The Alhambra

Just some fotos.

This complex is amazing and really well preserved. We booked the tickets a few months ago and were delighted that we had morning tickets and not ones in the sweltering heat of the afternoon.

Jerez

We got to Jerez at 2 without a hotel. We had a couple on radar, so we went to first on our list. We pulled up, grabbed our gear and went to see the receptionist. She said they had two rooms left, non smoking or smoking. Non smoking 70€....a little out of our price range but it was 2am and we just wanted a room. So we took the keys and headed to the top floor. We got to the room and found it was a luxurious suite! With a private balcony, badit,living room, air conditioning and king size bed! What a score! We didn't want to sleep just enjoy the room.

The Sherry capital of el mundo! I don't think we've ever had sherry except in our turtle soup! We did a tour at Tio Pepe, the Gonzalez Byass vineyard. It was awesome.  It took about an hour and a half and we watched a movie, took a little train, walked, and drank. The one picture below is of the state of the art tasting room. Four full gasses of sherry each (I drank extra bc Thomas had to drive!) And some tapas made for a fabulous lunch.

La Virgen del Mar

After a wondeful stay in Riviera del Sol we had an open day and nothing planned before heading to Granada. So we asked our hosts in Riviera and they recomended driving the coast towards Gibralter then up the west coast to Cadiz and ending up in Jerez (the home of sherry).

We headed out in the afternoon and drove the coast until we were hungry. *This happens very often, and in fact we didnt stop when hungry, we stopped after about an hour.  We also passed Sotogrande, where Lechuza is playinng in August.  We came across the beach town of Tarifa.  You can take a hydrofoil and it takes 35 minutes to get to Tangiers! we wished we had more than a day to spare!  Little did we know this is the windiest beach in the world and home to WindSurfing captiol of the world too! The main stretch of the town was littered was surf shops, surfing schools, and all the big name sponsored stores in surfing. Tons of hipster surf bums on skateboards and painted VW bugs.  Very Endless Summer.  We found a restaurant on the beach and enjoyed some local fish. Caitlin had a fried fish plate and Thomas had the tuna steak. This was easily the biggest piece of tuna I had ever seen and grilled just like a ribeye! Next to us at lunch we met the owner of the restaurant that said most places in the town were closed today for the celebration of the Fishing Virgin. We both just said ok, and had no clue what she was talking about and thought the spanish translation was wrong? ? ? After lunch we hit the road again in direction of Cadiz.

We pulled into the pennisula of Cadiz and followed the signs to the tourist info. We got lost for about 30 minutes or so. The streets of Cadiz are jammed with cars parked on each side and then the old town streets are barely wide enough for a car. We made our way around a couple round abouts and found the tourist station. I dropped Caitlin off and said I would drive around the corner and pick her up. I then proceeded to go down one of the streets in the old part of Cadiz and got lost and stuck. After two old women pointed me in the right direction I made my way back and swooped up Caitlin. At this point I was done with Cadiz! The information booth woman directed Caitlin to the town of Rota. Across the bay from Cadiz. So we headed there.
We arrived in Rota and drove through a quaint little strip of bars and restaraunts on our way to the beach. We parked the car and retreated to the sand for a siesta. We found out that on the bay in the town of Rota is one of the three USA naval station in Spain. We could see it from the beach. The beach was very windy as well but it didn't stop Cait from burrying in a jacket and taking a nap. I sat and took some pictures while sand blew in my face every few minutes. It was crazy, but we weren't the only ones out on the beach. After a little while I heard a roar of a crowd and a band play a song. I looked around and couldn't see anything. When Cait woke up we walked in the direction of the noise.

Around the inlet from where we were laying we found the entire town dressed in their Sunday best starring into the harbor. Everyone was just gathered around waiting for something. What? We didn't know, but everyone was here so we waited too. After about 20 minutes we saw the crowd gather and a little fishing boat came coasting the harbor with a giant statue of the Virgin Mary on board. We both looked at each other and said "the fishing virgin"! The statue was carried off the boat by men in white with back harnesses, up the loading ramp, to a massive float. Then the crowd made an isle as the float was carried from the warf towards the middle of the town. A marching band played a melody and the entire town gathered and took pictures as the procession commenced.

We followed the procession for a few blocks with the crowd.

Once we came to a plaza, more people were there!  The Spanish stay up late, but tonight was nuts.  The processional didn't start til it got dark at 10, and families were still hopping until 1am!  Like the whole family, and tons of little kids playing futbol in the streets and running around while their parents enjoy some tapas.

That was our night after that.  Tapas.  We stopped many times at different bars for a small drink and plate of food to share.  The first stop was chicken and french fries... don't worry it gets better... Place two included pork loin with a sherry sauce, olives and stuffed mushrooms.  but the best little place had steamed mussels, pan con tomate and fried peppers.  A whole plate of fried green small peppers. It was absolutely amazing.

It was 1 before we set off to Jerez.

Mas fotos

Because you've asked.... more bullfight!!!!

The Beach & a Bullfight

Today we woke up after a late night arrival in Riviera del Sol. We secured a condo before leaving Toledo at the last minute.  $44 a night for a condo with a stunning view.  We got the keys from the owner when the morning came we had a amazing view of the Mediterranean and vast mountainsides full of condos and apartments. We headed straight to the beach to soke up some rays and try the water.....hace frio! We both thought the water was a bit cold, but after laying in the sun for a couple hours, diving right in the sea was very refreshing.

With a lil tan going we decided to head South West for lunch and in search of a market to inquire about bullfight tickets. Why? Because every Sunday in the spring/summer there are bullfights. We hopped in the car and headed to Marbella to locate the market. No luck at this market, we were instructed to go to the market in Puerto Banus, just a few kilometers away. Little did we know Puerto Banus is the retreat for the who`s who of Europe. According to the guide book there are more Rolls Royce`s per capita than anywhere else in the world. Once we found this swanky market in the middle of an outdoor shopping mall we found the ticket counter. And the directioning was all en espanol, so we are lucky it only took an hour!

Not remembering what our tour guide told us the day before in Madrid plaza de torros, we opted for the cheap seats at 40 euro a piece. The sports ticket man that I am thought no way it was sold out and we could move around. No problem we thought and then went and found some lunch and hopped back in the Med after to cool off. We then left the ritzy beach town to go back to Marbella as we had an hour until the bullfight and giving us enough time to get lost and find parking.

We arrived at the Plaza de Torros and had about 20minutes til the start. There was a line at the ticket window, maybe our plan to move around would back fire? On the way into the arena a man was perched behind a cement counter with cardboard signs with the words "BAR" scribbled on them. I had Caitlin take a picture for all to see. "Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" The man shouted. Little did we know that was not the last time we would here that phrase. We climbed 7 rows up in the middle if our side of the arena and found the seats. Not a bad view, seemed great. After a look around we noticed the different in price. The arena was broken into 8 sections split in half by two railings. The one side completely in the natural shade of the arena. The other side was in direct sunlight. The tour guide the day before told us you always want to sit in the shade, so our tickets were directly in the middle of the sunny side. After five minutes and two bottles of water I looked at Caitlin and we just laughed cause we knebw there was no way we weren't going to get sun burnt and no way not to sweat our asses off. *I really thought we were going to end up with heatstroke. It was that bad.

As more tourists filed into the seats around us we overheard a British man sum up the seating location nicely, "This is a bloody endurance test!" He exclaimed as sweat poured down his long sleeve dress shirt.

Another great experience of the bullfight was the drink hawkers. There was one peanut and chips girl. Then there was a combination of four men carrying dual 5 gallon buckets filled with with drinks and ice. These four men covered the entire arena, which we estimate seated about 12,000. Today, it was only a 1/3 full. But alas, these four drink vendors did not leave any seat unatainable. I watched as they scurried in and out of crowds in the rows, they took the buckets up and down steps countless times. All while shouting "Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" All for 2 euro each.

As the time approached for the fight, I thought I must have a cerveza for this, alas.."Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" Perfect timing by the vendor. Always one in sight! We then watched as a parade of matadors, picadorres and bandalleros entered the arena. Then they all took their respected spots outside the ring. And then came the first bull. We watched in curriosity and amazement. After the first matador performed his skill, we both were very intrigued. Caitlin was a bit turned off, but I was more curious as to how this sport has survived? Why was this not sold out? Why was there no sponsorships anywhere? Why were we sitting on cement steps covered in bird crap? Why could thousands of people watch a bull die in arena and cheer? The answers to these questions soon, but first "Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" Ah yes, my second cerveza and time for the second matador.

There were three matadors of the day, each performed twice. The third matador was Caitlins favorite. *Because he was muy guapo:-)  "Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" While enjoying my third cerveza and starting to sweat through all layers of clothes we watched a matador perform with great movements and carisma. I started to realize some of the answers to my questions. This sport has been around in this bullring since the late 1700s and hasn't changed one bit. I assume every aspect of the contest has remained in tact. What other sport has never adapted, never sold out? Yes bull rings are used today for redbull freestyle motocross, but no enhancements have been made to this arena.

"Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" Time for another and time for a seat upgrade for the 4th bull. We moved down to the third row and on the corner of the shaded section, by this time the sade had moved to engulf nearly 60% of the arena and in a few minutes our new seats would be covered! While sitting closer we watched my favorite matador perform. He was a great showman! And not to mention he looked a lot like Tom Cruise!

*Note from Cait: I drank water because I am smart... or weak... Its not that I hated the bullfight, its that I don't know how they are allowed to do this. How is this legal? Why hasn't PETA shut this down? I mean the picadors stab them with a lance to make sure the bulls are "strong" and then dude jab colored hooks into the wound, then they let them bleed while running in circles and eventually stab them through the heart. And sometimes, like with one matador, they have to stab them like 5 times for them to die. WTF!  At least they take the bulls to the butcher and sell the meat for restaurants, but it was seriously intense watching bloody bulls drop dead.

"Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" Yeah, another. At this time we were on bull 5, in the shade, and watched the British fellow (and his three amazingly sunburnt little pale kids) fail his endurance test and exited early. "Agua, Fanta, Coca Cola, Cerveza!" One last cerveza for the last bull. Throughout the day musica was played by a 10 person band in the top of the arena, it corresponds to the different parts of the matadors performance. By the last battle, the band had stopped, taking a siesta. The local fans were a bit restless and shouting more and more. The last matador performed well, but no trophy was granted from the presidente, the restless fans then started chucking their seat cushions into the arena floor. The first matador of the day who claimed three trophies, the first ear of bull 1 and both ears of bull 2, was carried out of the arena on shoulders. As is tradition.

I enjoyed the tradition, the purity, and the cerveza. Is there a better way to spend a Sunday? In america we watch football or go to nascar, but if I lived in Spain....I would be deeply indulged in the bullfighters realm.

As we have come to realize, most people do not like the bullfights. I can definitely see why. I also did some research before coming and know animal rights groups have successfully shut down numerous bullfights over the past couple years. I am very glad I was able to catch one now. The sport will never be the same, it will continue to battle the public, maybe if they had sponsors or updated arenas it would appeal to more. But that is not bullfighting. Do not expect a Nike red cape anytime soon.

Holy Toledo

As Thomas is pretending he is speed racer while going 140km/hr, I'll try to blog and not puke.  But I may puke anyways since I am chowing down on some bacon and chese flavored corn chips.  Restaurants aren't open yet for the night and we were starving... anyhow, we are headed south.  We decided that since we didnt have hotel/apt plans for the next few days and werent tied anywhere, we wanted to go straight to the beach.

We spent the last 24 hours in Toledo.  About an hour southwest of Madrid, nestled on a hilltop, overlooking the plains and farms is the magestic little walled town of Toledo.  We had a hotel booked here, and upon checking in, we asked the receptionist our go to question where to eat for dinner.  She gave us a map of the city and instructed us on how to get up the hill and we were off.  We spent a few hours looking at the monuments, sitting in squares and peeking in shops.  Streets are not all named, winding and definitely not all on the map... you get where this is going, right?  We decided to find the recommended restaurant, and another hour and a half later, finally found it.  This is not a big city.  It is however filled with steep steps and inclines, that we seemed to traverse forever. We went up and down and in and out. At one point Thomas even followed the map step by step and we still were lost deep in Toledo. We worked our way to a plaza and decided to take the Magellan route to find the restaurant. We headed straight out to the cities edge and went halfway around the hillside and then cut back in. When we finally found the place, we walked down another few flights into cave like rooms in the basement and inhaled our cervezas.  Both of us were driping in sweat and legs burning. We had the sampler of meats tapas and a salad topped with cheese and mushrooms.  The meats turned out to be in a large cast iron skillet, and lucky for us, we just hiked for a few hours so were able to devour it. During dinner Thomas checked his watch. 12,789 steps ! Holy Toledo.

Today, we woke up late, thanks to jet lag and the blackout curtains of the hotel, and went into town again to take a tour of the Catedral Primada. Construction began in 1227 was completed in 1493.  It is incredible and extremely ornate.  We got guided tour headsets and spent an hour doing that.  More wandering and site seeing then we got on the road.
Now we are driving past giant bull shaped billboards on the highway, anxiously awaiting being able to bask on the the beach and swim in the Med :-)

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Don Quijote and his windmills

I knew that they were said to have existed, and about 45 minutes outside of Toledo, we found the giants in Consuegra!