while the sun is bright

Walking down the streets of Seville last weekend, I saw a bit of red:


The street awnings are a big help to cope with the high temperatures during the summer. This is the only place I have seen such awnings!

And I also saw a lot of red!

Ruby Tuesday
My World Tuesday

more from the South

(Scroll down for the macro shot) A beautiful poem from a Spanish poet begins like this:

"My childhood is memories of a patio in Seville,
and a garden where sunlit lemons are growing yellow..." (read more)

I remembered those lines because: My weekend is memories of a patio in Seville! Not only patios, but these two were particularly inviting:

A private entrance, but since the main door was open I placed my objective through the iron fence to capture the peaceful interior...

The one below is a scene from another building which is currently a vegetarian restaurant. Was I glad that the restrooms were on the second floor!! so I could have another perspective of the patio but at the same time I didn't want to be too intrusive... so I stepped back a bit , I don't like disturbing people.. .

And the first food macro of mine that I like! this was our dinner last night once we got home, assortment of tapas. Pictured here is cream cheese sprinkled with Provençal herbs, behind a ripe tomato...

Macro Monday

southern flair

Windows in beautiful Seville (Spain):

Sometimes the old streets are very narrow. Imagine being able to shake hands with your neighbor when you open your window!

window views

going for a swim in the early days...

Wordless Wednesday
Outdoor Wednesday

Now for some words: this was the only proper way for ladies to go for a swim in the old days, they were literally transported into the water in this Badekarre so as not to be exposed to the public in intimate bathing attires... The wagon is displayed in Grömitz, Baltic Sea, Northern Germany. The net told me the first ones reportedly arrived there in 1813...

And....Thanks, Tor !!

Your turn: right click to save and spread some friendship!! I think it is supposed to be passed on to eight bloggers, Tor named only five, I don't ever follow these rules ...you do as you please! At any rate: have a wonderful day.

wicked wicker

A very special invention from Germany is the Strandkorb, a roofed wicker beach chair, closely connected with the cultural history of the North and the Baltic Sea, where you can rent them on all public beaches. They have little tables for your beach essentials! like books and drinks. More important: they have a roof, so you are protected against sunburn, rain and winds... and sometimes, it is a ruby red roof, just for Ruby Tuesday!

Ruby Tuesday

It seems the first one dates back to 1882 when a lady had a special request. She asked a particular basket maker for the production of a "seating accommodation for the beach as well as to protect her against too much sun and wind", because she suffered from rheumatism but didn`t want to miss the stay at the beach. After all, the fresh sea air with the stimulating climate is widely considered to be health supporting (...) Up to now beach chairs are distinguished between the rather angular and sharp-edged form of the North Sea and the roundish and swung form of the Baltic Sea.



The "roofed wicker beach chair" isn't only found at the beach nowdayas! it is also a decorative item I would love to have in our garden (prices start at around 350 euros / 485 USD, but then there would be a not-very-little transportation detail...) The one pictured below was at a restaurant's entrance. Doesn't it look inviting?

Tonight is the Midsummer Celebration and tomorrow is a holiday in Catalonia, not in whole Spain, though. The traditional midsummer party in Spain is the celebration in honour of San Juan (St. John the Baptist) and takes place in June the 23rd night with parties, bonfires, fireworks ( I love them) and firecrackers (I do not enjoy them!). On the Mediterranean coast, especially in Catalonia and Valencia, special pastry Coca de Sant Joan and a glass of cava, the Catalonian sparkler, are a must for the celebration! It will be a long night tonight!

delicate pink at the Baltic Sea

Heckenrose

Macro Monday
Today's Flowers

creamy

French Alps, SOTC:straight-out-of-the-camera

photohunt is hosted by tnchick

Creamy landscape (click to enlarge) ... because many times when I am skiing I feel I am in a huge bowl of Chantilly Cream..!! (the sweetened whipped cream, sometimes vanilla-flavoured, which it is said to have been invented by François Vatel, maître d'hôtel at the Château de Chantilly in the 17th century.)

Friday, three weeks ago

Walking along the same path where I photographed the homes from the prior posts!

An Award: the generous and wonderful Thom shared with me this "One Lovely Blog Award". Thank you very much, Thom, I truly appreciate your kind gesture and I will proudly display it on my site! Disclaimer: I never follow the tagging rules...

windows, thatched roofs, and more...

A closer look to the homes seen on my prior post. These pictures were taken at the Baltic Sea in Germany. I particularly liked the thatched roofs and the roof ornaments. And enjoyed seeing many windows!

Love these windows under the roof:

Detail of a roof ornament and unusual window:

And below is the whole home:

Here you could see through one window from the road to the Baltic Sea!

window views
AND I found another theme: theme thursday : r o o f

beach homes

wordless wednesday
Baltic Sea, Heiligenhafen, Germany

here comes the sun

l o c k

lock (n.) 2. A section of a waterway, such as a canal, closed off with gates, in which vessels in transit are raised or lowered by raising or lowering the water level of that section.

PhotoHunt is hosted by tnchick

I took this picture in Narbonne, France, last July at high noon, which is not the best moment to use the camera! Narbonne is linked to the nearby Canal du Midi (which joins the Atlantic to the Mediterranean) and the Aude River by the above pictured Canal de la Robine, which runs through the centre of town and it has six single locks.

Northern snapshots

True Colours Thursday: ivory Window Views

We flew with a popular low-cost Irish airline to Germany, the small airport was located near Lübeck (about 60 Km/ 38 miles from Hamburg) and that's where we went for dinner that evening. We were welcomed by this peaceful scenery, displaying many windows and some ivory buildings...

This is a major landmark, the Holstentor, a late Brick Gothic city gate, the only still existing one beside the Burgtor and part of the medieval fortifications of Lübeck . It used to appear on the back of the 50 DM banknote: (Update- 50 DM would be 25 euros today or USD 35)

courtesy of wikimedia

back to regular blogging... I think

I have been busy outside the blogosphere! the prior post was meant to let you know I am alive yet away from the keyboard, thanks to those who visited and more so to those who left a comment!! Now it's time for Jientje's A Thousand words in Idioms. "The idea is to pick an idiom, or a saying, (even slang is allowed) and illustrate it with a picture. Each week we'll cover two letters of the alphabet". Here are my choices, pulled -again- from the archives (the first one with a bit of fun editing). Skipped last week's letters as I was away...yes, it's been a time of very erratic blogging!

Move mountains
If you would move mountains to do something, you would make any effort to achieve your aim. When people say that faith can move mountains, they mean that it can achieve a lot.

French Alps

Not my cup of tea
If something is not your cup of tea, you don't like it very much.

quickest post ever

because I am very busy!!

advertisement

photohunt is hosted by tnchick

I got home a little after midnight today after spending one week away. I had this week's photo hunt in mind and since I was in ( Northern) Germany I could easily spot... beer advertisement!! I found a special snapshot at the Dieksee (a lake in Holsteinische Schweiz, Schleswig-Holstein), featuring the advertisement flags plus a real duck (sunbathing on the right) and a fake fishing guy (it's a mannequin!). Below find a windy view of the Baltic Sea...and more beer advertisement.