Thursday, June 23, 2011

Spanish Trees


Turns out there are palm trees in Spain. Which may not seem odd to many of you, but for some reason, I had never even considered this possibility, and so it took me by surprise. Especially when I was walking through the very narrow streets of Old Town Barcelona and came upon a palm tree there, just hanging out in a sunny corner, hugging the charming buildings where the cobblestone alleyway opened up just a little bit wider than too-narrow-for-a-car. I'm telling you. It was strange. And delightful. I think because I grew up in Central New York—and to this day have never been to Florida—that I still have this perception of Palm Trees as exotic and other-worldly and endlessly fascinating (as can also be noted here). And this is why I took too many photos of palm trees on my recent visit to Barcelona and Bilbao.

Here is the aforementioned tree, happy in it's cosy surroundings:


And a few more palm trees scattered around this beautiful city:




Peeking above the buildings! So great. And because I wanted to bring them home with me, here are a few more that made me smile. For your enjoyment, as well. The final tree (below) lives in the mountain town of Bilbao, and was enjoyed with a glass of red wine, of course.