Spain

Day 14 – Explore Madrid

Tour of Madrid this morning. We started by bus and ended by walking.

There is an Egyptian temple of rah in the middle of the city.. I don’t know what that is about. She told us when it was moved here and all about that but she didn’t tell us why it is here.

Our guide’s voice made me sleepy when we were on the bus and when we were walking around she walked very fast and then stood and waited for us. There are some pretty steep hills and it is so crowded here that it is hard to stay together as a group. As she spoke to us, she kept turning around to make sure we all heard but instead, we all heard a little of it instead of all of it. She was not my favorite guide and I did not figure out how to go anywhere even though she kept giving us directions.

This afternoon there are no s palace web(2) cheduled activities so palace web(1) Mom and I decided to tour the palace. It is still an active palace and you can only tour it when the royal family is not using it. We only got to see about 20 of the 2000+ rooms but it was still a big place. The courtyard is huge and can open up to the cathedral next door. There is a large staircase when you enter and there is a huge courtyard in the center of the building that we got to look over from the windows. Every ceiling is painted but my favorite was a 3D ceiling. They would not allow pictures so I can only tell you that it was pretty cool. They also had umbrellas for us to use when we crossed the courtyard to the main building — that was a nice touch.

After a short siesta, Pilar took us for hot chocolate and churros. It is like a cup of melted dark chocolate and you dip fried bread into it. Much too rich for me.

Then mom and some of the other ladies went to the bull fight. She has described it to me and I am glad I did not go but she says she had to experience it one time.

We did not stay at a Parador or Pousada in Madrid, it was a hotel. At this hotel we had access to the rooftop gardens and pool — we went to look at it but the rain and the cold kept us from staying there long. We also had access to a club room with some snacks and drinks. I spent some time in this room with the other people from the group while Mom was at the bullfight. It was pretty cool to just hang out with these world travelers and find out about their other trips and experiences. It was also nice to stop by the club room for a cold water, coke or beer (no wine here because wine is associated with food) and little snack when returning from walking around Madrid — made a great place to meet people from the group and find out what they did that day.

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#VickieTravelz

My mother and I are taking a trip called the Back Roads of Iberia: Spanish Paradores & Portuguese Pousadas. These are our daily adventures – written for our family while we were traveling – April / May 2016.

Day 10 – Explore Ronda

Walked around Ronda today on a city tour. Good guide, the history of this city is very interesting.

In our free time we took a hike 1/2 way down the gorge to see the waterfalls. It was steep and no hand rails. Going down was not so bad but coming back was difficult. I almost had a panic attack several times because I am just not good with heights. It was a very nice view.

In the evening several of us went to a guitar concert. He was good. I have never seen someone play the guitar like that. He strummed and picked the top strings with his fingers at the same time.

I want to take a moment to talk about the hotel. It is in the best location.. Looking over the gorge and we have great balconies. The rooms are big and it is nice. The pillows are not very comfortable and the water temperature fluxuated the entire time I was showering. So far in Spain, they actually let you keep a towel for two days if you hang it back up. The towels have also been huge! No air conditioning but outside weather is cool so we open the window or door and let the air circulate. Such little differences make the trip more interesting.

For dinner we went to the McDonalds next door to the Pousada and had a beer, because we could!

We are walking quite a bit each day. I think the lowest mileage so far has been about 4. The walkways are also cobblestone and uphill more than this flatlander is used to. If I weren’t eating and drinking so much i would probably lose some weight.

Goodbye Ronda!

#VickieTravelz

Day 9 – Overland to Ronda

Goodbye Carmona… Wish we could have spent more time visiting!

We drove through the mountains today and it was beautiful. Stopped for a coffee at a little town and then visited a ranch that breeds bulls and horses.

The ranch was quite cool and the process is very interesting. I learn something new everyday. As it was pointed out today, your hamburger comes from a breeding farm .. Here they sell all the animals to the butcher, there is just a public art form that includes the public killing of one of the hundreds of bulls prior to the sale. Continue reading Day 9 – Overland to Ronda

Day 8 – Seville

Staying in a castle on top of a hill… It is super cool and great view. Food is good but it isn’t as good as last hotel. Room is much bigger and towels are giant! I have found out that I just cannot take a shower in a tub with a 1/2 shower door without getting water on the floor. I do not know why.