Hotel San Gabriel Ronda

... on to me when I was leaning against a wall. Wasn´t happy that Mark wasn´t around to get a pic though! grrr!! I Want One! Plus I miss my babies, Harvey and Biscuit...

Anyway, the trip was a really good breath of fresh air, in comparison to the hustle and bustle of lots of the parts of Europe we have visited recently.

Hopefully we can get a computer that will upload photos in the next few days! Keep an eye out...

... friends home! This former artist´s club is located in a 17th century townhouse in the heart of the old town and it literally boosts with history! Back in the 19th century it was the summer residence of "Eugenia de Montijo" (Empress and wife of Napoleon III) and "Ferdinand de Lesseps" (architect of the Suez Canal)! The absolutely perfect renovation and divine interior of this landmark townhouse make you fall back in time ...

This is by far the most beautiful city I have visited in Spain! Ronda is where the first bullfight took place and is home to the oldest bullring in Spain. The other students and I started out the day listening to one of our professors give a speech about the history of bullfighting, very interesting but after three hours I was ready to see Ronda. We then went to the bullring and had the opportunity to go inside where the fights take place. It was a feeling like no ...

... order to get an early start in the morning.

Shae question for daddy: She's riding on his shoulders..."Daddy does everyone have hair in their ears? or just you? It's white hair"

Another one, Daddy is trying to get out of the parking garage in Ronda. It's very steep. He stalled the car 5 times and someone was behind him.. I'm laughing hard and Shae is laughing. She says, "Daddy you're a knucklehead." I really don't know where she gets that...;)

... 1:30pm. (We're definitely getting use to late lunches and late dinners). The restaurant was awesome! Mike enjoyed a leg of lamb which was by far his best meal yet. After lunch, Shae did one more jump and then we toured around the town. It has views from all sides. We headed out and drove to the lake which was also an amazing drive. On the way we found hiking trails so Mike decided it was a perfect place to go for a ...

... top) used by the Inquisition, the Church where the Inquisition held its sessions for 300 years, the Wine Museum (remember, Susan NEVER passes a wine exhibit and while I was set aback at the entry fee, I left feeling educated and spirited). Along the way, we toured homes, rather palaces, of the well-off Counts and “Dons” of the area. About 4pm, lunch was served in a typical narrow street patio: my routine still ...

... we shouldn't do because of our ethics, but hell, we needed a good meal! The family run place was cosy, highly authetic and served absolutely excellent food, I had garlic soup and the first of many excellent gambas... Can't say my breath was all that tremendous, but the night was still romantic, and as we curled up to play cards in our tiny Pensiòn run by chubby farmer Gonzales, a roaring sky-ripping thuderstorm burst over the hills and plains of Andalucia...

... meet people here they do that kiss kiss thing on the cheak? I kinda like it. Well, in the afternoon we went to Sevilla. Our room is really big! We shopped again then had dinner. May 24, 2002 I woke up and took a shower, my hiar looked normal becuase there was a hair dryere even though it was really bad. At breakfast I was trying to roll an orange and it opend and sprayed all over my white pants. THIS IS WHERE MY JOURNAL FOR THIS TRIP ENDS. IT WAS A GREAT ...

... me to a nicer dinner overlooking the big bridge to make up for the hostel, and we called it a night early. To my delight, the hostel didn't have availability for the second night we were there, so we switched to place called Herminos Macios. This family owned hotel, with an accompanying restaurant and bar, was much nicer and atmospheric and it even had a ceiling fan! The owner was extremely accommodating and breakfast was on the house! Our first full day in Ronda, we explored ...

Marbella is one of the major tourist cities on the Costa del Sol. Hotels are everywhere. I should have realized that all day tours leaving from Marbella, would consist of mostly tourists. Not just tourists, but tourists with an average age of 65 years old! Subsequently, I was the youngest person on the bus going to visit the mountain city of Ronda that day. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky when the bus made its way through the mountains on ...