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A block is an apple
The word for a city block in Spain is manzana, which also means apple; the resemblance of a rounded block on a plan is the usual explanation. It is a useful unit because Spanish directions are given in blocks and landmarks rather than distances. Landmarks are reliable: most towns are built around a plaza mayor with the church and the town hall on it, and the old quarter, the casco antiguo, radiates from there in streets too narrow and too irregular for a grid. Ask for the plaza and you can navigate from it.