cats all have their regular supply of food and attention whereas the ‘street’ cats along our road feast on the garbage heap that spews out from the village to our doorstep daily. Unfortunately that same garbage heap, it keeps the bandicoots / rats so healthy they are as big as the cats!
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I’m glad Joaquin didn’t muck up your trip. I think the U.S. was hardest hit by that hurricane. very interesting photos! who’s the guy pointing with what looks like a tree growing out of his head? love the Spanish tiles 🙂
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That’s a pigeon there on his head 🙂 I must confess, I didn’t check who he was, coz I didn’t want to hold everyone up even more than I was already with the taking photos.
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aha! a pigeon! well, it’s sure an interesting pose he’s got there 🙂
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It amused me that he looks like he’s about to swat it off 😉
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Hurricane? What hurricane? Cakes look vile, but I always say that. T too have an issue with the carriages. Plenty in Malaga too. And then, there are the donkeys in Mijas. It’s never-ending. I’ve been to Carmona. Most people haven’t. In fact I was talking about it the other day although didn’t remember the name until I read your post. It was very sleepy. We got adopted by a Spaniard who taught English and wanted to practise. He said we were a nation of nomads. It was all very surreal and, there was no decent food.
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Aw, you should have gone to that restaurant just inside the wall where my friends took us to – the food was delish! Well, the savouries at least. The desserts were so-so. It opened only recently.
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In which case as I went more than ten years ago …
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It’s still sleepy, though 😉
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Pity the “leche frita” wasn’t as delicious as it looks. The idea of deep fried custard sounds marvelous.
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Yeah… it was just a tad too sweet. And I do like custard!
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Well, I admire your gumption, seeking cake even in the face of sure danger from Hurricane Joaquin. Lovely photos as always, in fact I even learned a technique from you.
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we’re having the first genuinely cold morning of fall, ~2°C. Ugh…winter beckons.
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I have… a technique??? Point-Click, that’s it. And if the target moves, tough titty. (blurry bazookas…?)
Toledo CMA
Where it tries to rain, but it doesn’t really quite know how to….
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I have seen those rough looking horses in many tourist spots including some in the good ol U.S. of A. Shameful.
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A semi-solid lump of custard does not do it for me. Neither do virgins 😉 But I did really like Seville! Lovely photos 🙂
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I took a close-up of the torero’s ‘bulge’ just for you…but then decided not to put it up 😉
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Chicken 😉
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Yup, that’s what it looked like he had stuffed down there… a whole one, with feathers still on.
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Ha ha! Was it clucking too? 😉
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no. dead as a doornail. As you’d expect in a bronze.
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Ahem. You could do a ‘sealed’ version of your blog, just for Linda!
I’m awfully glad you listened to your mom and posted the photos.
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Thanks Yvonne! …not sure anyone could cope with a second version of my blog, not even Linda 😉
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You just never know! Some of us, and especially Linda, crave excitement, I think. 🙂
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Linda gets plenty of kicks, I don’t think we need to worry about her 😉
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Where is the rain??? I love rain… I love walking around and taking pictures in the rain. We havent had a decent one in Moscow either.
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What?! I hate it. Balancing a brolly and trying not to get the lens wet, besides the shit light, is just a nightmare. Plus, city shots look so much better with a blue sky in the background. I guess a decent camera might make a difference…
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Brolly? HOW CUTE ARE YOU W YOUR BRITISHISMS!!!
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I’m the only one who noticed the well-endowed matador?! Love the architecture, love the tlle work, would love the cakes since my vacation killed any vestiges of self-control I’d managed before. Alas alas, the horses…. but I’m glad you spoke up for them.
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I think their popularity is probably more to do with their tight pants than with waving a towel about… I take it you’re back home in Fiji now?
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Yep, back to the Teitei (farm)…. 36 hours in, it feels as though I never left.
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Yeah, I have exactly the same feeling every time I get back… after 24 hours, it’s like I was never away at all.
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Your photos look totally normal to me, but I live in London. I’ve heard rumors that the sky is blue in some places.
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Those rumours… ARE TRUE! Though not today… grey, grey, grey wherever I look. Sigh.
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That torero looked very proud of himself and his tight pants. Love the colorful tile lady–is she a Virgin too?
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I knew you’d like him 😉 As for La Pastora, there may be a little room for doubt under those ample skirts…
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She’s keeping a firm grasp on the staff whilst fondling a goat. The symbolism seems pretty clear…
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Yeah right, you only ate the “big bulbous chocolate thing on the left” – course you did.
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How well you know me… that one didn’t even hit the sides 😉
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I quite enjoyed your photographs of everything! But must admit I enjoyed the visual humor found in the photo of the bust. I could almost hear him saying:
“ARGH! Every day it’s those sh-ting pigeons! Why couldn’t the artist have at least given me a hat?” 😉
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Yes, I loved that bust, and the pigeon. Miss Dixie would love it up there 🙂
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I have no doubt she would! 😀
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Omg, the chastity window! Poor nuns having to look out that thing in the morning. Other than that, Seville looks mighty colorful and lovely, and of course those treats look delicious…
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Never mind looking out… what about the poor men looking in? 😉
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Hopefully they wore protective goggles if they wanted to get closer. 😉
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Some very intriguing photos. Little Bo Peep, the guy reacting to the bird on his head, that peculiar U-shaped sculpture, those pretty maids all in a row.. ( well almost )
“fried milk” – In Bengal they make a similar thing called “Shor bhaja” or “cream fried” .
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I’ve never been much a fan of Indian desserts either… seems to all milk powder, sugar, food colouring and fried grease… but no doubt I’ve missed out on some good ones, never actually having been to India!
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Divine desserts! The marshmallow Nutella cake is calling my name.
I, too, am very unhappy about the horses. I find it so troubling to watch them in Central Park. Our mayor promised to do something about the situation during his campaign and he never did. But there is some good news that the pedi-cabs are becoming more popular.
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Aw, I didn’t realise the horse situation was bad in CP 😦
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Chastity windows, that’s a new one! Seville looks gorgeous, even with the crummy weather 🙂 Makes me miss Spain – there was so much I missed seeing, I think I will have to go back!
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Yes, come back!!! 🙂
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I will consider that your offer to be my tour guide and translator – again 🙂
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Would love to 🙂
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Oh boy!! Time to start planning again!
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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I really need to get to grips with Seville some day. I’ve done a couple of day trips but by the time I get there and ‘home’ again 😦 Last time it was pouring with rain and the time before that, too hot. Next time I’ll get it right 🙂
(You missed a Food Walk in Ljubljana, but it doesn’t matter unless you’re going there some time soon? 🙂 )
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I must confess, I only ever go to Eastern Europe if paid to do so (for work)… people are just so miserable there, nobody ever seems to smile! Am definitely going back to Seville, though, possibly in February/March when the temperature is bearable.
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