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Earlier today, I was going through some random pictures I’ve taken over the past three months, say during the spring of this year. I selected a couple of them which I like to call some of my “random favourites”. Some have already been published over here in earlier posts, others have never been published before. But even the ones that have been published in this blog before do deserve their place over here.

I hope you’ll like them as much as I do.

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I could tell you three stories about the typical “Portuguese Productivity” that I am experiencing in this country each and every day. Three stories that happened today, but hey, the weekend is approaching, the sun was shining all day long, despite the typical “Portuguese Productivity”, I had a very busy and productive week, so… I am going to keep it positive.

I had some free time in my late afternoon, and before going home, I was taking a look at some of the pictures I have taken over the past fourteen months. I selected a couple of them, which I specifically like. Some were taken when I was on a one week trip with a very special friend of mine through the Spanish province of Andalucia in April of last year, others were taken on different locations, on different days, over the past couple of months. I just call them my “Random Favourite Pictures”.

Having seen quite some pictures today, I believe it’s about time to buy myself a new toy, a new and decent digital camera. Although I am pretty proud of the pictures below, which were taken with a tiny little digital Sony camera.

I hope you like them as much as I do.

Algarve, Portugal, April 2008

Algarve, Portugal, April 2008

Public Transport, Lisbon, Portugal, April 2008

Cordoba, Spain, April 2008

Cordoba, Spain, April 2008

Spanish landscape in spring, April 2008

Spanish landscape in spring, April 2008

Andalucia in spring, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Windows on Granada, Al Alhambra, Spain, April 2008

Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Break at Al Alhambra, Granada, Spain, April 2008

Spanish market, Andalucia, April 2008

Spanish market, Andalucia, April 2008

Spanish market, Andalucia, April 2008

Spanish market, Andalucia, April 2008

Sierra Nevada, Spain, April 2008

Sierra Nevada, Spain, April 2008

Trevélez, Spain’s highest village, Sierra Nevada, April 2008

City Center, Cacela Velha, Algarve, Portugal, April 2008

Ria Formosa, Algarve, Portugal, February 2009

Ria Formosa, Algarve, Portugal, February 2009

Coimbra, Portugal, April 2009

Steps of Coimbra, Portugal, April 2009

Streets of Coimbra, Portugal, April 2009

Streets of Coimbra, Portugal, April 2009

Windows of Coimbra, Portugal, April 2009

2 girls at the bullfight, Féria de Abril 2009, Sevilla, Spain

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We just had a long weekend over here in Portugal. As in almost all Western European countries, May 1st is a holiday. I took advantage of this long and beautiful weekend (with temperatures around 25° C), to do a lot of reading, and last Saturday, I drove to Sevilla, which is only 150 kilometers away from where I live. Sevilla is one of my favourite cities in the world, with a beautiful architecture, being the capital of Andalucia, and with almost one and a half million inhabitants, being the fourth largest city of Spain, following Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

Every now and then, on a free day, I love to wander around the small streets of the ancient city center. The day before yesterday, I parked my car very close to the “Plaza de España”, which is situated right in the middle of the “Parque Maria Luisa”. Both were built for the 1929 “Exposición Ibero-Americana”. The “Plaza de España” is an outstanding example of Regionalist Architecture, a quite bizarre and lofty mixture of diverse historic styles with all Spanish provinces, ornate with typical glazed tiles.

From the “Plaza de España”, it is a short walk to Sevilla’s cathedral. This cathedral was built on the former site of the city’s mosque, after the “Reconquista”. It is Spain’s largest cathedral, both in terms of area and volume. It’s tower, the “Giralda” which was originally a minaret, was converted in a bell tower, topped with a statue, known locally as “El Giraldillo”, representing faith. The tower’s interior was built with ramps instead of stairs, so that the ancient leaders of the city were able to ride on horseback to the top.

I continued my walk, and passed by the “Real Maestranza”, Sevilla’s bullring. Sevilla is a city of great bullfight tradition and the birthplace of important, well-known figures in bullfighting circles. During the “Feria de Abril” (which ended yesterday), every afternoon, six bulls from the most representative “ganaderías” (cattle ranches) enter the bullring to be confronted by the bullfighters.

By the way, if ever you are planning to visit this wonderful city, come during this “Feria de Abril”. It starts two weeks after Eastern Sunday, and lasts one whole week. Some “Sevillanos” are living an entire week on this “Feria”. It has a total area of 450000 m³ which is divided into 25 sections with a total of 15 streets, all named after famous bullfighters. More than one thousand “casetas” are set up in the “Real de la Feria”, belonging to families, groups of friends, associations and districts, which are being open to all visitors. In the “Calle del Infierno” (Hell’s street - so called because of the noise which many consider to be “hellish”), more than 400 fairground activities can be found. Most of the women are wearing beautiful and typical Flamenco dresses, while the men are dressed in their best suits.

Anyway, I passed the “Torre del Oro” on my way to the “Real de la Feria”, which is situated just outside the city center. It was night when I arrived, and unfortunately, the battery of my camera was down when I got there. So… you’ll have to wait until next year to see the pictures of the Feria. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy the other pictures below here…

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