February 26, 2014

SPANISH FIESTAS ...

                             I often get visits from this exotic little guy and his mate (the Hoopoe with its
                                 distinctive 'crown' of feathers) who probably took a wrong turn from Morocco ...
                                Thanks to Señor Hoopoe's skipping a few Geography classes, I'm the beneficiary! 


















In Spain, there’s always a fiesta, local, regional or national. Andalucia alone has 3,000 annually ranging from romerias (pilgrimages), verbenas (night fairs) to ferias (fairs) and festivales. Here’s a taste: 

1. La Tomatina in Buñol:


2. Holy Week processions take place every evening pre-Easter 

3. Puppets stuffed with fireworks set on fire on day of La Crema

4. Warriors parade celebrating Moros y Cristianos in Alcoy


5. San Sebastian’s La Tamborrada 

6. A nominee for Queen of Santa Cruz de Tenerife carnival 

7. Puerta del Sol, Madrid – New Year’s Eve 
Enjoy!

NORA 


February 19, 2014

MOVIES THAT BOMBED ...

                              
                              Hibiscus seems to bloom here all year round! Here are some shots.
                             (Apologies if you're still flooded/snowbound!)














Linked to Scenic Weekends, Shadow Shot Sunday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Our Beautiful World, Weekend Reflections, I heart Macro, Macro Monday2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Blue Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday and Alphabe-Thursday where *N* is for Pluto *N*ash (below) & other movies that bombed:  
Speed Racer

Swept Away   

13th Warrior
Cut Throat
Heaven’s Gate
Mars Mom
Stealth
Alamo
Sahara
SEEN ANY OF THESE? ANY OTHERS COME TO MIND?                                                

And, finally, thank you to all our dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!
NORA & LOLA:)
   

February 12, 2014

VINTAGE FOOD ADS ...

Gardens here are currently full of these Birds of Paradise (Strelitzia Regina).
If you look very closely, you can see a fly and weeds new shoots!










Linked to Scenic Weekends, Shadow Shot Sunday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Our Beautiful World, Monday Mellow Yellows, Blue Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Macro Monday2, I heart Macro and Alphabe-Thursday where *M* is for:
 *M*ustard, *M*ilk & other Vintage Food ads ... 

I love anything vintage so these particular ads caught my attention:










And, finally, thank you to all our dear readers who visited or commented.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY ON FRIDAY 14th!

Enjoy!

XOXO NORA & LOLA:)

February 4, 2014

FAMOUS LAST WORDS ...

Mimosa has been blooming here earlier than usual owing to unusually warm, dry weather! (Oops! Sorry if you're surrounded by snow, ice or floods!)











Linked to Scenic Weekends, Shadow Shot Sunday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, I heart Macro, Macro Monday2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Blue Monday, Our World Tuesday, Our Beautiful World, Ruby Tuesday and Alphabe-Thursday where **L* is for
                            FAMOUS *L*AST WORDS – OF BOOKS & MOVIES!

Everyone has personal favourites. As for books, maybe it’s: "The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off" - the famous last lines of Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Or: "So we beat on, boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past" of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Or: "Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision" of Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse.

And movies? How about: "Don't let's ask for the moon! We have the stars!" from Now, Voyager (1942) spoken by Bette Davis. Now, while it is true there have been movies that have not ended well, it is also true there have been movies that have not started well. However, I don’t believe this is the case with any of the following. Any here your favourites?

1. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) 
“I’ll go home and I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day!” The optimistic reaction of the determined southern belle Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh, above) when a terminally exasperated Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) gives up with: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”.

2. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974) 
“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.” (To Jack Nicholson character)

3. The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995) 
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that – poof – he’s gone!” (Kevin Spacey about criminal character) 
    
4. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Said by nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) to collaborationist police chief Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains)

5. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) 
“Well, nobody’s perfect!” (Much married millionaire Osgood Fielding III (Joe E Brown, left) after “Daphne’s” (Jack Lemmon) confession “I’m a man!”

6. King Kong (Ernest Schoedsack, 1933)
“Oh no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.” The epitaph on the giant ape Kong, shot dead by fighter planes after carrying Fay Wray to the top of the Empire State Building.

7. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
“Mein Führer, I can walk!” Dr Strangelove (Peter Sellers), the German-born wheelchair-bound US presidential adviser’s shocking final line that suggests an ultimate triumph of the will

8. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
“The stuff that dreams are made of.” PI Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) to San Francisco cop (Ward Bond) who holds up the fake version of the priceless Maltese Falcon and asks: “It’s heavy, what is it?”

ANY OTHER LAST LINES OF MOVIES/ BOOKS/PLAYS SPRING TO MIND?

Do check out other posts @ Alphabe-Thursday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Macro Monday2,Our World Tuesday,Ruby Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, I Heart Macro,Our Beautiful World &Smiling Sally.

And, finally, thank you to all our dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!

NORA & LOLA:)