La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
This morning was a good one. San Geraldo got a shave and a haircut. It wasn’t two bits. If you don’t know the vintage song and American culture, a bit was 25 cents. So, two bits was 50 cents. And that’s what the old song says a shave and a haircut would cost. But now for the history of those “bits,” which will take us full circle back to Spain.
Pieces of eight (pesos de ocho in Spanish) were Spanish dollars manufactured in the Spanish Americas and shipped in bulk to Spain. To make “change,” the coins would be cut into eight pieces (or “bits”). So two bits were a quarter of a dollar. When the United States started producing 25 cent coins, they were commonly referred to as quarters or two bits. And now back to our regularly scheduled post.
After SG’s haircut, I suggested we check out Córdoba’s zoo. It’s a 40-minute walk from home, so we took a taxi which took 11 minutes. I thought we’d have lunch there, put SG in a taxi home, and I’d then take another meandering walk home. The botanical gardens are right across the street along the river. SG thought maybe we could do both. But after walking around half the zoo, his feet were hurting. So, we checked out the cafeteria there and didn’t like our choices. There are no nearby restaurants in that neighborhood. The nearest ones are more than 10 minutes away, and that was too much for SG’s big, sad feet. So I called a taxi and ordered a pizza when we got home. Oh well, we had a nice couple of hours. The botanic gardens are supposed to be amazing. Can’t wait to finally get there. More on the zoo another day.
Today’s photos are from Tuesday’s walk and focus on the flowering trees I saw around town. The first blooming orange tree was next to the first wisteria arbor I had found so enchanting. Then, I caught the citrus fragrance in the air and had another long inhale. I think it’s my favorite fragrance in nature.
When we first moved to San Diego in March 1993, we took a drive outside the city with the car windows open. We had no idea we’d be driving through citrus orchards most of the time. The fragrance was astounding. We pulled over in the middle of one orchard just to breathe in the air. We planted a few citrus trees in our back garden a few years later. At our hotel in Palm Springs, we planted about 8 different types of trees. Sitting by the pool when they were in bloom was magical. We’re grateful to be surrounded by them wherever we’ve lived in Spain. It sure is beautiful here right now.
Esta mañana fue buena. San Geraldo se afeitó y se cortó el pelo. No fueron dos bits. Si no conocen la canción antigua y la cultura estadounidense, un bit eran 25 centavos. Entonces, dos bits eran 50 centavos. Y eso es lo que dice la vieja canción que costaría un afeitado y un corte de pelo. Pero ahora la historia de esos “bits”, que nos llevará de vuelta a España.
Los pesos de ocho eran dólares españoles fabricados en Hispanoamérica y enviados a granel a España. Para dar cambio, las monedas se cortaban en ocho pedazos (o «bits»). Así, dos bits equivalían a un cuarto de dólar. Cuando Estados Unidos empezó a producir monedas de 25 centavos, se las conocía comúnmente como “quarters” (cuartos) o dos bits. Y ahora volvemos a nuestra post habitual.
Después del corte de pelo de SG, sugerí que fuéramos al zoológico de Córdoba. Está a 40 minutos a pie de casa, así que tomamos un taxi que tardó 11 minutos. Pensé que almorzaríamos allí, llevaríamos a SG en taxi a casa y luego yo daría otro paseo tranquilo. El jardín botánico está justo al otro lado de la calle, junto al río. SG pensó que tal vez podríamos hacer ambas cosas. Pero después de caminar por la mitad del zoológico, le dolían los pies. Así que fuimos a la cafetería y no nos gustó la elección. No hay restaurantes cerca en ese barrio. Los más cercanos están a más de 10 minutos, y eso era demasiado para los pies grandes y tristes de SG. Así que llamé a un taxi y pedí una pizza cuando llegamos a casa. Bueno, pasamos un par de horas agradables. Dicen que el jardín botánico es increíble. Tengo muchas ganas de ir por fin. Más sobre el zoológico otro día.
Las fotos de hoy son del paseo del martes y se centran en los árboles en flor que vi por la ciudad. El primer naranjo en flor estaba al lado de la primera pérgola de glicinias que me había parecido tan encantadora. Entonces, percibí el aroma cítrico en el aire y respiré hondo otra vez. Creo que es mi fragancia favorita de la naturaleza.
Cuando nos mudamos a San Diego en marzo de 1993, dimos un paseo en coche a las afueras de la ciudad con las ventanillas bajadas. No teníamos ni idea de que pasaríamos la mayor parte del tiempo conduciendo entre huertos de cítricos. El aroma era asombroso. Paramos en medio de un huerto solo para respirar el aire. Unos años después, plantamos algunos cítricos en nuestro jardín trasero. En nuestro hotel de Palm Springs, plantamos unos ocho tipos diferentes de árboles. Sentarse junto a la piscina cuando estaban en flor era mágico. Estamos agradecidos de estar rodeados de ellos dondequiera que hayamos vivido en España. Sin duda, está precioso aquí ahora mismo.
• Oportuno.
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Ah, the smell of citrus blooming is just wonderful. And from your last post, I wish we could do scratch and sniff on the internet too!
Michael:
More than anything, I wanted to share the fragrance.
The second I read your caption the words “two bits” popped into my head. I don’t recall ever hearing the song before. Maybe the phrase was implanted in my brain from old comedy, like Marx Brothers or Three Stooges.
Sorry, I forgot to say that was from me, Shirley.
Shirley:
The beat of Shave and a Haircut is used by people around the world when they knock on doors.
I never knew where the term came from, I learned something new today.
David:
You can count on me to fill those critical gaps in your education.
Marvelous scents, we need scratch n sniff. The picture of the doves is a keeper, perfect capture of movement. Sorry sg isnt up to your level of walking. Great size has some drawbacks. Boud
Boud:
The feet really frustrate SG. Some days, they’re fine and others not. Yesterday evening they were pretty good.
Is there anything so beautiful as flowering fruit trees? (Rhetorical question, of course!) And thanks for the explanation of “two bits” origin story! From my vast storehouse of useless trivia, I already knew the musical jingle, lol.
Debra:
The Two Bits beat is how many people knock on doors without even knowing it.
Spring has sprung there! Lovely…..enjoy.
Jim:
It’s exploding under the blue skies, sunshine, and temps in the mid 20s.
Two bit, four bits, six bits, a dollar.
All for our team stand up and holler!
I loved this post from start to finish!
Kelly:
You know it!
The scents of Spring are as beautiful as the blooms! Over here, even just wandering around near the office I keep catching wafts from the numerous cherry trees all over, and Mexican Orange is also in bloom (its scent can be overwhelming). In our own garden, the daffs, primulas and – of course – the wallflowers are all filling the air with perfume. Bliss. Jx
PS Look forward to hearing more about your “zoo quest”.
Jon:
Oh, the cherry trees. Another incredible fragrance. I haven’t seen any here, as far as I know. We had mock oranges in San Francisco leading to our front door. Heaven!
Over here “mock orange” is Philadelphus (deciduous and can grow into small trees). “Mexican Orange” is the evergreen one, Choisya, a common choice for municipal planting. Jx
Jon:
We’ve never had Mexican orange, but I’ve seen them and smelled them. Still so sweet.
Wallflowers! Haven’t smelled them in decades, that nutlike scent, lovely.
I love the aromas of the plants and flowers in the air; here we have so many pine trees, on the mornings when it’s cppl and sunny you can smell the pine scent everywhere. It reminds me of my summers at Lake Tahoe and summer pines!
Bob:
I love the fragrance in a pine forest. Never been to Lake Tahoe.
Your spring is WAYYYYYYY ahead of our own. As pretty as the flowering trees are…the last picture, hands down wins the photo of the day!
Mistress Maddie:
I was so excited when I caught the doves like that… and their shadows.
I’ve always meant to look up what “two bits” mean but never got around to it. Now I know!
Kirk:
Leave it to me. It leaves you free for all the other research you do.
Are those redbud trees? If so, yours are far superior to ours in terms of flower output.
I find it funny that despite our very, very different geographical upbringings and lives, too, we both know and love so many of the same trees and plants.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
I’m pretty sure those are redbuds. Called Arbol de Judas here. Southern Spain has many of the same plants as Southern California and, I’m sure, of Florida. And Long Island even had many of the things we see growing here. When I was a kid, we had wisteria.
Cercis trees have sub-species that are native to North America and to the Mediterranean (and Asian species as well). Redbuds over there might not be the same as the Judas Tree over here… Jx
Additional historical tidbit—orange blossom was Louis XIV’s favorite scent and his personal perfume (I guess what we would call his signature fragrance 😆) was orange blossom. I would not be surprised to learn if no one else at Versailles was allowed to use that scent.
wickedhamster:
I worship the scent but I don’t think it’s butch enough for me as a personal fragrance.
No citrus trees around here. Used to be but the first arctic blast that sent temps into the 20 for days on end put an end to them. One neighbor had an orange tree and two grapefruit trees. She couldn’t eat the grapefruits because of medication so I could pick as many as I wanted. Best grapefruits I ever ate, tree ripened. The pink trees are redbuds?
ellen abbott:
Yes, I’m pretty certain the pink trees are rosebuds. They’re known as arbol de Judas (tree of Judas) here. I love grapefruit. No longer allowed to have any either!
Miss having you in San Diego. Jean Gorman
Jean Gorman:
How wonderful to hear from you. I think about you often and was just wondering if you’d mind an email from me. If you feel like, please write! We miss you!
I agree with you — citrus blossoms are about the best smell on earth. In Florida we call them groves rather than orchards, but maybe that’s a regional thing.
Steve:
Hmmm… I have no idea why I always call them orchards. I think it’s more common to call them groves in the case of citrus and orchards for fruits like apples.
seeing the title I immediately filled in the next line – how can one do otherwise?
Urspo:
Exactly. It’s even inevitable when one knocks on a door.