Check it out! These are the colors of the shirts and ties that Spanish men wear on a daily basis. Beautiful! In fact, in my opinion the Spanish men consistently dressed with more color than the women. Certainly the women are no slouches in that department as the following pictures show, but these are not the kind of dresses that you see very often on the streets of Spanish cities. The men, on the other hand, wear those beautiful colors every day. It was a feast for the eyes!
I was not exaggerating when I wrote that the buildings of Seville are more colorful than Spanish women. Seville is known for its colorful
azulejos, the glazed ceramic tiles found virtually everywhere. Do you think I'm kidding? Notice the tile on the face of the building? Now look carefully and you will see that there is tile on the
underside of the balcony. I was in tile heaven for three days!
Let's look at some more examples of the beautiful azulejos.
I like this juxtaposition of the tile and the graffiti.
This crucifixion scene was on the side of a building (not a church) near a busy intersection.
Look how the afternoon light causes these copper azulejos to glow.
The ultimate azulejo experience in Seville has to be the
Plaza de Espana. 
As you can see we happened by at a time when some kind of demonstration was underway. My friend, Laure, thinks that they are part of some kind of civil corps. For me, it created a kind of festive atmosphere. They did a lot of marching, some singing and had a marching band with them as well.
The entire plaza is gorgeous but it's when you get close to the building that you can see the color, detail and artistry of the azulejos.
Each one of the tiled sections underneath the white columns represent a different region of Spain. Let's take a closer look.
Each section also has a plaque next to it with a description of the mosaic and that particular region of Spain.
Here are some close-ups of the various building facades. Every kind of shape, size and color of tile is used. It's really an amazing building and I've never seen anything else quite like it.
Even the bridges are tiled. Does the bridge seem familiar to you? Are you a
Star Wars fan? If so, check out the Plaza de Espana link above!
Here's one last shot of the Plaza de Espana. This is an interior shot of the tiled stairs and the walls leading up to the offices on the second floor. I include this to show you how pervasive (in a good way!) the azulejos are.
I'm not kidding when I tell you that in Seville azulejos rule! Check out the following photographs. These are pictures of the lobby and the dining room of our hotel in Seville. If I had a lot of discretionary income I would probably have a lot of tile in my home, albeit with the radiant heating installed for the winter months!
One of Seville's most popular sights is the
Cathedral and
La Giralda (the Moorish bell tower).
If there's a tower somewhere you can pretty much guarantee that I will climb it! Here are some views on the way up La Giralda.
Here's a nice view of the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, Seville's 18th century bullring. It's considered to be one of the, if not
the most magnificent in Spain. The arena can hold up to 14,000 people during bullfighting season which starts on Easter Sunday and runs until October. You can take a tour of the ring, the nearby emergency hospital and the chapel where the toreadors pray for success. There's a certain symmetry to their proximity wouldn't you say?
About the time you get to the top of the tower that pool is looking pretty good!
What bell tower would be complete without bells! I don't believe that I would want to be here when the bells are ringing!
We came upon these young men practicing for what I'm assuming is some kind of religious festival. They were
very serious about their work.
I like these two pictures because I took them at exactly the same spot in two opposite directions.
A few more Seville street scenes.
While strolling the streets of Seville we also came across this statue of a guitarist with whom I am completely unfamiliar. I've done several searches on the Internet and have learned next to nothing, although he shows up on a lot of Greek websites!
I say "adios" to Seville and to Spain with two pictures of the men behind a
tapas bar in Seville. This was one of my favorite Spanish experiences. These men were so funny, cheerful and high-spirited in the midst of absolute chaos! It was really good food, really cheap and the atmosphere was great. There were people of all ages there; young men and women checking each other out, construction workers, business women and men and even a few tourists. Great fun! I didn't catch their names but best wishes to these two men. They work hard for a living!
Thanks for sharing my trip to Spain with me. It took me seven months to finish telling you about my experience. I hope that you enjoyed it and that you can visit sunny Spain one day.
