April 12 of 12

K-Ray is in town.

We are bzzy bzzy beezzzz.

We traveled to Jerez de la Frontera to see the horses dance this morning. I may have pretty much forgotten about the fact that it was the 12th today..and therefore I leave you with the following:

10:29; Jerez, Spain
A pretty tree

10:29; Jerez, Spain
Another shot of that tree.

10:30; Jerez, Spain
Yet again, the tree...this time, a leaf or two.

10:30; Jerez, Spain
The lovely museum building

10:30; Jerez, Spain
The lovely fountain.

10:30; Jerez, Spain
The lovely performance hall.

10:32; Jerez, Spain
Spanish ladies talking with their whole bodies.

16:39; Sotogrande, Spain
BU! reminds me that it is, in fact, the 12th.

16:39; Sotogrande, Spain
Baggage report...ugh...called to check on K-Ray's missing bags...

16:39; Sotogrande, Spain
Laundry to make it through the next couple of days (Sevilla here we come!).

16:40; Sotogrande, Spain
Doggy Fantastic wants to play...again.

19:14; Pueblo Nuevo, Spain
Also counts as Bonus Picture
Sangria...Mmm.
My word was limitation; make of it what you will...

Where, Oh Where...

I'm here, I promise. I have been a little busy. We have had guests since...ummm...I believe it was March 11th. It feels a bit like we've had guests for a couple of years instead of only a month, but that is just my body talking.

What have we been doing?

We've been to the following locations once:

Tablao El Arenal for the best flamenco and food ever.



Also, Tarifa and beyond for beaches and Roman ruins. We traveled through the park to get to the leather capital of Andalucia: Ubrique. The cork trees, they were so fabulous!



San Roque for the processional on holy Friday. That was indeed a cultural experience.

We've been to the following locations twice:

Granada, once with guided tour and once without.
Also, Seville for the Cathedral, Barrio Santa Cruz and Casa de Pilatos as well as the Real Alcazar.



We've been to the following locations thrice:

Ronda: the bridge, it is still standing! Gibraltar: the apes, they are still wrestling! Jerez: the horses, they are still dancing!

We visited the post office, the town markets, and we even saw a polo match with the last group. Also, I now know which road I will never ever take home from Ronda. Yes, it went through a natural park...eventually...and it did end up in Estepona where it claimed to lead, but the curves, they are so hairpin and the fox, he came from nowhere. We may refer to it as The Road to Espinosa[Read: Tahj and Ahj like to make up new titles for already established locations...another is Ramona(Ronda)], but just because we remember it fondly (with names from Scrubs, no less) does not mean any of us ever want to experience it again. EVER.

Other 'new experiences' I would just rather not experience again:

1. Aparcameinto El Arenal. Possibly the smallest (in all ways) parking garage ever. Not a one of the columns is without chunks of concrete missing. Also, parking there is very much like Austin Powers in the golf cart trying to turn around...you only need about a 30 point turn to finally get your vehicle in the spot. If you're lucky.

2. Ape poo. Nothing more needs to be said.

3. Doggy Fantastic taking issue with his treats and depositing many puddles of yack ON THE CARPET. There simply was no better place. None.

Things that were fabulous:

1. The hotels in Granada and Seville as well as the flamenco. All were scheduled and monies deposited without knowing for sure what it would be like. Thank you tripadvisor and my many guidebooks.

2. The views of Africa from Gibraltar; it has never been so clear.



3. Frank, our guide in Granada. He speaks so many languages, and the stories, they are fab!

4. The olives from La Linea Market. Mmm.....olives.

5. All of the things that I cannot even remember right now because my brain? It is still broken.

Due to my many adventures over the past month, I slept almost all day yesterday. That included two naps in between the laundry, Nissan dealer, and grocery store. Oh yeah, and I had a full night of sleep last night [Read: slept until 11 despite Doggy Fantastic's attemtps to get me up].

Therefore I am feeling much better today.

Almost normal even.

The good news: I have one more guest who arrives tomorrow. We are traveling to all of the places I have already been. This means that aside from the parking garage in Seville, I should know exactly where I am going and also how to leave each location.

We hope.

What does this mean for all of you?

(Ha. All of you. As if there are any of you left after a month of nothing...)

Well, I will once again be missing for at least a week. I will hopefully be able to post on the 12th for 12 of 12. HEY YOU! PARTICIPATE!

Once I am recovered again, I should have much to write about and hundreds of pictures to share. Until then, happy Easter, yay for spring, and look for me in a little over a week!

March 12 of 12

Tahj, Ahj and R-Shelly are visiting us this week, so this is going to have to be a short one. I'll try to post in more detail later...but we have visitors from now until the 17th of April, so it may be a bit before I am able to do so. This idea comes from the fabulous Chad Darnell. Go to his site and see what everyone else in the world is doing today.

8:46; Sotogrande, Spain

After dropping Señor CC off at work today, I stopped by the bank to get some cash for our road trip. Amazingly, I saw this postal truck sitting there. I had never seen one of the large trucks before; usually I see men on mopeds delivering the mail.

10:45; Sotogrande, Spain

Tahj, Ahj, R-Shelly and I were on our way to Ronda. Yes, I've told you about that here, but today was another day and we did indeed see some new things in the white town.

12:01; Gaucin, Spain

On our way, we stopped at the Hostal Breñaverde to take some pictures of the wonderful view. We all thought it quite funny that the sign (at the hostal) pointed at the building and declared that you had 0.0 meters to travel in order to reach it.

12:16; Gaucin, Spain

Gaucín is one of the many white towns that pop up on the side of the mountain on the way to Ronda. Some towns are on such a steep slope that in addition to the zig-zag streets the cars use to get around there exist pedestrian stairs/slopes that cut virtually straight up through the town for 'easier' access.

13:52; Ronda, Spain

Our entrance to Ronda was somewhat normal. By normal I mean that the usual path we are able to take in our car was (of course!) blocked off for construction and we had to park in a completely new (to me) area. Arriving wasn't all that bad, and we were able to see some new shops on our way to lunch.

14:42; Ronda, Spain

Speaking of lunch, R-Shelly and I had the Menu del Día. I chose the mixed salad, this fabulous trout (head and all) and mixed fruit for dessert. It was yummy indeed. And that trout had such beautiful eyes...

15:31; Ronda, Spain

Our first stop after lunch, in order to see some 'history', was the new bridge. For a small fee we were able to go down and inside of the structure to learn about its construction and use. The room inside was used as a prison and then as a store at one time. There are great views of the gorge from these windows.

15:42; Ronda, Spain

I cannot seem to go to Ronda without taking at least a couple of photographs of this particular view. It is simply amazing and is one of my favorite here in Spain.

16:22; Ronda, Spain

We walked down, down, down through the cobbled streets towards the old bridge. This is where we could see this Puerta de Felipe V as well as catch a glimpse of the Arab baths.

16:31; Ronda, Spain

We crossed the old bridge and then began the walk up the side of the gorge towards the Plaza de Toros. Along the way we had magnificent views of the gorge and plantlife.

16:32; Ronda, Spain

Our path also allowed us this view of the New Bridge. It is unbelievable.

16:42; Ronda, Spain

We made it over to the Plaza de Toros and visited the museum there. One of the most interesting sections of the museum was the royal saddlery. The intricate costumes and saddles were amazing.
We headed back to the car, with a short stop for helado, and then attempted to make our way home. We had a few delays: the normal exit route was blocked and the other had a lack of signs. We eventually made our way onto a road that would lead us towards home, although it was not the road we really wanted to be on.

I saw a sign at one small white town that pointed towards Estepona, a city very close to where we live. I took that road and we embarked on what has to be the most interesting and exciting road I have ever driven on. To call the turns hair-pin would be quite the understatement, and I must say that I had never before played chicken with a massive dump-truck.

I suppose there is a first time for everything...

Sherry Bodegas and Horses, Oh My!

February twenty-eighth was the last official day of my birthday month for the year. It was also Andalucia Day here in Spain. Señor CC and I took advantage of his rare day off and drove up to Jerez for another scouting run. This time we were hoping to find parking as well as our way to the Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestra, the Palacio del Tiempo, a couple of sherry bodegas and perhaps even the Alcazar.

We managed once again to follow signs for the centro and ended up in a parking garage right beside the information office. We headed inside to get a map and some other brochures. Our first order of business was to find the Real Escuela; we needed to know how far it was to walk there from the plaza. We saw a few interesting things on the way. The first was this fountain:



Next came this monument:



Followed immediately by the famous Tio Pepe barrels. Someone was having his photo taken in front of them with his guitar. As Jerez is the area of Spain where flamenco was created, the guitar is appropriate for sure.



Doors in Spain are different than those in the U.S. in a few ways, but perhaps the most noticeable is the doorknob. The location of the doorknob in the center of the door is visually different; functionally it does nothing except give you something to grab onto. One must have a key to turn the latch and open the door; the doorknob does not move. These doorknobs were the first that I have seen here with such handy explanation as to what those knobs are for...too bad the doors graced by these are very tall and it is really impossible to even reach the knob:



Jerez is full of monuments and statues. I saw more there in the few hours we were there than in most other cities I have visited. This next one sits at the end of a large plaza with a fabulous fountain.



We made it to the Real Escuela in pretty much no time at all and were able to find the carriage museum and Sandeman Bodega as well. Luckily, most of what we would want to see is up in one area. This is the ticket booth for the Real Escuela; if you look closely you can see the dancing horse above the ticket window:



As in any Spanish town, there are many churches in Jerez. I saw three or four of these tiled plaques in the small area we walked. They are all different and detailed. Usually there are flowers or some other gift placed nearby:



I am excited to go back to Jerez and see the dancing horses as well as some of the other interesting sights in the city. Only a few more days and we shall be there!

M&M Visit Tarifa

We have arrived (perhaps you are thinking "At last!") to the final excursion day of M&M's visit to Spain. This day could be so named only if one does not count the subsequent day's (FINAL!) trip to the airport as an excursion. I do not because although Travel Drama reared its ugly head, they did indeed make their way home safely.

The choice on Day Four of Spanish Goodness was to drive up and see the fine city of Jerez, where one finds sherry, and dancing horses galore (there are other attractions, including a zoo, but none are so popular as the two mentioned above) or to take a (much shorter) drive down the coast to Tarifa where one can see Africa on most days. Due to the multiple airport runs, three days of lengthy excursions as well as a particularly nasty thing called jet lag, M&M decided they would prefer the shorter trip followed by some quiality time at the casa where the Brothers J could get their fix of NCAA football for the next couple of months.

The drive to Tarifa is only about forty-five minutes from our town. Along the way we were able to see the many windmills dotting the landscape. There are a few types, but the most common is of this variety:





Once we found a place to park the coche, we walked down the main street towards the old town and the coast. Signs are everywhere in high-tourist areas, but as I've mentioned before, they are not for the one thing we all want: streets. Instead, they are for a mixture of other important things. In all towns signs are multi-lingual, but the closer you get to Tarifa and Africa, the more Arabic you will see:





We strolled through the puerta to the old town and weaved through the tiny streets on our way to the coast. The streets feel a bit like a maze the first few times you walk through them. Tarifa is so small compared to other cities that learning your way is fairly easy and in the case that you don't actually learn the streets, it is really no matter because there are so few that you will never go so far as to be lost.





There is a small plaza beside the ruins at the coast. This plaza has beautiful painted-tile benches and a long slender fountain. To one side is the Atlantic and Africa and to the other the streets of the town. This building has a view of the ocean and the plaza:





An old city wall/fortress ruin sits at one end of this lovely area. From up here one usually has a fabulous view of Africa.





On the days when M&M were with us, we had quite a bit of haze between the two continents and were unable to get a clear view. When you can it is beautiful.





This last day was a fairly hot one, so we quickly headed back towards the tiny streets and the shade. On our way back towards the car, we came upon a lovely rose garden.





We were all getting pretty hungry, so we drove back towards Sotogrande. Señor CC and I had been to a Mesón along the way that had fabulous tapas. We stopped there and ordered a few things for our midday meal. Calamari, jamon, chicken, and a few other items were delicious.

There are a couple of places along the drive where one can pull off the road to get a more elevated view of Africa. We stopped at one that has a snow-cone/icecream vendor and postcards of the view for sale so that M could try to get a better picture of herself with Africa for her Mom. We were higher up and the haze was low, so the picture was better, but still not great. I supppose we shall have to try again the next time they visit.





Home we went for an evening of NCAA (Lee Corso, that whistle is so annoying!) and regular food stuffs. Cooper was very happy that we were hanging out at the apartment and I think all of us were happy to veg out for a while. It had been an exciting and eventful visit.

I've already told you about the next day's activities. Oh so exciting were they. More to come soon on our glimpse of Jerez last Wednesday. A glimpse...but with pictures...of course!