We had a fair amount of rain here in Sevilla yesterday (Friday) afternoon. But there are few places more peaceful on a warm-ish, rainy day than the covered edge of an open-air Spanish courtyard while rain falls into the center.

I spent part of yesterday afternoon investigating a few lovely places for next year’s CAA trip … either to suggest that people visit on their own or for perhaps arranging a group visit if they’re more out of the way. If I haven’t mentioned it before (or even if I have) let me state that the narrow, twisting roads here in the old parts of the city are quite confusing unless you’re really good at reading maps (and street signs that don’t exist or that don’t look like street signs) or unless you’re very familiar with the route. Luckily, it doesn’t take too long to start getting familiar with it all.

At any rate, a few courtyards to entice you …

a traditional Andalusian courtyard ...

... and another; or the flower-lined balcony at least ...

... and a third, although this is admittedly less typical because the floor in the center is an authentic Roman mosaic at the private museum Palacios de Lebrija

a close-up of the staircase in the background of the photo above, with beautiful old Spanish tiles covering nearly every available surface

the Palacios de Lebrija was the project of a 19th-century Sevillian aristocratic woman with a passion for archaeology and collecting; she gathered Roman mosaics and all sorts of pottery, including Roman, Moorish, Visigothic, pre-Columbian, Chinese, and even a huge set of English Spode dishes; the walls of one room are lined with very old tiles like these, depicting early views of Sevilla

I also worked with our friend Raimundo on a preliminary list of possible carriage collections to view on our CAA trip next spring. In the evening, we all went to a dinner hosted by the Royal Andalusian Carriage Club (in preparation for their carriage exhibition in the bullring tomorrow – the 25th of these beautiful exhibitions). I was re-acquainted with people I’d met last year and met even more. Everyone is extraordinarily welcoming, and we should have another wonderful group of collectors and collections to visit in 2011.

Tomorrow is the carriage exhibition in the bullring, where I’ll be taking lots of photos, and hoping that the predicted rain doesn’t fall!