y que esta ( this and that)

We are spending 3 days in Torremolino on the Costa de Sol coast, so the days have been a little more relaxing compared to the pace of the last week. We have seen so many interesting things. Heard so much history and geography, seen some amazing architecture, and flowers and trees. There is no way I will retain it all, but I am enjoying each day and experience as it comes.

Roses of every colour, jasmine and many other things I don't recognize were blooming. I have learned how to tell the difference between Seville orange trees and Valencia orange trees at a glance, even without fruit on them. The petunias are absolutely glorious. The Jacaranda trees are almost done blooming and from what remains I can only imagine how glorious they must be in full bloom.

The mauve is jacaranda and the orange blossom is pomegranate.

I know, I know, we look like all the other tourists with cameras and "whispers" around our neck with ear phones dangling and yes it was cool yesterday morning. I was glad to have my shawl with me in my bag!
Today we visited the home of young Pablo Picasso, saw the bull fighting ring in Malaga, walked the beaches of the Mediterranean(water is cooler than I expected) although it was quite a warm day.
Mr. O went for a 10 km run(silly guy!); I used my energy to go shopping, and bargained with some of the vendors in the market stalls. Not to many exciting purchases...a scarf for my sister, another purse, some fresh fruit and pastry for our supper and then I enjoyed a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice on my walk back to the hotel.

I have seen fig trees with young fruit on them and carob bushes with long green carob pods hanging from the branches.

I see quilt patterns in so many of the ceramic and mosaic tiles of the historic places we visit. While on the longer coach rides I do manage to get a little needlework done.
I brought a pair of socks to finish knitting, I hand stitched the binding on my June Schnibbles and now I am embroidering blocks for an Adventure Travel quilt that I have found on line as a free block of the month. I had cut the blocks out at home and brought them along with the pattern, and one evening I traced them onto the fabric so that I could stitch them.

Tomorrow we have a day trip to Cordoba and Tuesday Gibraltar. We have just four days left of our tour of Spain and then we pick up our vehicle to venture out on our own up the coast to France. That should be quite an experience!



“I made up my mind not to care so much about the destination, and simply enjoy the journey.”
― David Archuleta, Chords of Strength: A Memoir of Soul, Song and the Power of Perseverance