Dream trip to Spain: Other Things II

(I was having trouble with the one post.  It kept on crashing Mozilla Firefox so I decided to split it into two posts. Don't forget to look at Other things I)

One of the things I really liked about Spain in the area we were was the flowers & gardens.  We seemed to have come at a very good time of year.  It seems they didn't get the memo that April showers bring May flowers.  Instead we got May showers bringing May flowers, but boy did we get the flowers in bloom.

I liked this Bird_of_paradise_flower  and had to get its picture.  I have not seen a lot of these in bloom but recognized right away for its unique look.  I was surprised when I went to look it up in Wikipedia that its true name is Stretlitzia.  Its nice to learn something new every day.

Bird of Paradise flower in Spain

These weren't the only flowers that were blooming at the hotel.  I think these were asters but the centers looked too big.  Never having been to Spain before I had no clue as to what type of flowers to expect to see.

  I did like the sculptures that they had around the hotel too. 

Every were I looked I was see flowers of all different types.  I saw this one and thought of LSU and how this should be its official flower since its color was gold and purple.  The image doesn't do it justice. 

Hibiscus

Again I wasn't too sure what type of flowers these were.  They reminded me of Morning Glories but they were in full bloom in the evening and the Morning Glories I've seen before don't do that.  So all I could do was walk under this pathway and admire it from all different angles.  It did provide a lot of shade and in the summer time I could see this being a very nice spot to sit and relax and read a book.

 Here's a close up of those flowers.

Inside the Gazebo as you looked out this is what you got to see. It was definitely a meditation place and I could see coming here to refresh your self. 

Here's some snapdragons that were just starting to bloom that were close by too.

These looked like zinnia's to me.

Just look at how beautiful this begonia was. 

I really liked the way they had these begonia's growing in planters along the wall.  In Spain I saw a lot of places that had planters like these.

I think these may have been some For-get-me-mots but I'm not sure.

I wasn't too sure what these were either.

They even had oranges growing on trees while I was there.  I was surprised to see so many orange trees growing along the streets like that.  At one point it made me want to reach up and take one but I didn't want to get in trouble so I didn't.  I do hope the people that have them near their places eat the fruit and not let it go to waste.

This piece of sculpture was near our hotel and every time I passed it I had to look at it.  Since I was including miscellaneous stuff I thought I should include this too.

These lovely flowers were growing on the jetty at Puerto Banus.

 These flowers were in Ronda,   They were Snapdragons mostly. Yet still very pretty to see especially with the setting that they were in.

These looked like jasmine but I wasn't sure.  They did smell nice.

 I really liked this where you could see down into the valley and how green and lush it was.

The El Tajo at Ronda

This next set was taken up in the hills near Mijas.
I don't know what these were, but they were so pretty they just had to be included too.

This was the garden along the fortress wall.

 And just look at these daisy's that were there too.  I couldn't get over how healthy that bunch was.  I'm not used to seeing such a large cluster like that.  I do know that daisy's come back (well at least they did at my mom's house) and each year they would get bigger.  I figured these must have been here for a long time for it to be so full like that.  Either that or someone lovingly cares for them.

Daisy's growing in Mijas, Spain

 In Mijas they had the plant holder for sale and they were pretty the way they decorate the walls with them.

 These were about the only flowers I saw in Gibraltar blooming.

Wildflowers growing at Europa point Gibraltar

So as you can see there were flowers blooming everywhere making it a very nice time of year to visit. 



And lastly the other things I really liked seeing was the animals that I saw.
Most of them I'm just not used to seeing unless its at a zoo.  The trouble with zoos is you can't get close to them and unless you have a zoom lens on your camera you just don't get good photos.  These animals were all so domesticated that they didn't have any problems with me getting close to them and taking their images.  I never thought I would be this close to some of them like I was.  It was fun being around them and interacting with them.

 The first ones that caught my attention were The swans at the hotel.  Every day they liked to come up and greet you.  I know they were looking for bread crumbs but it still was nice to be greeted by them when they saw you.

 Some Swans at the hotel

Then in Ronda and Mijas we saw the Bullrings so we were constantly reminded of the bulls.
I did see some on the hills but like these bulls better:

Bull statute at the Ronda Bullring

The bulls in the bull ring at Mijas:

The donkeys in Mijas

Mijas' Spanish donkeys

Donkeys in Mijas, Spain

And the pigeons cooing on the side of a cliff in Mijas.

  The Barbary Macaques in Gibraltar

Monkey at the Rock of Gibraltar

  Look at this baby wouldn't you just love to have to baby sit him? No telling what type of monkey business he'd get himself into.

And how about this papa monkey giving some sage advice.

And I can't forget one of my all time favorite animals that I saw while I was there at Gibraltar this gastropod/ snail.

The camels of Morocco - each as different as can be with lots of personality. 

Camel in Morocco

  

Wouldn't you love to have this one who sounded like it was calling MaMA!!! all the time.

Or how about this camel, he seems pretty sure of himself.

Or who could forget this one who liked to sweet talk you into riding it.

There was nothing like riding on the Mediterranean Sea and seeing all sort of sea gulls flying overhead.

Or the the dolphins swimming under your boat.

Or by your boat.

Dolphin  playing in the Mediterranean Sea

There were some critters I didn't see: ANTS and that was just fine with me.  Because there were so few of them around I was really able to sit back, relax and enjoy everything.
All I know is those animals were unforgettable and they really made the trip SO special.


THANK YOU, THANK YOU AND ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU to that company that does want people to know who they are AND TO MY HUSBAND you're the ones that made this all possible - I'll never forget it.  Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude. 
 
I muse: the flowers and the animals made it such a special trip.  I couldn't imagine what it would have been like if those things were not so special to me.  I know they got my fair share of ohhing and ahhing along with those incredible mountains and outcrops.  It definitely became a dream trip too good to be true.  If it wasn't for the photos it would be hard to believe it actually happened. Thank you Summit

(I've decided to update this with the links to the other Dream Trip to Spain posts:
  Day 1 & Hotel, Ronda, Mijas, Puetro Banus,  St Michael Cave - Gibraltar,  Monkeys of Gibraltar, Gibraltar by land, Gibraltar by sea , Tangier - Morocco, Camel riding in Morocco, Dolphin watching, Other Things 1.)

I muse: I think I've shared everything I wanted to about my trip to Spain. Well I guess THAT'S ALL FOLKS AND THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN TO MY HUSBAND AND to  THE COMPANY THAT SPONSORED THIS TRIP.