It is amazing what we stumble upon as we walk the city. Last weekend we wanted a “healthy walk” so we targeted Parque Alamillo two miles away. Walking along the river we were treated to a rowing competition.

Then we crossed the impressive Puente Alamillo:

And as we arrived at the park, realized they were gearing up for the Copa Del Rey futbol match to be played that night at the nearby Estadio de la Catrina.

The park is huge and geared towards families.

Walking back we came across the resort where the Barcelona team was staying

And saw a few of the attractions at the neighboring theme park

And as we got back into Centro, every other person had on a Barcelona or Real Madrid jersey. It was not until we approached the Plaza de San Francisco that we realized the scope of the game

We looked on line for tickets but to find two seats together would cost 800 euro EACH, so we opted to watch on TV instead. With the game starting at 10:00, I only made it through the first half with Barcelona leading 1-0. The second half must have been good as four more goals were scored with Barcelona winning 3-2.

But most of our time is enjoying the simple pleasures:

The street performers

Random sights

Different foods

Trying new things at yoga class.

And one of our favorites is sitting at a corner bar watching cars navigate the tight turn

There were three events of note this week.

First, the Great Iberia Peninsula blackout on Monday. About 12:30 as we were in Triana and looking for a place to eat, we realized none of the lights were on. We eventually made our way back to the apartment and around 5:30 we had our electricity back. So we ventured out again only to find most of the city was still without. Fortunately, if you had cash, the bars could still pour wine.

It was not until the next day that we found out how widespread the outage was and that many did not have power until well after midnight.

Next we had our excursion to Gibraltar. After a 2 1/2 hour bus ride we walked through customs into British territory and walked across the airport runway to the city.

With the rain, our first stop was a bar for fish and chips and refreshments.

We were then driven up the rock to some natural caves, made even more stunning with special effects lighting.

But the best was saved for last, and as always, Becky made new friends

We also had a national holiday; May Day. The equivalent to our labor day. So it was fitting that we stumbled upon a Union Labor Day march on the way to a different park.

We spent most of our day in Marie Luisa Parque.

Not a bad week! Now the city is getting ready for Féria de Sevilla, a fair steeped in flamenco traditions. We plan to visit twice this week so more to come. We were treated to our first taste of Féria while out and about this morning.

So…. Will we ever tire of having great days? Not in this lifetime.