Fuente Alta

There are'nt too many routines in our lives here, we've tried to leave all that behind us, but one of them is a regular trip out to refill our water bottles from one the many natural springs in this area. We tend to keep our empty bottles in the boot of our car so that if we are passing a spring we can stop and top up.

Today, we drove the 20 minutes to the Fuente Alta on the outskirts of the nearby village of Algodonales. As usual, the water was gushing out and it didn't take long to fill up and return home.

The weather is still quite unsettled, mainly sunny clouding over later, with temperatures in the low to mid twenties. Still quite pleasant though.

Hopefully, it'll improve tomorrow as we are off to Fuengirola, near to Malaga on the Mediterranean coast, to have a wander around and perhaps do a bit of shopping.

We might even dip a toe in the Med.....!!

Sunshine and showers....

Weatherwise at the moment, it's quite unsettled. For the past few days it has started off being bright and sunny but by the afternoon becoming quite gloomy and overcast. Today was no exception.

We left the house at about 11.30, after our usual Tuesday spanish lesson from José and headed down town for a few bits and bobs from the shops.

Here's another little ray of sunshine, Rosa, whose father (unknown to us), upon seeing the camera called us over and asked us to take a photo of his daughter, which of course we were pleased to do.

As we walked down Calle de la Encarnación, the clouds were beginning to gather although temperatures were still in the pleasant mid twenties.

A very welcome addition to the streets of Olvera since the beginning of September is this minibus, that runs a regular route through town on a stop me and get on basis.

Olvera does'nt have a regular bus or taxi service so this is a real bonus to the elderly (and not so elderly) residents, particularly those living at the top of town, who need to access services and facilities lower down.

Talking of elderly, pictured right is a regular stopping off point for us on the uphill trek home, the Plaza de Andalucía.

We arrived home at about 1 pm with the skies getting darker and it wasn't too long before we had a short shower.

El tiempo hoy

The weather forecasters were right. We awoke this morning to the patter of rain on the windows and overcast skies. It's meant to be the same tomorrow but hopefully brightening up next week.

We intended to go to the market here in Olvera this morning but when we got there at 10.15 the stallholders were holding off from setting up, waiting until the skies cleared a little. So a few pictures above, taken from the bottom of our street before heading off for a short drive to visit friends.

Anne says "How many times are you going to take this view ?" and she's right. I have stopped at this point on the Olvera-El Gastor road many times but how could I ever get tired of it.

Whatever the weather, Olvera is a beautiful sight and set in a stunning location, well worth a few pictures.

Sylvia, Anita and Barbara

It was lovely to meet up for coffee this morning with our friend Sylvia (in the blue top) and her sisters, Anita and Barbara, who are visiting Olvera for a couple of weeks.

Sylvia is a long time resident here and her sisters are regular readers of the blog, joking and teasing Sylvia that they know more about what is happening here than Sylvia does.

We spent a pleasant hour chatting away and as always it's great to meet up with folks who take an interest in our blog and the lovely place in which we live.
Hopefully, we'll do it again in the not too distant future.

Jardines y fuentes

Gardens and fountains.........a short stroll this morning in lovely warm weather, clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties.

We walked through the Parque Jardines de la Victoria, past an empty building that is unfortunately turning into a grafitti magnet.

It would be a perfect location for a bar/restaurant and you can just imagine summer evenings, tables and chairs outside, a children's play area close by and great views towards Pruna.

Hopefully, once "La Crisis" shows signs of recovery, someone will see a business opportunity.

The view up Calle Alfonso XI towards the Plaza de Andalucía.

Looking over Calle Bellavista.

After recent maintenance, it was nice to sit in the Plaza de la Concordia with the fountain working again and going through its various sequences.

Sunny Seville

Ange and Ginny's visit gave us the perfect opportunity for a long overdue second visit to Sevilla.

The route from Olvera is quite easy and approximately seventy five minutes after leaving we were parking in an underground car park next to the Bullring.

Sevilla is a beautiful city of tree lined avenue's, parks, fountains and statues, the one pictured above outside the bullring.

The Torre del Oro, on the banks of the River Guadalquivir, built in 1220 by the Moors as part of the city walls, now housing the Maritime Museum.

Looking down the Avenida de la Constitución towards the Cathedral.




Plaza Nueva, a very pleasant square at the end of the Avenida de la Constitución where the Ayuntamiento is located.

With the aid of our trusty tourist map we were working our way into one of the oldest parts of the city, the Barrio de Santa Cruz, a maze of cobbled streets and alleyways.

The fountain in the Plaza Don Juan de Austria.

Walking past one of the many parks, we noticed a fiesta going on called the Feria de Las Naciones ( Fair of Nations) so we wandered in to have a look.

There were many casetas and stalls featuring food and products from around the world. Pictured right is presumably a delicacy of Galicia, Northern Spain, octopus.


Australia were doing well, dishing out the amber nectar "Foster's".

We thought Argentina was a little expensive so in the end we settled for a snack in Colombia instead.

Leaving the park we headed toward the Plaza de España, a beautiful semi-circular plaza built to house the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929.

Ceramic tiled panels around the Plaza depict towns and regions of Spain.

While we were there a bride and groom were having their weddings pictures taken.

The wedding car.



Another of the numerous fountains we passed before heading back along the river to the bullring and home.