We stayed with our good friends Lonnie and
Cheri King on the Naval Station based in Rota. Our hosts acted as our
personal guides and were able to take us to some of their favorite places,
including some that our visit gave them a good excuse to see before they
moved back to Guam.
With priorities established, we set off for the town of Jerez. Here we visited the Bodega (sherry producing cellars) of Harvey's Bristol Cream. We had an excellent tour of the various stages of production, which concluded with a tasting! Ah yes, what a nice drop it is!!
The nearby town of Ubrique is famous for it's wholesale prices on leather .. Sandy resisted the temptation! We stopped in Grazalema for lunch .. one of many quaint "pueblos blancos" (white towns) usually situated in a picturesque setting on a cliff top!
In Seville we were awed by the Cathedral (largest Gothic church in the world). It has been described as "A building so magnificent a scale, that posterity will believe we were mad"!! Inside were staggering numbers of golden treasures, paintings and fine examples of woodcarving. Great views of the city are to be had from the top of the Giralda Bell Tower. We also visited the Alcazar (Fortified Moorish Palace).
Ronda is another pueblo blanco divided in two sections by the Guadalevir River and Gorge. We attended a bull fight there during the Goyesca Fiesta. The bull ring is the oldest and most venerated in Spain. It was here that bull fighting as we know it today began. Originally the Rejones would fight the bulls on horseback. One day an aristocrat fell off his horse and Francisco Romero jumped into the ring to distract the bull with his hat. The crowd loved it .. and so matadores and fighting the bulls on foot was borne!! We were lucky to see the horseback version! We know people have "differing" thoughts on bull fighting, but we accept it as a cultural tradition and the horsemanship was superb!
Granada is home to the magnificent Alhambra Palace (last stronghold of the Moors). We did the pre-recorded self tour and even though we spent two hours there it was a bit rushed! The intricate stucco decorations and overall moorish architecture were impressive. The extensive flower gardens complete with neatly arched hedges and fountains were a good way to finish up the day!
Then came 11 September! We were on the Rock of Gibraltar! Prior to finding out about the horrific situation unfolding in New York and Washington we enjoyed our visit. Good old fish and chips for lunch were a treat and we even found a "McEwan" brand beer (Sandy's family name)! We caught the cable car to the "top of the rock" and wandered around the Siege Tunnels, St. Michael's Cave and the Apes Den.
