It was dark when I arrived in Seville last night so it was hard to see what the city looked like. When I ventured out in the rain this morning I was immediately struck by the colors that I saw repeated everywhere. At first I was thinking that they could be described as goldenrod and maroon, but then revised it to ochre and burnt sienna. Not USC Trojan colors, more tones than Van Gogh would have approved of. In reality, I think different tones are used in different places and the amount and type of sunlight changes how they appear. Regardless of their proper names, the colors are delightful and vibrant and perfect for this region. Even the dirt in the parks is golden.
My second observation was of the orange trees laden with not quite yet ripe fruit planted everywhere. They should be filming Tropicana Orange juice commercials here. This area is know for its oranges and citrus, but I didn't expect the trees to be planted all throughout the old city. I learned later that the oranges are all sour. They are inedible, but the British love to come harvest them for marmalade.
After the church service, I started wandering around until it really began to pour. I ducked under an awning and sipped a hot chocolate while waiting out the worst of it. The cobblestone streets were precarious with huge puddles and I did my best to not step in them when I began walking again.
There are many lovely parks all around the old city. Holding my magenta umbrella to keep the lingering rain off my head, I strolled through them. I found myself in front of an amazing curved building with towers on either end and a curved pond that had fancy mosaic arched bridges crossing it at several points. I pulled out my city map to discover that I was at the Plaza de Hispana. There were mosaic plaques from every region or city in Spain along the bottom part of the building. Stairs led up to the second floor where you could peer out between the arches at the pond and decorative tiles below. The sun came out while I was there and the place was radiant. What a delightful find!
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