Sunday, May 7, 2023

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Neighbours surprised me with these roses one day!

I went to Zoo Burkart one day for Lexi food, no bunnies this time but these little ones.


These are the current cows in the neighbouring field, very different from the motley crew we used to have.


This is a video explaining and showing the "behind the scenes" of Semana Santa in Sevilla I learned quite a bit from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtX8cKvu8XU

Here is my slightly sleepy or mean looking fur baby. I know what a certain friend would say...


Cheers to Mothers! 

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Spring has sprung and Happy Easter!

 

Might be crabapple, pretty, whatever it is.

It always pays to look up!

Or sideways, this is a mobile quad shed parked on the road.

Along the same lines, you don't see this everyday...

Here, families hang eggs on the  trees.

Easter decor for the Freiburg apartment, kind neighbours dropped the bunny at my door. The green on the left is  bärlauch fresh garlic leaves, yummy!  

Spring in Sevilla means heavenly scented orange blossom! Photo by Pepe.

We went to lunch under the above tree, garlic butter prawns, yum!

Wishing you a wonderful Easter and Spring time!

Bev and Lexi Cat

Friday, March 17, 2023

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Cheers to my Pop, (Grandfather) and relatives in Ireland!

Orange blossoms are starting to come out, just starting, in a week they will be fragrant!

Ryan and I were having coffee and he mentioned there is a bridge at the end of Baños Street, not far from my apartment so I've been over it a couple of times to check it out. Here is a link but it is in the Guinness Book of Records since 2007 for being the most slender bridge in the  world. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasarela_de_la_Cartuja_(Sevilla)

It is under used but would make a great viewing spot for races on the Canal de Alfonso XIII, part of the Guadalquivir River.




Honeysuckle!


Have a great St. Patrick's Day, and please, no green beer!

Gártha or Cheers, Bev and Lexi Cat


Friday, February 24, 2023

Road Trip with Pepe to Huelva Province

 Pepe and I drove southwest going to Moguer, a town in Huelva we had visited on our road trips with Ryan and Angela before lockdown, I wanted to see more of it so we did.

On the way Pepe knew of an ancient castle at Niebla so we stopped there to take a look.


Feral cats "guarding" the outside walls.

This whole region is dedicated to growing mainly strawberries and other berries which are cultivated under long, white poly tunnels. The workers in the fields are largely from North Africa.

Here are some of the statues that had me coming back to the town.



This is Juan Ramon Jimerez, a Nobel Prize winning poet from the town

We visited the museum there in his honour which included plaques with description of daily life at the home.


That's Pepe with Juan Ramon's character Platero donkey.

Then it was lunchtime at Meson Lobito which is a huge barn of a place with a wood burning fireplace.



This restaurant is not suitable for vegetarians, the focus is their wood fired meat. I typically don't eat a lot of beef or lamb because cooking for one, well... They also have bread that is toasted (on the left), brought to the table with a couple of cloves of garlic and oil which you rub onto it which is very yummy.

After we drove through Mazagon around some old neighbourhoods where Pepe had lived while in University, along the beaches. Then to the Paradore Playa de Mazagon hotel for a coffee in the beautiful grounds by the sea. Paradores are a group of upmarket hotels, often in heritage buildings run by the country. There are similar in Portugal called Posadas. 


Those lines on the horizon are tankers waiting to get into Huelva Port

We drove through Huelva City to get back to Sevilla, passing by enormous cranes and storage facilities for petroleum products by the dozens. The city has a lot of heavy industry, much more so than Sevilla. 

We saw many stork nests with storks in them, the pine trees which are mushroom or pompom shape topped and it is quite green in the region which will not likely last into the summer.

Pepe asked me to stand next to this to compare size, he said it was perfect for me. Actually it is a wheelchair inside so I hope it isn't for a long time.

It is not often you see a flying pink pig on a carousel. 

Decorating for Carnival this weekend.

That was our very enjoyable day trip! Thank you Pepe for the tour and some of the pictures. 

Friday, December 23, 2022

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2023!

Window of the custom hat maker.

 I've been watching CBC News coverage especially of the West Coast and the snow storms, you who live there, have been having this week with prediction for more. I feel bad for you, as I "bask" in 20 degree weather here in Sevilla. Last week we had a a lot of torrential rain, needed, but, please, not all at once.

The Artisan Christmas market is on this year and I've been a couple of times. The vendors are friendly and products are beautiful! Even the packaging and the stall decorations are also beautiful.


The vendor made this with recycled materials and leaves, picture doesn't do it justice.

I bought this jug with it's patina from the shop, above picture, he uses electrolysis to create this effect, yes, dented, made it more appealing to me, call me crazy...

I was at El Cortes grocery store in the fancy veggie section (fancy because product is selected by a clerk and you are forbidden to touch) and I saw a flower made from an artichoke. She showed me how to make it and so I bought some and here is the result. 


My vegetable Christmas decoration.


Wishing you a safe, happy Holiday Season Friends! Cheers, Bev and Lexi Cat


This year's street lighting.


Sunday, November 20, 2022

Pictures from Lagos

 Here are some more pictures from Lagos, Portugal with captions for explanation.

Foggy evening on the roof terrace bar above the Fish Market

One of Anya and Paul's rescue dogs. Don't let that face fool you, one of the sweetest little dogs.

Ryan, Oliver (Oli),  Angela, me, Anya, Paul at the Piri Piri chicken restaurant in Odiaxere

The "end of the world" Sagres coastline, truly spectacular!

Raku fired sculpture at the cafe on the viewpoint in Sagres

Oliver Schmidt from Berlin stayed a week, friend of Ryans for 20 years the restaurant was called O'Mexihalo (mussels are their specialty) and in my opinion, best fish restaurant in Lagos. Oh, almost forgot, they also serve a multitude of choices of Gin and Tonics
 
Disappointedly a completely fogged in mountain called Fiora but the goat herd compensated somewhat.

Those murals I promised last post.





Not a mural...


Us, three amigos, at the Lagos Marina

We all took loads of pictures in the month spent there, the coastal scenery is stunning. It was a vacation for me including sun, sea, good friends and new friends, I enjoyed it, good times!