Umbrellas, Architecture and Bells

Hola!
It has been quite a rainy Monday! But it gave me the chance to go through some of our Spain photos... if you click on the photos, btw, you can see them bigger.

About a month ago, we spent April vacation in Spain. (Public schools get a week off in April.) It seems like a long time ago now, but no, it was really about a month. Just a beautiful trip. I'll just show you one place at a time, since as usual, we took a ridiculous number of photos.

Plaza de Espana

Kara following pigeons in the square...
they are kind of funny to watch

Staircase, with tiled railings--beautiful, ornate
tiling all around the plaza

SEVILLA. We ended the trip in Seville, or Sevilla if you are using the Spanish pronunciation. (I'm taking you through the trip backwards...)

Frank served his mission in southern Spain, which actually prompted the trip. For 25 years he has been saying, "Oh, we'll go back to Spain and I'll show you some of the areas where I served." We decided this was a good year for it :)

This is a cool poster for Frank -- he actually has a tshirt with
this logo on it! He served until 1990, when they were preparing for this '92Expo,
and now they are celebrating the 25th year anniversary of it! 

Horse Show poster, w/Kara behind

He did, actually, serve in Sevilla! I'll show you pictures.

We rented a car and drove during this trip, as well as taking the train on the last stretch from Sevilla back to Madrid. So some of the pics are the countryside. They also had big, black bull silhouettes along the highway. I have a picture of one of those, too.

marketplace by the Plaza de Espana

The Plaza de Espana is so pretty, and the architecture is interesting and ornate. It was very busy, with horse-drawn carriages and pedestrian tourists everywhere.

Sidewalk vendors and marketplaces were also a common sight.

CITY VIEWS. We also toured the biggest cathedral in Sevilla, and climbed the bell tower. Pretty amazing views from the top!

REAL ALCAZAR. We also toured the royal palace. Here are some pics of the gardens and wonderful architecture there.

flooring tile detail

ceiling detail

view from the bell tower of the cathedral

in the gardens of Real Alcazar

had to stay out of here today, since the government
officials were actually using it today...

from the bell tower of the cathedral

Well my allotted blog time is up :)
Stay tuned for more installments, and have a great week!

Kari

Christopher Columbus monument--
he is buried here