Spanish Landscapes

I recently spent two glorious weeks in Southern Spain and it reminded me of how distinctive the landscape is there.  This photo was taken by a Ulpi, a friend of mine who lives in Iowa but she is from Spain, and she took this picture on a recent trip there.

I have become an aficionado of different kinds of landscapes.  When I was younger I really didn't think much about the view outside my car window.  When I first drove through the Midwest, it seemed flat and agricultural.  Crops flew by with the miles and I did not think much about them.  Now, living in Iowa, I notice that there are rolling hills, that the corn is interspersed with soy beans, the barns are in various states of repair, and I find it much more charming. 

My favorite thing to do when I am traveling is to drive around a bit.  I like seeing the landscape.  I like driving through small towns and villages, stopping in bakeries and cafes, seeing how different people live.  In Spain we covered a very small area over a relatively long period of time, so we ended up doing less traveling between places and more time walking in cities--but it was still quite lovely to see the golden rolling hills, the dry landscape that is breath taking and so very different from where I live.