Headed to Seville with a stop in Ronda
Headed to Seville with a stop in Ronda.
Traveling through the countryside full of Olive Trees, as far as you can see, pops of red poppies dot the hillsides, and when approaching Seville, fields of sunflowers making it feel a little like the Wizard of Oz. I saw these sporadic views between my series of ‘naps’. Our bus was very roomy and just comfy enough for some shut eye.
We would stop along the way for bathroom breaks, although there was one on the bus no one ever used (well, I don’t think---I was asleep a lot and no-one checked in with me). These stops were mostly primitive. If we stopped in a town, Rich, our guide told us to just find the toilets in the small café like you live there and then maybe buy something on the way out since the Rick Steves’ tours are notorious for using the same town/café each trip.
The White Town of Ronda was our intermittent stop; just one night. For this night, we just needed to pack a small bag with the necessary clothes. We were treated to a guitar show in Ronda. Paco was knowledgeable about various instruments, which he displayed on the walls of the venue. He talked about four guitars, used for different styles of music. The last guitar was over 150 years old. Paco said he only played it occasionally. He chose to play a song he wrote using that guitar. It was a good show.
Everyone scattered after the show to find dinner. I am getting a new appreciation for Tapas. Camille and her grandmother, Nancy allowed me to tag along with them. I wasn’t too hungry, but this is what I got. Artichokes with prawns. The pil pil sauce was sorta spicy but not overly.
Camille is originally from Boise, ID but now attending college in Missoula, Montana. Missoula apparently is a liberal college town. She is studying culture and something or other… Anyway, I was really listening. What impressed me, is she will be applying to International Universities, starting with Barcelona, to become more fluent in Spanish. Later in the summer she will join her boyfriend in Ireland where he is in grad school and stay there for a few months. This is a first trip for her and her grandmother, Nancy. Nancy is an Everett, Washingtonian. Her husband is not happy traveling but found his happy place when they moved into a retirement community where he keeps busy. Nancy still works part-time at the University as an advisor. After side conversations with Nancy, she confessed that she now knows way too much about Camille, after all, they do share a room. It was nice to find like-minded peeps.
I was very excited to visit Ronda. The scenes of the old bridge are fascinating. It is so high on the hill with a trail that hugs the mountain. However, that is not what I found! Ronda is a touristy place during the day, as people come in the busloads. Not only that, but it was also hot during day---80 degrees, feeling like 90. Oh, and I felt like crap. I still went looking for something to take pictures of.
Pictures of Ronda:
By the time we got to Seville, the temperature was in the triple digits. Since our rooms weren’t ready, we dropped our bags and headed out for our orientation walk. OMG, the hottest part of the day! We walked about .3 miles to purchase our Flamenco show tickets, walked another .3 miles to the main attractions, the Cathedral, the Alcazar, and the gardens. Then we walked back through all the shops, many of which were taking their afternoon siesta. When we finally checked into our rooms, it was time for a cool shower!
Our hotel has a dip pool on the roof, however, Claudia, trying to lighten her load, sent her bathing suit home after she used it in Andorra. Oops.
I found out the desk had a lost and found, but when I was unable to pinpoint the date and room where I “lost” my suit, I think they got suspicious and knew I was fibbing. Come on, who is going to return to pick up a lost bathing suit after two years??? Just let me borrow one!
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