This afternoon, I met Lola and Albert for a drink at their favorite little bar near the Church of the Magdalena. When I arrived (in my shorts, T-shirt, and sandals) at the usually quiet corner, I was surprised to find a throng of stylishly and elegantly dressed people (all seemingly in their 20s) crowding the tall outside tables. It was a flamboyance of Spanish style. They had obviously just come from a wedding.
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Jerry and I have commented often on the elegantly dressed women in the city. Just this morning while having breakfast downstairs at El Sanedrín, we noted couples strolling by on their way to weddings. Most of the women wear incredible headpieces that I had been calling hats (the type of headpiece sported by so many of the women at the recent royal wedding in London). We see them in specialty shop windows all over town. I learned from Albert and Lola today that these playful headpieces are not called hats (sombreros), they are tocados.
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I have wanted to snap a picture several times, but have not wanted to offend anyone. Since, we were all now hanging out at the same bar, and since they all seemed so happy and relaxed, I decided to ask. Albert commented to one of the well-dressed guys — someone he knows — and he got the attention of his friends. In Spanish, I told the women that I had never seen such style as I now see among the women of Sevilla and I asked if they would mind if I took a picture. Not only did not they not mind, they stepped into the plaza and positioned themselves so the sun would be over my shoulder, and they posed for me. Later, another group posed for one of their friends. I ran over with my camera and they didn’t hesitate. Someone had just turned his car down the tiny street. He came to a stop, blocking traffic, and pulled out his phone to snap a picture as well. Everyone simply laughed and smiled for the camera.
I love the people of Sevilla!
REMEMBER MYRON FLOREN? A TRIBUTE TO THE LADIES OF SPAIN.
They are all so beautiful! I love the lady in pinks shoes, amazing(yeah I'm a shoe guy) what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon….
thank you for sharing your amazing city with me Mr.B 🙂
David:
I actually have a better shot of the entire group, but that one didn't take in those shoes, which I thought were pretty amazing. She had the personality for that outfit, too!
Mr.B: like I said, beautiful….would love to see the shot 🙂 What fun to hang out with them, lucky guy 😉
How delightful to see so much happiness, friendliness, openness.
Hola! I'm catching up after being away for a few days. Sounds like you've been having a good time!
While away, we had an oven experience. In our rental house, all the markings on the stove and oven dials had been rubbed off. Then, after much trial and error, we discovered that the oven will only heat up if the timer is in the off position, not on (what I assumed was) zero. But we had no instruction booklet.
Kristi:
I think all the sunshine here in Sevilla comes from the people.
Walt the Fourth:
Welcome home! I'm very impressed you were able to figure out YOUR stove without a manual. It actually makes more sense to me that the timer would be off and not on…
Are you sure they aren't auditioning for the Spanish version of 'Sex & The City'?
Raybeard:
LOL. I'm sure. Not the same kind of "attitude."
How joyful is this! You really captured everybody's joy Mitch! No wonder you love Sevilla.
Jim:
I smile again each time I look at my own pictures. Wish I could bottle that feeling!
So elegant. Seville is on my bucket list.
Nubian:
And it should be on your bucket list! What a place. Sevillanos are so proud of their city.. without any of the chauvinism that we usually find in that kind of pride. They just love it and are delighted that we love it too.
This sort of thing happened to us in Plymouth, Mass…3 young ladies approached us at a bar and snap snap pictures were taken…we told them our story of gay marriage and they related their "out on the town" story because one of them was getting married…cool!
sophie…^5:
These kinds of connections are so meaningful! (And I love Plymouth… and Plimouth Plantation.)
I'll be moving there too, Mitch, having seen the Senoritas…
Chris:
LOL. I'm sure you will be warmly welcomed!
I am a huge advocate of people wearing hats. The art of millinery must not die.
Allan:
I love hats, although I've not worn many in my life. I'm balding (understatement) and worry that if I wear a hat and then remove it people are going to either be (a) disappointed that I don't have a full head of hair or (b) convinced I was wearing the hat to hide the fact that I don't have a full head of hair. Obviously, I need to get over it. (But that doesn't mean I'm going to head out and buy a tocado!)