I will never forget the first time I visited one of those small Spanish villages, with tiny narrow streets and that early afternoon feeling I got from it. Nobody on the streets, tranquillity... well, it is siesta time. Just sun, random but also calm chirping of birds and maybe a cat or two you can meet.
Stairs, flowers in the front doors and stone. A lot of stone houses. Not rich but hopefully honest people living there. A mystery I always try to find out when facing a place that is not so recently built and settled down. This was my feeling once again, walking and conquering the streets of Chulilla two days ago.
Chulilla, what a strange name, you would say. Even for people that speak Spanish, it will be a fun and a strange name for a village. Who knows actually why it received its name, but we would have to reach back to past to find it out. There are some indications that Chulilla comes from Xulella (and it from Iulella, from Latin) and that a Roman settlement could exist there.
The irrigation system, coming from the river Turia can prove it. But more data is not found until the Middle Ages. The battles between Christians and Muslims already leave more traces, as also the castle and the fortification. The remains of them can be seen above the town, on the mountain.
A fortification? Ruins of a castle? I didn't have to think twice to convince the rest of the people I was with to go there. To climb there, to be more precise. We went to visit that place on Monday, but not the village itself was the goal. It just came after our hiking around the river (which also brought some surprises, but the story of that will be told on another occasion).
For now, I am bringing the streets of the Chulilla itself, those super narrow ones and with plants and flowers in the windows and entrances. They give some charm to every place, and especially if the houses are not shining with some unique style, plants and decoration can bring more life to them.
What I spotted are those charming bells. And the colours the habitants of these houses use to paint the part of the walls where the windows and doors are. The facades are white, but the contrast that this orange and blue colour gives them is a nice detail and pleasure for the eyes.
What do you think, what is the most suitable vehicle for the people living in this village?
A donkey?
Feet only?
Maybe a bicycle or a motorcycle? Well, here and there I saw some cars too...
How do they drive and park there?
Pure magic :D
Like the majority of Spanish villages, this one also has a church. Many times they had just a hermitage but when the settlement starts to grow, a Parrish is usually also built. What I could read on the board on the wall of the church is that the name of it is Church of Our Lady of the Angels.
We can see that it is a baroque building and according to the same board, it went through some renovations between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth centuries. The tower with the bell is built in the typical Valencian Baroque style. The bell was keeping quiet though, probably respecting the calm pace of the village.
The waiters' pace was also quite slow. Tired, we sat on the terrace of a bar, but the service was so slow that after some twenty minutes we gave up on the waiting. We went away. Ok, I understand, they were full of work, but for sure they were not organized and didn't actually care for some tourists that came now and who knows when again. Well, I still want to see one route around the river that we couldn't make that day (not saying anything else now) but then, I will think about where to search for a refreshment. In my own backpack :)
"Pueblo pequeño, infierno grande", "calles estrechas, más fácil se arde" eso rima :D qué fotos tan bonitas! Se ve que la pasaron muy bien en el pueblo y siendo ignorados en el bar, mmm :v
Jajajajaj, sí que rima 😂😂😂
Lo pasamos bomba, fueron tres días geniales que pasé con aquellos amigos en su casa y visitamos varios sitios. Historias vendrán poco a poco :))) 😀
The name Chulilla reminds me of Chulita, which - at least in Mexican Spanish - means something like cutie. And in the case of this town it certainly fits! Such awesome pics you posted again! Very well done. They really bring out the cuteness of the town perfectly. So much unlike many other -chula towns, such as Tapachula on the border to Guatemala, which is anything but cute, or Chula Vista in California, which is really just a part of the expanse of San Diego.
Yeah, chulilla indeed is similar to chulo, chula.
We were joking about the name, calling all the things from there que chulo 😂
A cute village for sure 😇
That does look like a tough name to say. I have know idea how it would be pronounced. The town looks cool though with the narrow streets. I'm with you - how do people drive their cars in towns like that? There are a lot of towns in France like that as well.
Too bad about the restaurant. I hate those situations and that feeling of trying to decide when to cut your losses and just leave without ordering.
Yes, those narrow streets + cars = it sounds like a frustration :)
They didn't complain when we went away without even ordering, they just didn't care 😐 To decide whether we stay or go we tossed a coin hahaha. Well, that day we used that strategy for other things too.
Then the next day we were in another village, another restaurant - a completely opposite story. Friendly and fast staff :))
Coin flip - leave it to chance. Good strategy. 👍
The next restaurant sounds much better
the next day restaurant was much better indeed
what is not so great is that I am replying after 6 days here 😅
Haha no worries. When you get a lot of comments it can be hard playing catch up. I sometimes miss responding entirely and realize weeks down the road then feel bad. I'll never take offense to a missed comment by you though. 👍
Seems we all feel the same when we miss responding :))
We would need the day has some additional hours to cover everything 😅
Beautiful all those little streets @mipiano
Yes, it’s indeed a bit of a strange name.
Those bells are cool… at the doors.
Stunning scenery, love those kind of towns. 😊😎
Strange but cute, right?
The scenery is typical Spanish, I like to visit these villages but I imagine it would not be so easy or enough interesting to live there. But maybe I am wrong :)
The hill behind the village and all the mountains around it are impressive. it will all come one day here :))
Yes, it’s cute ☺️
Mountain villages are great to visit, not much so for living. As you need to drive a bit to get all things you would need for daily living.
Have a great day @mipiano 👋🏻☀️
These are gorgeous! I remember when I was in Spain for work, they took us out for a flamenco show in our last night in Madrid - the parking garage was so tight!!! …I couldn’t believe our friend Alejandro was able to navigate it without any scrapes 🤣🤣
Oh, parking places are indeed so tight in some places.
When I have to park in that kind of places, I immediately forget about the idea to have a bigger car 🤣🤣
LOL! That was exactly my thought as we careened through this tiny cavernous inner city parking garage in the heart of the Madrid: note to self: never get a big car! 🤣
Yeah, never get a big car or just avoid Spanish cities (or villages)
so, basically, there is no good solution for me. I stay with my little car 😆
( a bit late reply, eh... well, days disappeared somehow 😂)
There she is!!!
Lol! I miss my small car. I switched out and got a used SUV few years back because my wife is a nurse and we needed a 4-wheel drive vehicle since snow days are not excused at the hospital. But in Maryland, and actually most part of the US that I’ve experienced, parking garages are ridiculously spacious.
Don’t sweat the delay, you’ve got no reason to explain yourself - I enjoy it when you come around, but I totally get taking some time off. I love Hive; I love sharing my goofy stuff and having a place to express my crafts, but in the end, you’d be crazy not to realize that real life is far more important!
Yeah, there is me! :D
That's great you have spacious garage places, must be also because of the higher percentage of SUV cars?
In recent years I see more and more SUV here too, before was not that popular.
Delay of the response - I know I don't have to explain myself, but that is just the feeling I don't want to show respectless behaviour towards others when no response comes from me. I am on hive every day, a lot of time :D But what happens is that between curation, engaging and engaging in my posts too, hours disappears. Then writing a post became the last thing I do. And then I got a huge backlog in the comment section last week as I spent some days in my friends' home and logically, I wrote fewer comments those days, so trying to catch up but I am kind of failing hahaha
Yeah those big cars are super popular over here. I personally love the little ones, but it is nice on those rare ocasiona when I need to get lumber or haul large amounts of stuff.
I totally get that too LOL! I thought, after I sent that, no matter what anyone said I would take pretty much exactly the same approach :)
EDIT: I’ve also noticed, as I spend more time on Hive, that I tend to have engagement days, curation days, and production days…while I may mix them a bit, I do tend to stick mostly to one or another in any given day - arbitrarily selected based on how I feel and whether or not I have something to say.
Anyway, thanks for getting back to me, I enjoy these little talks with my Hive friends quite a bit!
Thank you for that mini-holiday and all those historic bits.
Beautiful pictures as always.
Being full of cold, this was most welcome! Thank you!
PS: waiters are like teachers, nurses etc.. some are just not born for job.. 😊
Oh, do you have a cold, or do you say that just because you have enjoyed the sunny scenery? In any case, it was a super nice day with much more activities we did, and warm it was. My face and arms got a bit of colour :))
I'm afraid I do have a cold, with all the trimmings, cough and all... 😟
That long lockdown brings it out big time I guess..
We had our two-weekly jam session on Saturday and I thought I felt better, throwing out a few songs with our friends, alas, it has hit me harder than I thought and my bicycle song will sound rather nasal.. 😅
I can see you're having a lovely time, but that's very easy in those surroundings there.. Absolutely wonderful! 😍
Enjoy! 😀
Your bicycle song was cool,
maybe your cold made it that way hehehe?
If I could use some bicycle to go faster back and in time and catch up on the huge backlog, it would be great 😂
I mean, six days...
😂
Haha, cold = cool
Maybe the clue is in the name..
Yes, I'm sure your backlog is huge!
Don't worry if you don't always find the time... ;)
Just envoy the ride... hehe
hmmm, yeah, not bad, just 6 days of backlog right now 😂
I do enjoy it... a lot 😇
Ah, that's good!
..just 6 days of backlog... 😄
I don't know that people in towns like these still use donkeys... might be possible, i think that they would most likely use vespas and bycicles on the smaller streets.
The town looks like somewhere i would love to stay at too, i prefer smaller towns like these as a home with the option of bigger ones some fair distance away. I think the people are closer and more down to earth this way, though like you said, crime could be a problem here. Overall, it looks like a nice place to visit, no doubt you loved you time here... I wonder where your next stop will be, you're running out of free day ya know : )
Hahaha, I dont think they use donkeys, but in the past, they did. Now scooters are more popular indeed!
I like also these places but just to visit and maybe stay for a short time. I know, I would need some more action after some time. But who knows, maybe when I am old old old :)))
Hahha, I know, well, the next stops will come too :))
Perhaps a strange name but a truly beautiful city love the splashes of color and the narrow streets like going back in time
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
like going back in time is what I also always feel when vising such a place like this one :)
I love narrow, cobbled streets and old buildings which conform to no architecture we have in Africa.
I hope you enjoy right now in this kinds of streets!
Walking and cycling :)))
I am enjoying them indeed :)
perfect !!!
don't stop enjoying 😎
i once visited one of those spanish villages at mallorca, a mountain village. your post reminded me a lot of this village, the quiet, the narrow streets and the stone steps with the flower pots. a great atmosphere! Chulilla is a very unusual but beautiful name.
Yes, many Spanish old villages have this structure, I really like to visit them!
Thank you for stopping by @katrin-lux 😇
how are you dear friend @mipiano good afternoon
What a beautiful place and how much tranquility can be seen in the images
I think the best way to get around the place is to walk; I don't think a donkey is a good day
Beautiful images, I appreciate that you have made us know this beautiful town
have a beautiful afternoon
Tranquillity on the Spanish way - top achievement :D
Donkeys were used in the past, as they had to carry some goods... But for sure, now I appreciate walking in those places. If I would live in a narrow street like one of those, I think it would not be that comfortable. But maybe I am wrong :)
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STOPnice nice :))
With pleasure @mipiano 😊🌹
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