to the Azores!

Here is a late entry on Lagos and Salema, Portugal. I finally can upload photos and not pay a fortune to do it! Lagos and Salema were very nice. Salema was extremely relaxing and all there was was the beach! but there were still two tastey restaurants. one with calamari that i miss greaty....

So here was my first stop into Lagos on the way to Salema. The sky was great and the water clear. I didnt know that portugal was one hour behind spain so i showed up for the bus an hour early! oops!

By the way, im going to change my caption style to underneith the photos. so beware. photo, then description.

The boats in the harbor.

And the boats up close...

This is the street where i stayed, a look to the right. I rented a room from a family. It was very nice. but kind of odd because i would walk in from going to the beach or whatever, and they would be having dinner or cooking! and neither of us spoke the other´s language!

And to the left.

And walking to the beach which was ...pretty much right there. I stayed on the beach in a way!

View from the window in my room. I could hear the waves at night which was really awesome!

The beach.

This pretty much describes what i did for two days!

My feet were very happy to be in the sand and not in shoes.

Salema is a fishing town. and the boats come in and out of the water all day, pulled by a tractor.

The Salema Vista.

My painting of the boats.

My other painting that isnt so good.

I walked around salema the next day and went up some random road. Most of the time all i could hear were the birds. And then, I heard this enchanting ringing or chiming, and i realized it was the cows walking with bells tied around their necks in the valley. below. how often does one realize that?

One view from my walk.

Another view.

And the future site of my vacation home.. haha

View of the overall beach at Salema.

My breakfast.

What Portugal REALLY thinks about the United States. please STOP US.

A Mural at the Lagos Post office. The first half. I love europe, its full of art.

And the second half of the mural.

So I had a great time in Salema and had some great calamari and wines and sun. It was like a vacation from the vacation! Very awesome indeed. So, until next time.... I have TONS of pictures from the azores. So beautiful there!

OKAY, here is the other half of Seville. I went to the plaza de españa..which supposedly they used to film parts of the the first starwars...anyone? so, here it is, a beautifully painted and ornate plaza...

and another view;

My favorite thing though was that along the arc of the actual building, were tile representations of all the provinces in spain. and they were all amazing!

and you can kind of see Valencia... since it was my first love, and there was no sevilla, my favorite.

And the up close parts;

Here is an upclose of Toledo.. I didnt go there, but The detail on the tile was to my liking...

Everything was painted and very detailed like i said. here is one of the railings on the upstairs.

Here is me admiring the stairwell banister

And view of the stairwell

Here was the center of the plaza... horses and carriages could go through it, and in the very center was a fountain. note the ground, how elaborate it is!

And here were two random things I found in Seville... Louie and Camu!

And thus concludes my travels in the most badass city ever. Hope you join me there next time.

Salobreña was probably a savior of mine. I had plenty of time to rest, enough sun shine, and air, and sea winds, and mediteranean sea spray, and food to make for a wonderful time. The very first night I got here, there was a procession, and I swear sometimes the tourist understands more than the natives. It was a procession to honor the sufferage of Christ, and there must have been 20, nay 50 people holding up a huge block with a staute of jesus on it. It was awesome, and spellbinding, and I felt the passion of the people for their faith more strongly than I ever have.

here are the pictures of it, which just dont show how slow and awesome this procession was. These people literally moved one step at a time, the whole things swaying side to side like someone deep in prayer.

And the side view...

The next day I went out to the beach, and to the castle on top of the hill. I got a little sunburnt.. oy and I got very sleepy from all the fresh air. I am determined to come back with sexy golden, but not cancerous, skin. Seville rooftop sunbathing here I come!

The Beach here had these amazing rocks on it.. I stared at them for probably an hour.

They went all the way to the sea..

The restaurant I ate at..I had an avocado salad and a beer and a coffee. Umm..one hint. Beer and coffee dont mix. Only wine and coffee. Anyway, they had this octopi next the the fire, and they looked very wiggily yet tastey.

One could see the castle from the beach. I decided to make my way up the ascent.

It took me forever to get up the hill..mountain..hell walk.. but the streets on the way there were great.

Finally! I got to the castle and walked around. once again, no railings. There was even one part where people were dozing that was next to a shear cliff! Even I am too much of a wuss for that!

When I left the castle I realized there was a straight shot street up the hill to the castle and I had winded around for what seemed like hours. So I went home and passed out. And read a steven king novel I found?

The next day, yesterday, I went to go start a painting. This is what I was painting, but it got dark before I finished...

And then...this is the hallway to my room. You can see the door to my room on the left. The plants are in an open air kind of patio .. and this is the second floor! very neat eh?

One last thing... I went to the store today, and the wine was so cheap I actually giggled aloud.

This was the botton shelf:

This was the top shelf:

Ah, why cant wine be that cheap in the States? Id probably be a lot more drunk....

Hello! This is a late posting of some sights in Valencia. Remember the gates to the city? One day when I was walking around, one was open to climb. All the way to the top! I know Brian would have absolutely freaked out.

First set of stairs...

Next set...

View from the first level of the gate...

Now view from the very top...

And another...

And yet another... It was such a grand city...

And, what Brian would love the most was this... there was NO railing anywhere to keep a tourist from jumping off, and you could go ANYWHERE on this thing. SO not American.

It was THE most exhilarating experience...racing to, yet trying to savor the climb, to the top.

PS, why are badasses always pointing?