There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
 |
| A BIT OF A FIXER-UPPER ON PLAZA DE LA ENCARNACIÓN. |
Our house is not crooked. It is level, solid, renovated, and in excellent condition. But many of the houses we pass are not in the same shape.
 |
| A VIEW FROM A BALCONY. UNDULATING WALLS. |
Given that some of the houses we see around town are anywhere from 100 to over 600 years old, it’s no surprise they’re bent and twisted. However, it’s a wonder some of the buildings I’ve seen are still able to stand.
 |
| A VIEW FROM ANOTHER BALCONY. NOTE THE UNINTENDED SWAG TO THE WINDOW TRIM. |
Without help, some of the crooked buildings won’t be standing much longer. Fortunately, many have been reinforced and only appear to be twisting and collapsing into themselves.
 |
|
| WITH MASSIVE REINFORCING BEAMS INSIDE, THIS CAFÉ WILL BE AROUND FOR A WHILE, (WHICH PERHAPS GIVES THEM SOME TIME TO IMPROVE THE SERVICE.) |
Very cartoon-esque, but there's something really beautiful about each of them.
I'm sure when I'm 100 years old, I'll be a little crooked too. Still, I find those building charming.
m.
Bob:
I completely agree.
Mark:
Well, by most standards we've always been a bit "bent." But just imagine us at 600 (and, yes I know, I'll get there first).
It's amazing what a lick of paint can cover up Mitch.
Those buildings are a bit scary. Is the city built on marsh / swamp-land or something?
Those crooked buildings make a city, its charm, its people.
Chris:
I just figure that's what happens when you give a house a few hundred years to settle. (There is a neighborhood that was claimed from the river about 600 years ago… although, oddly, I couldn't find any crooked houses there.)
Peter:
I agree!
Love architecture no matter if it's 1000's of years old…I'm always amazed at the fact that some things are still around…even if it's a little wonky.
sophie…^5:
When we lived in Connecticut, our town had lots of homes from the 1700s and 1800s, and even a few from the 1600s. It amazed me, but nothing prepared me for this. (They were pretty wonky, too!)
Hope Sevilla isn't vulnerable to the uncertainties of tectonic plate-shifts, or it's all gonna come a-tumbling down.
Raybeard:
There's always that chance, but we're are not nearly as at risk as Southern Italy, Greece, or Turkey. And given that Jerry and I moved here from California, I'm not going to give this any more thought right now.
Some of those buildings made me feel a little alarmed and a little unwell! But they do have a charm of their own.
Kristi:
I know what you mean. The abandoned ones aren't as much a concern as the others. It's a little disconcerting at first to enter a brick and mortar building that looks … fluid.
Interesting photos! Thanks for sharing them.
JustAMike:
Thanks and welcome to the blog! I just got back from lunch and passed a slightly comical crooked house (it looked like the front door was melting). Wish I had seen it sooner. Maybe I'll share some more of these at another time.
'WHICH PERHAPS GIVES THEM SOME TIME TO IMPROVE THE SERVICE' I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Priceless.
Nubian:
Don't know about now, but we went in for breakfast one morning when we were here in January. I felt like I needed to apologize for being an inconvenience. Maybe it was just a bad day but there are too many other options here for me to bother giving it another try.