Day 2 and 3 of Spain

Day 2: Old cities of Arcos and Ronda

Today started at 9 am. We got on the bus and drove about an hour to the city of Arcos. The first thing I noticed about the city is that it’s built high up in the mountains. As is typical of Spain, Arcos had a grand old Catholic Church. Outside of the church, we saw the two cutest dogs! One looked like a tiny Yorkie. Yankee is probably three times his size! That’s how small he was. Someone asked and the guy said he was four months old. As I mentioned, the town is built on a hill. The church’s balcony looks out over the road WAY down below. It would have pleased even a balcony snob like my mother :).

The first thing we did in Ronda was eat a typical Spanish lunch at a restaurant called Sol Y Sombra. The tour wasn’t very expensive so I didn’t expect much of a “real” lunch. I was pleasantly surprised when we were served a full 3 course meal! First we ate some type of soup with rice and bread. The entrée was pork with some type of sauce. Custard pudding was served for desert. I’m not a huge fan of pork, but this was delicious!! I wish we could have eaten more of it!

Ronda is most famous for it’s history of bullfighting. Many of the locals claim that the “art” of bullfighting was created in Ronda. It just so happened that today was the last day of one of their festivals and a bull fight was planned for later that day! Banners were hung all around town and flowers placed on all of the statues of past famous bullfighters. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes. We saw many beautiful rich ladies wearing old Spanish dresses and veils. They rode on horse carriages through the city and into the arena. It kind of reminded me of a parade. I did some shopping and bought a shirt that says “Espana” and a few postcards. We arrived back to the ship around 7:30 that night. A ton of people are going back out to party tonight but I’m going to bed. I’m just not the type of person that can stay out until 4 in the morning and then get up and start the day at 8.

Day 3: Seville
The day started with an early wake up call at 8:00 am. I got up to eat breakfast (no raspberry yogurt today, just plain) then got ready for my day trip to Seville. The ride took about an hour and a half. I tried to take as many pictures of the countryside as I could, but I (along with everyone else on the bus) kept nodding off.

When we reached the city, we took a walking tour of the Alcazar which showcases the Muslim influences on Seville. This historic fort was built by the Moors in 913 and remained under their control until Fernando III (Christian) took over in 1248. Although it was originally a fort, it was later used as a palace. The place was huge (and we didn’t even get to see half of it, I’m sure.) It was one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen. The blue and gold Arabic colors on the wall mix beautifully together. Of course, no palace would be complete without large and luscious gardens with fountains. Not just fountains, but pounds where multiple ducks had made their home. The ponds were even filled with fish! My words don’t really do the place justice. I’d advise everyone to look at my face book pictures once I’m able to upload them.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of Seville. It is the third largest cathedral in the world and houses the remains of Christopher Columbus. I didn’t know this, but he apparently requested to be buried above ground. His tomb is in the main room and is held up by four large bronze statues. Another impressive feature of the cathedral is it’s fully accessible bell tower, called La Giralda, which offers an amazing view of the city (hah, I sound like a travel brochure!) Before we started to ascend, I was unsure how many flights of ramps (there were no stairs, just ramps) we would have to climb. That’s probably a good thing. The total ended up being 34(!!) flights of ramps. I have officially strengthened my leg muscles for the year. However, the view at the top was totally worth it.

Around 1:15 we took a tour of the old Jewish Quarter and ate lunch. I’ve officially decided that I love Spanish food. We were served a sample platter with all types of different cuisine: chicken, ham, pork, bread, watermelon, asparagus, squid. Yup, I ate squid today! It was surprisingly yummy! After lunch we headed back to bus and drove back to Cadiz. Although the tour was great, I don’t feel that one day in Seville was enough. We toured much of the historic side of Seville, but didn’t get to see much of the modern side.

After the tour, I went to a park and used my laptop for awhile. I also watched the local kids play soccer. It’s amazing how many little kids are still out at 9 and 10 at night.
Sorry if this entry has a ton of typos and mistakes with grammar. It’s almost 11:30 and I am exhausted!