Ronda

I loved Ronda. It has to be one of my favorite places so far. We went just for a day, and that was perfect. The bus ride was as usual, full of my sleepy self and waking up when we got there. Thank goodness, because sometimes I don't sleep well the night before. 

We got there and one of the girls had to buy her return ticket, so it was nice to sit down and try to locate a map. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that I didn't have to pay for. Oh well, we left the building and made our way across the narrow street to a café that was selling churros. Oh churros. Let me explain. 

They are fried pieces of heavenly sweet dough, typically in a round shape - sweet and round like a funnel cake, but without everything added to it. Then, not only do you receive warm fried dough for breakfast, you also get chocolate to dip it in to. If anyone told you that it was chocolate syrup - they lied to you and you should question your friendship with them. It is more like a melted chocolate bar. Once you are finished drooling on your computer keyboard, check out the picture below to see what these babies look like. 

I know. You can't resist pawing at your screen. It's even better with smells and tastes. 

Once we filled our bellies with churros and coffee, we then wondered around the street going in and out to try to find the bridge. If we were to find the big bridge, we knew that we would be semi- in the center of town.  We found it and squealed with joy upon seeing it. Then everything became quiet. The views were breathtaking. Here we stood, in a tiny town in Spain, surrounded by rolling mountains that were covered in olive trees, forest, and some farmland. I couldn't stop taking pictures. Hence the almost 400 that were posted to Facebook the other day. Here are some of my favorites, just to brag a little: 

I couldn't get that grin off my face. 

I found where I want to live. Anyone else?

La Puenta Nueva. The "New" Bridge. 

But really, it's just bigger than the old one. 

Then we decided to try to fin our way down the gorge that divided the town and take pictures from there and just explore in general. I asked a British tour guide if he knew the best way to get down to the gorge, and he handed me a map (finally a free one!) and explained how to get down and where the best pictures would be. He then told us some other places to check out. Wonderful! Cheerio, tour guide! We made our way down the gorge with ease, laughs and tons of pictures. It is a miracle that I didn't fall off of the cliff. I had my camera up and down constantly. 

Also, Europe is funny in a way that they don't have as strict safety guidelines as we do in the states. So everything had few or no railing, and the paths weren't always smooth. Good thing I wore my sneakers and comfortable clothing.

Best Example: We walked across this while holding onto the side of the cliff. We were all the way down the gorge, but still... Europe where are your handrails?! 

 No tight spots, but it did make it better to climb back up once I started glistening. (Remember: women don't sweat - we glisten) The climb down was wonderful and I even found a friendly dog that needed to be loved on. (How I miss being able to do that) After getting as close to the river as we could we decided to head back up for our lunch. 

She kept looking up for her human, he was climbing on the cliff. (With ropes) 

But she was so sweet. (and therefore got lots of attention from me)

Lovely, uphill. You see the problem is that Sevilla is flat, and well… Ronda is not. Making my way uphill took a lot more effort that I thought and I believed that I was going to perspire on the mountainside. I made it back and we found a street that had all kinds of different foods for lunch and we settled on and Italian place. I love Italian food, I really do. If I spoke Italian, this blog would be about my adventures in Italy. (maybe in the future?) I got a fettucine with Mushrooms and a mushrooms sauce. Grab a napkin so that you don't start drooling again. 

Yummy!! 

After lunch we took to exploring more parts of the town, but by then we were a little limited on time so we headed back to the bus station to return home and get a well deserved nap on the bus. However, sadly, our bus was late. Not by a lot, but like 30 minutes. I was worried that they had gone on strike and that I was doomed to sleep outside in the bus station. Fear not, it came and got me safely home. And we even snuck our friend who bought the return ticket (for the later bus, because our bus was "full" - lies) 

Overall, wonderful trip and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the Andalusia area. 

Oh, here are some more pictures. 

Malaga

Malaga was a wonderful little city that is a little smaller than Sevilla. I loved going with the people that I did, actually I just loved everything about the trip. 

We left so early in the morning. But luckily, I got to sleep on the bus. Once we got there, it was a little bit of a treck to get to our hostel, but as soon as we walked in, I fell in love. 

First sight you see when you walk in. 

Beautiful. 

I will not get over tile in Spain. I love all of it. 

Stairway to our rooms. 

Toile Fabric!! I was in love. (And in blue too) 

There was a small collection of plates on the wall. I had a hard time not to want to take one home. 

And each one was different. 

We dropped our bags off, locked our doors (see - look how safe I am?!) and went out with maps to explore the city. It didn't take long to find a more central area of the city that we knew we wanted to see. First - Pablo Picasso's house. The house that he was born it. Pablo. Picasso. 

A quote from Pablo. Sadly, I couldn't take pictures. Of anything. But I snuck in this one on a stairway. I think they were ok with it. 

We also ventured out (not very far- thank goodness) to an older part of the city that held the Alcazaba (sound familiar? not the Alcazar, but also owned by the moorish kings when they occupied Spain) It was beautiful and filled with nooks and crannies, and of course, gardens. 

Look at me, hanging around the Moorish Palace. 

But once we got back to the hostel, we met our neighbors for the night - the germans. All were very nice, and some very very cute. And all spoke good English. We told them that we were going to the beach, and they warned us that it was dirty, and that the good one was about a 30 minute bus ride away. We went anyway, who knows what dirty means to anyone? They may had been beach snobs. 

Abigail, stepping carefully around the trash and into the Mediterranean. 

They were not beach snobs and were 100% correct. The beach was dirty. Nothing too gross or harmful, but just littered with trash, and that was even in the Mediterranean. But fear not, the water was still a beautiful blue color that I haven't seen rivaled. (with my own eyes - National Geographic does not count) 

We spent a little time at the beach and then made our way back to the hostel where we changed and then went out to dinner. Our new German friends invited us to go out with them to a bar that offered a liter sized mojito for 5 euros. 

Fairly good deal if you ask me. And it was pretttyyy tasty. We talked with the Germans for a long time at the bar and got to know them pretty well. I enjoyed comparing cultures and lives, because wonderfully we were all the same age. (ok +/- a few years 20-25) 

We then headed to a bar which was not what we thought it was (expensive) and then meandered back to the hostel where we opened a few bottles of wine and had another chat with the Germans. I love their accents, they are so funny. I found out that they are from a  region in Germany called Bavaria (I nodded, noting to myself to look it up later - southwestern Germany) and that they live in a tiny little "willage" (no V in German) They also invited us to visit their little "will age" if we ever found ourselves in the Munich area. I want to go visit now. They even showed us their Lerderhosen that they brought with them. I only thought little boys and old men wore them. I loved learning this though because I have family origins in Germany. 

Hello new friend. Too bad I never got a facebook request. 

Update: no friend request from the Germans. Oh well. 

Overall, I loved it. Everything about it. I had a wonderful time with wonderful people, new friends and a beautiful little coastal city. 

Classes - the reason I came to Spain?

Classes so far: 

I love going to these classes, and I chose them because I knew that I couldn't take them anywhere else, especially in dear 'ole Clemson. It seems odd to think about, because most of my pictures are adventures on the weekends, 

Spanish Painters 

Love it, and the old man professor and he can tell who is really iterated in the class. I raised my hand to answer a question (I was not being an overachiever… just getting the class to move along.. no one would answer what circa meant in spanish, but everyone knew) And he was like - Oh I can tell you really like art history and when people answer questions well I want to make sure that I write that down so that it can boost your grade at the very end of the semester. Yay! Now I will be sure to be even more interested in everything he says (like it's hard - I love all of it) And poo on everyone who thinks Art History is boring! (thanks Mom for showing me it's not) 

Cooking and Literature

Yep, I am taking a cooking and literature class. The literature is about cooking and the movies are about cooking and the cooking is about me eating whatever we are cooking, and I wish that I could just become a cook. Then I could feed everyone and no one would ever be hungry again. But, as of right now I can't, so this class will have to continue to ensile motivation in me to continue my love of cooking, and all things related to it. 

I love the professor, he's so wonderful and I can tell that he appreciates a good meal (little round around the tummy area - whatever he's happy) and he knows a lot about cooking and things related to cooking. We are supposed to read books about cooking and/or watch movies related to cooking (think Julie and Julia) and then write a paper about it explaining why we liked it and what we thought about the movie or book. (I know - it doesn't quite seem real - it is, I made sure to pinch myself a few times during the first class) 

Our first cooking day - Wednesday - we made something uniquely spanish and something that only Spaniards would really appreciate. Rabo de Toro. The tail of a bull. But not just any bull - one of the bulls that I saw die when I went to the bull fight. Odd how things come full circle. However, I was pleased to see that this is a delicacy and that the entirety of the bull is eaten or used. The bull's tail was surprisingly large and long, who would have thought? 

Flamenco: 

As soon as you read this you think - ohh, she's learning the Flamenco dance.. No, not really. This has been my most surprising class - it's not about the dance, it's not about the culture, it's about the music. I like music, but I have never studied it. My professor is going through the basics of the rhythm and everything. I am struggling, since I have never taken any sort of musical studies. Luckily, I have a friend (Carolyn) in the class who is a music major and she explains most things and helps me out with everything. That part makes the class significantly better, otherwise I think I would switch. 

History of Medieval Spain: 

I love this class. I never thought that medieval anything was going to be my favorite but I have been proved wrong. The professor is a tiny man with a large mustache and a quick manner of speaking. The only thing that I am having a little bit of trouble with are the notes on the power point (wonderful and they are the main point) and having to listen to him while taking notes, all in Spanish. I know he's really passionate about what he is teaching and what he wants us to learn, but I feel like some of the time I am missing out on what he has to say. I wish I could just record everything and that way I could remember everything. 

Image of Spain in Film:

I love my professor in this class, he makes it wonderful. He is funny and upfront about the films we watch and what he likes and thinks is "estupid".  He has a really wide range of movies that he wants to show to us, and I love that he is so enthusicatic about it. He also (wonderfully) started in the 1930s with a classic in Spain, "Carmen, de la Tirana" and I love it. 

Overall, I love all of my classes, and I am fortunate not to have any of them change or cancelled.