Spain-Portugal-Morocco -- Sept 2012 # 6 of 6

This last post from the trip is a mixed bag... a bit of this, a bit of that.

Heads of state (in Morocco's case a king) live in some pretty impressive 'homes'.

This was a puzzle to me. Air-conditioning units in the middle of a field. My guess... to spare the king the noise from them. The piping to the palace would be a bit pricey, but then kings can afford such things.

If you've been on a conducted tour,'ABC' may have a special meaning to you. Though in this case the name just gets them close to first place in the phone book probably.

The Alhambra in Granada is a Muslim complex that dates back to the 1400's when the Muslims ruled Spain. Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the colour of its buildings and the woods around them. Poets have a way with words don't they.

The 'Porcelain Room' in the Alhambra.

Our best view of the Rock of Gibraltar.

I posted a larger version of the next shot earlier... this is a cropped version. Can you spot the three pairs of shoes? I didn't see them when I took the shot.

If you'd like to wile away a few minutes, google "shoes on wires".

Wavy pattern in Cascais, Portugal... deceiving, but it's flat.

Inner city Rabat, Morocco is surrounded by an ancient wall.

Does any other culture rival Arabic with their intricate architecture?

Not a very good shot but this type of Cypress tree always catches my eye. These ones were especially tall.

European street performers are way above what we see on this side of the pond.

Sheo... I'd still like to see some of your work. :-)

Spanish architecture in Madrid.

There have been protests throughout Europe as we all know. This one was in Coimbra, Portugal. I was just about to enter a cathedral, when the doors were closed before me. This protest march coming around the corner was the reason.

It was peaceful and orderly but shopkeepers along the way removed the displays they had on the street and stood in their doorways to watch the march.

It wasn't just students, there were young & old. Someone said there had been over 2,000 protests in Madrid alone this year. I thought that was a stretch but a quick search on Google confirmed it...
http://seriouslyspain.com/new-street-protests-in-57-cities-across-spain-over-austerity-october-7th-2012

A simple design to add some interest to the street.

Life on the Corner

I'll end the tour with this...

It's an experiment on my part. I snapped this first shot from our balcony in Rabat, Morocco... just a fruit vendor on a corner. Personally, I really like un-posed people-shots as they go about their lives.

So over the next few hours, I snapped a bunch more shots of the same corner as people 'come & go'... kind of like 'people-watching' through a series of pictures. The fruit vendor is in every shot.

I'd be curious to hear what you think. Is it interesting? Or is it just way too many shots of one subject? Maybe 10 or 12 would be better? Maybe 3 or 4? I took about 60. :-) I realize it's not the type of thing that would interest everyone. I'm curious though if it interests anyone.

I had a reason for including each shot. In this one it's the young girls running.

We went for dinner at this point. When we got back to our room, the corner was quiet.

It's been fun reliving the trip through the blog.

Thanks to many of you for your kind comments.

- fini -