The view from the patio.

The stairwell up to our Airbnb.

Even the smallest size comes with 3 flavors which is fun.

The rooftop patio at our Airbnb.

Architecture and tiles along the way.

There is a lot of old unique door hardware. Handles, locks and knockers.

And small street art.

So many great gelato flavors to choose from….

Big street art.

Lots of narrow passages and laundry drying.

We attended a Portuguese guitar concert. It was a great mix of musicians and styles.

They were quite delicious!

An unusually large cactus at the botanical gardens.

Our first pastel de Nata in clever \240packaging.

The site of the castle of Sao Jorge has been occupied by various civilizations since 700 BC including Phonecians, Roman’s, Visgoths, Moors and now Portuguese. There isn’t an existing palace due to a massive earthquake in the 1700’s but there is record of it existing in the area in the photo below.

Love the mosaics in the pathways.

This is the street we’re staying on, in the green building.

View of the neighborhood around the castle.

Part of the defensive non-residencial castle fortifications are intact.

There are a lot of peacocks. Some of which have white feathers which I haven’t seen before.

Quite the door to the library.

Very fancy chandeliers.

The Moorish castle seen from Pena Palace.

There are several gates.

Increíble ceiling.

The garden was beautiful and on a massive scale.

Hallway.

The second palace was the Pena Palace where Portuguese royalty spent their summers. This first photo also isn’t my photo but gives a sense of scale. The building is out of a fairy tale.

This palace also has extensive grounds and gardens with several ponds and geese with stories to tell.

Entryway looking in. Truly beautiful.

Entryway looking out.

We were shunned by the entry cat.

Note the surfboard icon on the train. Folks from Lisbon must tote them to coastal surfing spots on the trains.

This is in Cascais. A car can drive through but there’s no room for parking.

Fishing boats.

One of many Cascais beaches.

Break time! Check out the mountain of foam on these cappuccinos!

Cascais has amazing sidewalk and road mosaics.

We had some good snacks today! This was a cod and cheese \240croquette.

Gelato from a place featured on the show Somebody Feed Phil. It was great. I had strawberry, zabillone, and a creamy basil which was my favorite. Jessee had strawberry, dark chocolate and stratchiatella.

This bee is made from trash.

Pizza sold by weight! They would cut it to any size. I had the sweet potato and mushroom and Jessee had the red sauce and mushrooms.

The photo above was taken on the spot where it is currently posted.

To highlight the issue, a local group of artists replaces missing tiles with new ones that don’t match along with a QR code to raise awareness. A few examples are below.

Sunset in Faro.

Old street art via tiles.

When we arrived in Faro one of the first things we saw was the “Space Invader” tile mosaic below done by the same artist we were introduced to in Melbourne. He gets around! He has an official map online showing all his installations around the world and this one is his. The fish is a bonus.

A beautiful old house with big black and white bird residents in giant nests on the roof. Storks!

A crocheted awning.

We found a restaurant that reproduces some of the traditional meat heavy foods with plant based look alikes. We enjoyed it!

A crocheted carnation that doesn’t have anything to do with tile but I love it.

Faro has a wall surrounding the oldest part of the city and two of the three entrances in the wall \240are below.

Time for snacks! Gelato with cookie spoons. Brilliant!

Tavira has a river going through the middle of town . This is one of the bridges connecting the two sides.

Happy Pi day! Back in Faro we randomly came across this inlay in the sidewalk of the numbers for pi which continue for a whole block. No explanation of why this is where it is. A mystery!

There are many orange trees in the Algarve. They seem very productive and smell amazing.

Then I decided to start documenting some of the tiles we come across on various buildings.

There was a pretty garden incorporated into the castle ruins.

We visited a tile museum highlighting different eras of tile styles and techniques.

A prawn and cheese toastie, fries and wine.

Still loving the door hardware.

These are the cloisters of a building that served as a convent and is now an art museum.

One of the dishes was mackerel and sweet potato.

We had a great dinner at a restaurant that focuses on new takes on traditional Portuguese cuisine. The decorations and vibe were perfect. Like being in a grandma’s dining room.

One of the churches in town.

A gorgeous cappuccino I couldn’t resist sharing.

With maximalist decoration.

And newer ones with character too!

And a chapel made of bones of over 1,000 monks.

A bit creepy but also intriguing. Apparently they ran out of cemetery space and this was the solution.

With the required resident stork from the tower in the photo above.

So many unoccupied old buildings with character.

A few murals in town.

We came across this interesting art installation in a military chapel. It’s made entirely out of plastic trash. It reminds me of a sea monkey seascape.

Pretty and inviting streets.

Along the sea wall are a couple feral cat colonies. They appear very well cared for and have the best view in town!

They have beautiful tile.

Ice cream break!

We visited a Roman Theatre built in the first century BC but only rediscovered in the 1980’s when work was happening in the neighborhood. It could hold 10,000 people. Only about a third has been excavated as occupied buildings are on top of the rest. A city this old has a lot of layers.

I love the streets here.

One of the 3 entries to the walled part of the city.

Which way to go? Both look great!

For my fellow Tolkien fans…You shall not pass without visiting Middle Earth (store).

An in city beach.

The apartment building entryways here are very enticing. I want to go in them all!

There are several pretty parks.

The main cathedral.

A delicious Mediterranean dinner with falafel, hummus, cheese pastries and salad.

And of course dessert and coffee 😄

This is the mailbox at the main post office. The mail goes in the lions mouth. I love this.

We have started sampling tapas. Here we had cured/dried Tuna, a cheese made with a blend of sheep/goat/cow milk, and a special local ham. Also tinto de verano which is red wine, soda water and lemon mixed together. Very refreshing.

Looking toward the other bell tower.

One of a number of fortifications around the city.

This is a local alleyway that is supposed to be inhabited by a lucky gnome like creature who will grant wishes for good luck but just for the day that you visit the alley.

And beautiful entryway tiles.

This view is from the cathedral bell tower.

Ongoing fun door hardware.

There is a great central food market with lots of seafood, fruit and vegetables, olives, and prepared foods like paella.

And tile.

It has extensive and beautiful gardens.

The cathedral tower.

We went for pizza!

There are so many beautiful buildings and fountains, it’s a bit overwhelming.

And of course 🍧.

It has a lovely and very large park as well.

This is the Plaza de España. Built as part of an exposition honoring Andalucía and all the provinces of Spain. There’s a water feature that people can rent row boats to explore, a fountain and bridges. It huge and ornate.

We also visited the Alcazar Palace where royalty still stays when they’re in town. It’s built on the site of a Moorish fort and incorates a lot of Moorish architecture although it was built by Catholic rulers.

Many beautiful doors.

Taking a Well deserved break.

A historic ship museum on the river.

The bougainvillea is in full bloom!

We visited the casa de Pilatos. A palace of a noble family from the 1500’s. It has amazing tile work, ceilings and outdoor spaces.

Enticing entryway en route.

Sunset over the river.

Evening flamenco performance. It was really good, and intense!

Video below:

Next we went to las Setas. It’s the worlds biggest wooden structure. Part plaza hang out space underneath and part viewing structure on top.

Video below:

The torre de oro.

Gelato break! Cheesecake and crème brûlée.

Gelato flavors of the day….dark chocolate orange and almond orange and strawberry.

And so many enticing apartment entryways.

I like these light covers at a much more human sized church near our lodging.

Many businesses seem to paint the security gates so they’re colorful when closed.

It’s hard to show the immensity of the inside of the church.

This was originally the mosque minaret.

There are so many pretty apartment buildings here.

Organ pipes.

One of the town gates.

Our customary gelato break 😀

This is one of the older bridges.

It’s no joke! It was the access to the only water source for the town when it was under siege.

The bottom of the stairwell at the rivers edge.

We also visited the Arabic baths which were a community hub for the town with heated rooms and water and star shaped skylights.

And of course enticing tiled entryways.

Lots of streets like this.

The town is divided in two by an impressive river gorge and is built right up to the edge of the gorge walls.

Cat enjoying the sunset too.

There are lovely parks along cliff side walking paths.

Looking down into the gorge from the bridge.

The two sides of town are connected by several bridges across the gorge. The Puente Nuevo or New bridge is the most impressive. It was built in the 1700’s - very new😜.

We visited a moorish house that had a lovely view from the garden and a staircase bored down the cliff to the river. 200 steps and 20 stories down, and back up!

A little mural art.

There were wildflowers blooming on the hillsides.

Some fun doors, entry and tiles from the day.

Neighborhood flowers.

A good boy on a balcony taking in the local happenings.

Looking toward one of the older bridges.

We walked down to near the bottom of the cliffs for a different view right before sunset.

Exploring the walls.

The museum gardens.

One of the city gates.

The Ronda Museum in a past palace.

View from the garden terrace.

The inner courtyard.

A perfect lunch of fresh tomatoes in olive oil and cheese on a shady plaza. There was also a wonderful musician who happened to be playing the guitar while we were there.

Thoughts on the message here? No broken hearts? Stop breaking hearts?

Fun group of chimneys.

The daily tiled entries.

Fun door hardware.

I love that the bridge is illuminated at night.

It looks like one of the many paths of the Camino de Santiago goes through Ronda.

There is a lot of Moorish architecture here as it was the last of the Islamic cities to surrender to the Spanish crown. It held out a couple hindred years longer than the rest of Moorish Spain.

A bit of street art.

A typical weekend evening. People are out and about.

A soul like shopping street.

A teateria where we took another break.

And enjoyed tea and a crepe.

The Duro river at the base of the Alhambra neighborhood.

Taking a tapas break with some sautéed potatoes.

First Alhambra sighting!

One of the city wall gates.

Wherever you are in the Generalife you can hear the sound of flowing water.

I’m pretty sure this cat had a lizard in its sights, although not the one above.

Gelato of the day! Pomegranate and papaya and Strawberry and Stratchitella.

Wisteria arbors.

My what a long tail you have….

This is the waterfall staircase which has water flowing down channels on each side and a fountain on each landing.

Peonies!

A view of the Alhambra from the Generalife.

The plants along this pathway have gorgeous pink flowers in the summer.

The arched shrubs below are actually shaped orange trees.

Lots of stairways.

This is the most famous area, the patio of the lions.

The ceilings are incredible and include carved wood and plaster.

The honeycomb ceilings are something else!

The ceiling is like looking at fractals.

Islamic art does not contain human depictions. All the creativity goes into patterns and script.

Lovely walkway mosaic.

Not sure what these very round rocks are intended for.

Turkish sweets. So colorful!

Alcazaba exit.

The entry to the Alcazaba.

Love the wisteria.

Beautiful snowy Sierra Nevada mountains.

First churros and chocolate.

One of the pasos in Sevilla in a church on display. Some are so big they don’t fit through church doors and are stored in special warehouses.

Video below:

To keep kids from getting bored, there’s an activity where during the long pauses of the procession moving, kids collect the wax dripping from the penitents candles. It’s a kind of competition between kids to make the biggest and most colorful wax ball. Kids keep the balls and add to them over the years.

We are staying near the Cathedral and the processions often pass nearby. So, we’ve gotten to see several here and in our walking around town. We’ve taken a lot of long detours to work around them as well.

A brotherhood office window.

Two guys in hoods on their way to join in a procession somewhere.

Video below:

Part of an old city wall in the area.

He was sad to see Jessee go.

The neighborhood looking toward the Alhambra.

Funny art.

A few more monumental structures on our walk. An old minaret.

The interior and exterior of the caves are painted in lime which deters moisture and reflects heat. They are a constant temperature all year round.

Jessee made a friend along the way. Most of the cats we’ve come across are not interested in interacting but this one definitely was.

Two city gates.

There’s one artist in particular who has been around for a long time. Most of the photos below are his. Look for script and sprockets.

A courtyard and not a balcony but worth including!

There is a pocket of street art in the neighborhood below the Alhambra.

Granada also has a lot of art on business security doors throughout the city, usually related to what the business does.

A few photos of passageways that defy cars.

We were able to spend some time at a lovely palace garden called Carmen de los Mártires.

It has its own aqueduct!

This is a photo from the bus between Granada and Cordoba. A small town and its castle. And lots and lots of olive trees. I would estimate that about 85% of Andalusia is dedicated to olive trees with small islands of forest, towns, solar farms and wind turbines.

The Alhambra illuminated at night. So glad we came here. It’s a special place.

Snack time! We enjoyed a local dish of eggplant fries with goat cheese and honey. One of the few times I can say that I’ve enjoyed eggplant!

Stained glass from the mosque.

This dome was added for the church knave.

The iconic columns from the mosque. There are hundreds. Each colum has a different capital/top. Some repurposed from Roman sites in the area and the former Episcopal church.

This is one of the gates through the old city wall.

This is the entrance to the alley where we are staying in the old Jewish neighborhood.

More exterior detail.

The bell tower which was the minaret.

The Roman temple in Cordoba.

Some impressive doors in the Jewish neighborhood.

Tiles commentating honors received over the years are put up outside the patio entries.

I love this one dedicated to one of the patio owners.

The entryway to the Alley where our lodging is located was in the historically Jewish neighborhood.

There is a palace, Palacio de Viana, that is open to the public that has 11 patios. Each with its own vibe. Most with fountains.

A bridge called the Roman bridge leading to \240the Mosque/Cathedral.

Some colorful trim.

Yummy Mediterranean meal of hummus, falafel and tabbouleh.

Making good use of the patio rest areas.

Cordoba also has many welcoming tiled building entries.

Statue commemorating multi-generational care of the patios.

Love the sentiment and the bollard painted like a pencil outside this art studio. Art is the solution to chaos.

The bear and tree are the emblem of Madrid.

And a smattering of street art.

Parque Retiro is a massive park with many paths and benches and places to relax in the shade or sun. This is the very large pond where people can rent rowboats.

We also visited a food market with vendors selling prepared foods, fruit and vegetables, fish, meat, cheese, and olives.

There are some impressive towers on buildings here. This one is on the building housing the four seasons hotel.

Of course we visited the adjacent botanical garden which had some lovely spring blooms.

A bit of fancy door hardware.

First visit to Plaza Mayor. The biggest plaza in Madrid with lots of cafes and buskers.

Many roof drainage downspouts have pomegranates on them.

I had a delicious pomegranate gelato as well 😀.

All street signs made of tile in the Albacin neighborhood have pomegranates.

Every bollard in the city has a pomegranate top. This was the only one with the seeds painted red.

Cervantes statue.

Beautiful stained glass and tile.

Our train back to Madrid.

Fancy roof drain spouts in the shapes of fanciful animals.

An entry to he university.

There are so many glass window boxes here.

A short walk brought us to one of the entrances to the town.

The cloister at monastery of San Juan de los Reyes.

Painted balconies beneath the real thing.

This is the impressive original ticket counter.

Fancy and strange door knocker.

The main plaza and cathedral.

This is the kings room with a representation of every Spanish King around the perimeter.

And small dessert.

Our tapas lunch.

Jessee leading the way.

It’s rooms have very intricate ceilings.

It’s very green right now.

Video below.

Cute bug art and lovely glass patio.

Beautiful pastries.

Fast train back to Madrid at about 150MPH.

Also many exposed wood beams which we haven’t seen anywhere else.

From the Alcazar looking back to the Cathedral.

A funny sandwich shop. No shortage of ham here.

This is the oldest version at the Alcazar palace.

We also visited one of the big market halls. Definitely geared toward tourists but fun.

Some fun streets.

Balcony columns.

Stained glass skylight.

Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter.

The cutest ticket window ever.

The view of the funicular tracks up to the viewpoint. Glad we saw this perspective after taking it up.

From the monestary we took a funicular to a viewpoint above the monestary.

When we got back to Barcelona we went to the Montjuïc palace magic water fountain performance with lights and music. A fun way to spend an evening.

Looking down from the cogwheel train to the town of Montserrat.

Inside the monestary basilica.

Looking down from the viewpoint.

The house next door which is also pretty amazing looking.

Part 2 of the day was spent at Parque Guell. A very large park that was intended to be a housing development but lost steam and wasn’t ever built out. Lucky for us!

Jessee doing his Instagram pose 😜🧩

One of the buildings in the park.

It has two light wells that flood all floors with light.

A well earned Peruvian dinner.

Taking a break!

The back exterior of the house from the back patio.

The famous dragon/lizard.

Park spring flowers.

A neighborhood door.

Sagrada Família in the background. The foreground is an area called the terrace which is bordered by a serpentine tile bench. The tiles were cast offs of broken pieces at a ceramics factory.

Rooftop sculpture

The columns holding up the terrace and benches.

The chimneys.

Laura, Jessee’s sister, is with us.

We went to the top of one of the towers where the spire tips are more visible and include fanciful tiled tips.

We were there during some beautiful afternoon light.

The church casting a shadow over the Barcelona skyline.

The stained glass is gorgeous.

Once inside, there are few words to describe the reality.

The columns use different materials and are meant to mimic trees in a forest.

Enjoying Paella with Jessee’s sister Laura who were traveling with for a bit.

Little creatures live in the doors greenery.

Below is one of the entrances with doors cast in metal by a Japanese artist.

.

Tree lined canal path.

Post ice cream beer in a fun glass.

Locks to shift boats to different water levels.

Ice cream! Jessee finally found a peanut and chocolate Combo. Laura had honey lavender.

Fun architecture.

A little street art.

Pretty blue shutters.

The neighborhood next to the tower has some distinctive and very large houses.

Creatively painted canal Locke control building. Reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

Fun doors.

People out enjoying the sunny day.

An observatory tower.

Unique trees lining the boardwalk.

We went to a recommended bakery with a unique product of a core of meringue, coated in a thin layer of whipped cream and a coating of chocolate shavings or flavored bits of meringue.

Wine museum bounty.

First dinner in Bordeaux.

One of the wine museums in Bordeaux.

We took a day trip to Arcachon. A lovely beach town with a couple very small cars.

Some amusement rides at a beach pier.

Flora along the way.

We got a chocolate, cherry, two pistachio and two praline. They were light as air and delicious.

Laura headed up for a view.

Beachside lunch.

Pet rabbit on a leash at a park.

Macarons made by nuns in the area

We toured the cellars of a winery we made a stop at.

The tourist train to the wineries.

There are brackets in the exterior walls to hold the wooden shutters open . I liked these for going beyond function.

The village.

Refreshment break.

The old wall around the village

Baby grapes.

A grotto in the cellar.

Many bottles stacked up.

The view of the bay from the tower.

Natural rock combined with man made structure. Zoom in on the mountain behind, Monte Igeldo. There’s a tower that is our destination for the day.

Coffee and cheesecake with a view.

We visited a sculpture installation at the base of Monte Igeldo called Comb of the Wind, installed in 1977. It was a joint effort between an artist who created the sculptures and the architect who designed the platform that incorporates blowholes that shoot water into the sky and make musical sounds when the waves are high. The sculptures also make sounds in the wind.

Seaside sculpture.

Fancy lamp post paintings.

Looking down a street in the old part of the city on the other side of the bay at the foot of Monte Urgull.

This is the building housing the funicular that took us up to the top of Monte Igeldo.

The blowholes that also look like puzzle pieces.

Gray skies and Atlantic ocean.

The funicular.

Looking west down the coast.

Easy sea access ramp. There were swimmers, spear fishermen and kayakers out enjoying the water.

Taking a break.

The road that keeps going out of town is part of the Camino de Santiago.

Camino path blazes.

All lined up and ready to go.

Houses and cafes backed up against the slope on the main square.

A one dimensional representation of the Comb of the Wind sculpture?

Over-street housing.

The back yard is the ocean.

Mural at an elementary school playground along the way.

Looking from a viewpoint on Urgull over to the tower we were in before across the way.There’s a patient Jessee on a bench waiting for me to finish taking photos at the very lower left of the photo.

Handy foot wash at a surfboard rental shop.

Two other bridges getting closer to the ocean.

Two other bridges getting closer to the ocean.

There are some lovely bridges over the Urumea Itsadarra river running through San Sebastián. This is the fanciest, the Maria Christina named after one of the Spanish queens.

Pretty marina with the top of Urgull in the background.

There’s a great boardwalk that goes all the way around the promontory opposite the one we visited the other day with the funicular. The promontory is called Urgull. Across the bay from the Comb of the Wind sclupture is this one, “Empry Construction.” It looks different from every angle.

A weathered painting of a local \240artist with traditional Basque beret.

Another beach that is less protected so has fun waves and lots of surfers.

There are some lovely bridges over the Urumea Itsadarra river running through San Sebastián. This is the fanciest, the Maria Christina named after one of the Spanish queens.

Handy foot wash at a surfboard rental shop.

Basque cheesecake!

One of the sculptures on the exterior titled “Puppy”. That’s a lot of plant maintenance!

Museum, sculpture and bridge.

Ice cream break!

We visited a food market with some fancy windows.

The Guggenheim and adjacent bridge.

A camino de Santiago path marker.

Pretty apartment buildings in the historic center.

I didn’t know the Hobbit was so popular here! 😜

And Pintxos, Basque tapas. Pronounced peen-chos. These were mushroom croquettes and cod fritters.

A fun pedestrian bridge.

I was looking at this building when I noticed the space invader below. It’s the same artist we first saw in Melbourne and more recently Faro in Portugal. It’s looking up to the left at a building with a green and yellow facade that it matches.

Basque berets.

Yep, another funicular ride. This time up Mount Artxanda for a view of the city.

A small hamburger, cod and red pepper, and prawn and cheese.

Pretty buildings across the river.

Bacalao is dried salted cod, a mainstay of the traditional diet in Basque Country, and in many places in Europe historically. This shop is across the street from where we’re staying.

Stairs and railings into the river which fluctuates with the tide.

The below writing is Basque and says something along the lines of “We are because they were. We will be because of them.”

And cheesecake. It was a long storm.

Pretty beach area along the boardwalk.

This tree is impressively hanging on!

Getxo is a town with an impressive bridge that is a feat of engineering built in 1893 to move things across the river. It’s still functioning and is now a UNESCO heritage site.

We stopped and had lunch near the bridge while waiting out an impressive thunderstorm. My glass says “This glass is colder than your ex’s heart”. 😜

Getxo building mural.

With several murals.

Delicious tomato salad and shrimp in garlic sauce.

This area produced most of the steel and electricity for all of Spain for quite a while. Some people got very rich as a result and built impressive mansions along the boardwalk and beach.

Apartment balcony geraniums.

Marina happenings.

The white pod looking thing on the far side of the river has cars and people loaded on. The cables holding it move along a track and transport it, seemingly levitating, across the river. A highly engineered alternative to a ferry. There are also elevators in each tower that people can take to the top to walk across. Too high for me….

My favorite photo of the day. The dog dug the hole then jumped in and was so happy.

Plaza nueva in the oldest part of the city.

Old Bilbao mural.

One of the restaurants on the plaza where we had our final Pintxos before moving on from the Basque Country.

So many to choose from!

Pretty balcony.

We had a good mix of fish, veggies and cheese.

We spent some time on the old part of the city wandering through the streets and plazas.There are some beautiful buildings.

The cathedral.

Below is the town hall. Front…

We tried it with some local cheeses. It’s light and dry. The wait staff hold the bottle up in the air quite high and the glass quite low and pour it in a long stream not the glass. Apparently to aerate it.

There’s a street known for having an abundance of Sidrerias, or cider houses which celebrate the locally made cider.

And back.

The second building is the church of Santa Maria del Naranco built in 842 as part of a palace and later converted to a church.

Neighborhood cat.

Deserted house with antenna.

The first old building is a 9th century church, most of which collapsed in the Middle Ages but this portion survives.

We took a bus up into the hills outside Oviedo to visit a couple very old buildings and also saw these tradicional Austurian rural buildings.

A couple pretty buildings in Oviedo.

Spring flowers on the path near the church.

Jessee is joined on the bench by Mafalda. She’s a character from an Argentinian comic strip from the 1960’s and 70’s apparently loved in Spain.

Views of Oviedo from the churches.

Tree trunk bench.

Town hall.

Very long and windy beach. There were several wind surfers out enjoying the weather.

Not sure what this dragon head was all about but it was impressive.

Lots of local food and beverage specialties available to take home.

Colorful buildings.

A cider bottle sculpture.

Ice cream break!

Small marina.

From where there is a beautiful view.

Marina sights.

Each with a unique inlaid tile or glass artwork.

With surprises inside.

Maria Pita, A local Spanish heroine who was key in fighting off an English invasion in the 1500’s.