Wet and windy overnight

The weather is staying pretty much as predicted with persistent rain and wind overnight although as I write this the sun is coming out and temperatures are hopefully rising above the 12.5°C shown on the electronic thermometer in Calle Llana this morning.

I took Calcetines for her first walk this morning at about 8.30am so just a few pics on our wander around.

The two main guardians of the pigs were on duty as always with the trainee podenco pup's head just visible at the bottom of the picture.

This skip had been blown over during the night.

Looking across the plaza near to the Casa de la Cultura and below onto the play area of the Jardines de la Victoria on Calle Mercado.

They said it would rain.......

....and today it did. Not heavily, just a steady light rain, enough to bring out the brollies.

We walked the short distance to the familiar scene of the Saturday market, busy despite the rain.

The view down Calle Llana and regardless of the rain there's always time to stop for a chat.

Temperatures are about 18°C and are set to be like this for a couple of days before improving with the return of the sun early next week. Here views of low cloud from the terrace.

Clara at Caja Rural

We popped into the bank this morning, primarily to say hello to Clara, a lovely young lady who is working at the Caja Rural for six months before hopefully persuing a future career in the world of finance.

Clara is keen to improve upon her already good english language ability and likewise we are always keen to learn more spanish.

So, as the saying goes, "it's good to talk".

Early morning sun.....

......well, early for me. Returning at about 9am from an appointment at the tax office, the castle was bathed in the yellow glow of the rising sun.

So with the new super-duper camera, that I just happened to have with me, I tried to capture the scene but I don't think I've quite managed it.
Anyway, it did look beautiful but I think more practice is required and perhaps a few more early mornings!!.

Looking down Calle Bellavista, here and below.

Chocolate heaven

On a beautiful day, we drove the 45 minutes south to the city of Ronda, a place we always enjoy visiting.

For a while now, I have been thinking about buying a new compact digital camera and we thought Ronda would have a good selection.

So, arriving at about 10am, we parked in the underground car park and walked down the main pedestrianised shopping street, Carrera de Espinel, or as it's more commonly referred to "Calle La Bola", looking for a photographic shop.

Temperatures in the shade were a cool 16°C so a warm cafe was very inviting. By chance, we were passing Sven's Chocolate and Coffee shop and what a delight it was inside.

We ordered coffee and mollete (toasted bun) for under €2 each and just sat and looked around us at the decor and the decadent goodies on offer.

Beautiful hand made chocolates, all types of flavours, plus a delicious selection of cakes, pastries and tarts.

The huge variety of teas on offer, together with a selection of coffee beans, all available on the menu. After purchasing a selection box of chocolates, we headed off in search of camera's.

The view of a busy Calle La Bola.

The Plaza del Socorro.
A good sign in these days of economic crisis, is that tourists are still visiting. We witnessed a couple of tour guides showing visitors around.

Oh and yes, I did get a new camera so if there are no updates on the blog for a couple of days or so, it's because I'm attempting to absorb a lengthy manual and trying to find out which buttons do what....... in between eating delicious chocolates of course.

Not woollie weather yet.....

.........as temperatures are still lovely and warm at 25°C although the sky today is slightly overcast.

Just a few pictures taken this afternoon on our stroll with Calcetines.

Looking up Calle Vieja.

Calle Ronda.

In the Plaza Alfarería looking at Calle Ronda to the left, Calle Pilar in the centre and Calle Maestro Amado on the right.
The new mirador and play area on Vereda Ancha is now taking shape. New trees have been planted and all the paving looks to have been completed.

Bus stop in the Plaza de la Concordia.

The grape vines in the Plaza are now changing colour and no doubt will soon shed their leaves.

The shell of the new Casa de la Cultura building.

Utrera

One of the bonus's of living in Olvera is its location. Set in the north-east corner of Cadiz province, we have easy access to the provinces of Sevilla to the north and Malaga to the east.

It's not often that we head north into Sevilla but today we did, to the town of Utrera, located on the main A-375 road to Seville, about 80kms (50 miles) from Olvera.

Arriving at just after 10am, we found a car park fairly quickly and strolled the short distance to the Plaza del Altozano where we sat in the pleasant 25°C sunshine enjoying a cup of coffee.


We asked directions to the tourist office and headed off to explore.

Utrera is quite a large town of approximately 50,000 inhabitants. In the old part of town, a lot of the buildings retain many of their period features.

The 14th century Iglesia de Santiago el Mayor.

I'm not sure whether this horseman atop one of the church towers was a weather vane or purely decorative but still quite unusual.

After wandering for about twenty minutes, we had still not found the tourist office so we asked a kindly old gentleman who walked us in the correct direction.

The arch pictured above led into the beautiful Plaza Enrique de la Cuadra, popularly referred to as the "Plaza del Bacalao" (of the cod), referring to the 18th century fish shops that were once in the square.

It's the oldest square in the town dating from the 14th century, in what was then the centre of the town.




The 15th century Iglesia de Santa Maria de la Mesa.


The statue dedicated to Saint Angela of the Cross.

The tourist office is located in the square in the old town prison.

As always, the staff were very helpful with maps and information.

Just off the plaza was the Casa de la Cultura with its beautiful collonaded courtyard.

We walked to the Plaza de la Constitución and this statue of Enrique Montoya, a renowned gypsy flamenco singer and guitarist born in Utrera.

The pathway leading to the castle, the oldest sections of which date back to the 13th century.






The restored Torre de Homenaje.

Parts of the castle still await restoration.



The views from the castle overlooking Utrera.

The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall).

We quite liked our visit. The people were very friendly, lots of cafes in which to sit and all of the attractions identified on the tourist map were within easy walking distance.

Unfortunately, all of the churches were closed with the exception of one where a funeral was taking place so it was not really appropriate to go inside. It would have been interesting to have had a look.