La Vida Sevillana

On March 16th, I finally set off for one of the white towns of Andalucia with Will.  We'd been planning to go for a while and decided to make a full day of it, catching the bust at 7:30 am.

Ronda, one of the most popular visitor destinations in Andalucia, is known for having one of the oldest and most important bullfighting rings in Spain as well as its spectacular views from the top of a massive rocky plateau.  A plunging river gorge known as El Tajo runs through the center of Ronda and is connected by three bridges.  One of the first things we did was to look for the famous bridge called "puente nuevo" which is seen in most photographs of Ronda.  Completed in 1793, the bridge is built over a nearly 330 foot gorge.  The architect of the bridge actually fell to his death from the top and many others were thrown from it during the Civil War.  Ernest Hemingway talked about this bridge in one his book For Whom the Bell Tolls; both Hemingway and Orson Wells lived in Ronda for parts of their lives.

Later in the day we made our way to Ronda's Plaza de Toros.  It was the first bullfighting ring I have ever seen other than in photographs.  It was smaller than I would have imagined but well preserved.  There are very few fights that are still held here during the spring but some are held in the fall.  We also checked out the museum where we saw some original clothing worn in fights there, some still stained with blood.  The classic Ronda style of bullfighting was developed by Pedro Romero who killed over 6000 bulls during his career as a torero and is known as the father of modern bullfighting.

We spent the rest of the day walking around, taking photos, staying out of the afternoon rain and looking in a number of shops.  Ronda is an excellent day trip destination and I'm glad to have finally gone after all the recommendations from friends.

The first glimpse of Granada on the SAS and AHS group trip last Friday was of the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance as our bus neared the city. We pulled into the Los Angeles Hotel, realized it was still a little to cold to go swimming, and a group of us made our way into the city mapless and with nothing but sketchy directions from one of the program guides. Unfortunately, they failed to mention beforehand that we would have an entire 7 hours of the day on our own to do what we liked. Had I known, I might have at least brought some kind of guide book along. But as it was we walked down the main avenue in the center of the city looking for something to interest us. It was a gorgeous day so it was nice just to walk around. The city is smaller than Seville, but you wouldn't know it walking around the busy city center. And just like in the center of Seville, tiny winding streets broke off from the main road leading to an array of bars and restaurants which we were eager to try for the free tapas we heard they gave you with you purchase of a drink. There weren't as many places to shop as I might have liked but we eventually made it to Plaza Nueva where we saw some touristy shops and stopped to rest by a fountain.

Next we continued walking north by the Darro River. We found a tourism office and got a map so we wouldn't get lost and just past the office and a church we came to a huge opening, a valley really, from which we could see the Alhambra looming over us like a giant castle. It was beautiful and quiet and there were some hippie guys playing music so we sat at a cafe and rested for a while. There were dogs everywhere and we tried to play with this one puppy but he was interesting in everything but us. We hadn't gotten to explore the city too much but TJ, Kate, Jigna and I were so tired from getting up so early that we took a different way back and took a long nap at the hotel. TJ joined the fun when we watched some episodes of Sex and the City on Kate's computer before dinner. We had Spanish tortilla and fish for dinner and then the whole group headed back out around 10 o'clock for a walk through the city and up this huge hill where, from a distance, we saw one of the most beautiful sites of the entire trip- the Alhambra beautifully lit in tones of orange and yellow next to the glittering city lights below.

The next day we got up early and made our way to the royal chapel or "capilla real", built as a mausoleum for Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand who conquered the city in 1492. Sitting in the Chapel, Rafa told us their story as we looked at carvings of their stone bodies lying in beds above the crypt. Rafa explained that the Italian sculptors included subtle peculiarities into the carvings to express, even hundreds of years later, ideas held about the monarchs. For example, the head of Queen Elizabeth appears to be heavier on the pillow than that of King Ferdinand, indicating that she was the more intelligent of the two. Next to them lies their ill-fated daughter Juana and her husband Felipe. Juana's face looks off to the side as if to say she was in disagreement with her husband. The capilla was supposed to be the final resting place of the monarchs of Spain and many generations were buried there. A tomb beneath the statues holds the caskets with the bodies of Isabel and Ferdinand, Juana and Felipe and their son Miguel who died as a boy, causing the crown to fall to a foreiner. Next we made our way into the Cathedral which looked a lot like the Cathdral in Seville, the only two differences being that this one was completely white inside and also let in a lot more light and was therefore all the brighter.

That afternoon we all got on a bus to go to the Alhambra which we stayed in for at least three hours. The name Alhambra means "the red one" which is said to refer to the color of the mountain it was built on and the color of the bricks that make up it's outer wall. The most well-preserved arabian palace of its day, the Alhambra was built in the 12th century for the moorish kings of Granada. The first part we visited was the patio of the palace of Carlos V. Inside this circular arena, the acoustics are beautiful and you can hear someone singing or talking in the center from anywhere inside. Kit Cox, a girl in the program sang a beautiful song for us in Latin. One of the other sites I was excited to see was the reflecting pool inside the palace where, once a photo is taken, it is hard to tell which way is up or down (see photo below). There are various other spots of interest inside such as fake doors to confuse possible attackers of the palace, and one room in particular where you can talk into a corner with someone talking into the opposite corner on the other side of the room. Eventually we made our way up a tower and snapped several more photos of the view from the top. From there, the Sierra Nevadas were the most beautiful, as was the rest of the city far below.

That night, we made our way to a hookah bar where we drank some strong tea inbetween running outside to check on the moon. The lunar eclpise was well on its way by 11:30 at night and I tried my best to get a decent photo. One the way home late that night we ran into a decorated donkey on the sidewalk. Only in Spain will you find a donkey tied to a tree outside a bar at 2 a.m...