Sevilla

 15 April

Our drivers collected us at 9am - they have been impressively prompt - and we drove off to our first stop, Badajoz.  Badajoz is a city in southwest Spain. It’s known for its Moorish historic quarter with the fortress like Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. Overlooking the city, the Alcazaba of Badajoz is a Moorish citadel with fortified walls and verdant gardens. It also encompasses the Provincial Archaeological Museum and the 12th-century Espantaperros Tower.  We wandered around the citadel which had very narrow steps (Suzy was boasting about her small feet which were more suited to the steps than mine!) and low ceilings - Ian left a bit of his head behind in one doorway.  Ouch.  I was very careful to duck VERY low!  We arrived at 11am and it was clearly too early - the restaurants were just setting up. We had two hours to wander around the city and it increased in busyness as the time went on!  We also visited the church in the city and the Nunnery.  The photo board on the side of the Nunnery showed a beautiful courtyard, but we were only able to see the church - Suzy quipped that the picture was an add for nuns, "see this courtyard for the rest of your life!".  We went down to the river to look at the old Roman bridge.   Then back into town for a sandwich to sustain us.  Di & I shared a potato omelet roll, delicious despite the carbs on carbs!  Greg had  his tortilla with jamon.

The big attraction of our next stop, Merida, was the best Roman ruins in Spain.  The museum was free - although we had to line up to get a ticket! - and beautifully set out with a heap of Roman artifacts, statures and grave stones found during evacuation.  Most of us took our time wandering through - we had 90 minutes there - but Fiona, Peter, Dean and Esther had worked out that the city ruins were across the road and went there instead.  Suzy and Ian had 10 minutes there, but we realised it was impossible to do both, so we enjoyed their photos instead!  Back on the road for the final two hours to Sevilla!

16  April

What a big day out to Ronda and the White Villages!  We had to be in the lobby by 8.10am!!  The bus didn't arrive until 8.30...but other than that, the day was brilliant.  We started off by driving toward one of the famous white villages set on the side of a mountain with an old Moorish fort at the top.  Before we got there we had a little detour to visit a olive oil merchant.  Our guide there told us all about how they produce their high end, very special olive oil, and we were all getting a bit excited to buy some.  After tasting (and it was very tasty) I rushed into the ordering room to discover that they don't ship to Australia because of our customs fees - too complicated.  Anywhere else in the world is fine!  We have  zero room in our luggage so we waved a sad farewell.. I'm sure they were sad too, with 16 Aussies on the bus (Jack wasn't feeling too great and didn't join us). 

We went to the rock look out to get photos of the white village, then got in the bus and drove away!  We all thought we were going to have a wander through this picturesque village... but no. Looking only! It was onto Ronda.  Ronda had been on the agenda since Dean send a photo to our China Mob group chat and said "We should go here".  And so we did!  In Ronda we were met by another guide - in the Malaga region it is a requirement that you use local guides - who took us walking through "new" Ronda.  We went to the Bull fighting ring and had a tour through the building along with an explanation of what happens (spoiler alert: it is not good for the bull)  and then across the famous bridge to old "Ronda .  The Puente Nuevo, or new bridge, was stared in 1759 and took 34 years to build.  An earlier bridge had been built in 1735; it collapsed in 1741 and killed 50 people.  The "new" bridge would kill many more if it fell today, as literally hundreds of people are on it at any one time!  We went into a monk's retreat (the ticket was included in our tour) which had great views of the bridge and back to the new city.  The tour ended at 2.30 and we were all so hungry!  Rather than try to get a table for a big group we split into smaller groups.  Greg got a table inside the restaurant right next to the cathedral.  It was pricer than others around it, but by that time, we didn't care....we just wanted food!  We ordered a selection of tapas (small plates) and plates (larger plates!) and proceeded to eat and eat and eat until we were full.  Then one last plate came out - the famous oxtail. Apparently it was amazing, just as well as it was funny to watch Suzy, Ian, Di and Greg squeeze it in!!  We made it back to the bull fighting area by 4pm for the trip back to Sevilla." We had a balcony on the top floor of the hotel - so we met there for sangria (expertly prepared by Greg!) and nibbles as we'd had such a late lunch!

17 April

Today was a "free" morning in Seville.   This happened because somehow our tour was cancelled - apparently by me, but after some arguing with Viator I had to accept I'd made a mistake and booked our tour of the Alcazar for 5pm that afternoon. Some of us decided we really needed a pedicure - our feet have done a lot of hard work!! After our pedi Di and I met up with Simone and Lucy for a horse and cart ride.  It was the middle of the day and pretty hot and sunny (both Simone and I were regretting leaving our hats in the hotel!).  I managed to get a selfie of us all in the carriage, which meant connecting my selfie stick for the first time this trip - it's quite a pain as you have to connect it to your bluetooth  each time you use it.  We clipped around at a fair pace with the driver yelling back the names of highlights as we passed them.  Luckily we had Simone to translate his Spanish!  The horse and carts are quite fearless in the traffic!  They assume right of way!  We went alongside the river which was quite green looking but beautifully landscaped on the banks.  Apparently Sevilla is the hottest city in Spain and the highest temperature is at 7pm!   We were grateful every time we were in the shade.  We went through the park Di had wanted to visit - only briefly, but at least she saw it!!  Back in the square Di and I were starving and shared a baguette!  Greg was off exploring gardens with Suzy, Ian and Deb - and he had a horse and carriage ride too!

 Di and I met Greg in the line to get in. We had a very limited time in the cathedral as we couldn't get in until 3.50pm!!  As soon as we entered we were directed up the Girdali bell tower.  No steps - it was a never ending circular incline.  Di was optimistic that each turn would be the last!  I advised her that this attitude meant she was destined to be constantly disappointed!  It took us 15 minutes at a fair clip to make it to the top and crowd our way around under the bells and try to squeeze in for a few photos, then we went down again!!  The sign at the bottom did warn against old people, pregnant and large people from attempting the ascent, so we all felt much younger for having smashed it out!  The cathedral was immense and quite breathtaking.  Full of amazing art  - paintings and statues.  The soaring ceilings were amazing.  It was hard to show how huge it is in photos.  We ran into Russell and Tania who had also only been able to get late entry tickets and we rushed around seeing as much as we could.  Christopher Columbus's tomb was a highlight.  He'd have been thrilled I'm sure to see how magnificent his final resting  place is!

After my stuff up with viator I booked a last minute tour of Alcazar only with Get your Guide.  After racing through the Cathedral we met up with Suzy, Ian, Tania, Russell, Lucy, Simone for our tour.  Our guide, Raoul, was very passionate about Sevilla and its history, and he told us long and fascinating stories.  Unfortunately this meant we spent lots of time standing around. which made our backs hurt.  We all agreed we  would have preferred to hear the information as he walked and talked (we had very good "whispers" so we could hear him well!).  There are acres of gardens and many more rooms he could have walked us through while he talked!  After the tour we had a little more time to see a bit of the gardens - a must for GOT fans Tania and Russell, and the old Gothic castle.  There have been continuous improvements over the years and many changes done to the three palaces on the grounds.  In fact Raoul told us that the courtyard area, when he was a boy, was paved with marble and had a fountain.  When the fountain broke down and they went to repair it, they discovered original Moorish brickwork and the remains of a vertical reflection pool.  The walls were uncovered and the pool was rebuilt in the original style.  He surmised there was still lots to be found under the floors of all the castles!  He told us the story of the worst king of Spain - Ferdinand the 7th.  This was not Raoul's opinion!  It had been written many times that he was the very worst king of Spain.  In fact when Napoleon invaded Spain he sold the county to him and went into wealthy exile.  When the army got rid of  Napoleon they asked him back.  Better a bad Spanish king rather than a French man!

Tania had booked a restaurant to celebrate Russell's birthday but the restaurant cancelled it - we were too big a number!  We walked there anyway, arriving at 8.38 (it opened at 8.30) hoping to get a selection of smaller tables,  Despite only opening 8 minutes before they only had a table for 3 or 2.  We left Tania, Russell and his sister Julie to dinner, and walked a bit further down the road, where we saw a likely place with tables and chairs outside.  As we were deliberating Richard and Heather arrived, so we all went across the road and after some drama from the head waiter, they managed to put together three tables so the 9 of us could sit together.  The food was really tasty - we all rated the stuffed mushrooms 10/10! - and Lucy, Ian, Suzy, Di and I enjoyed some rose Cava to go with it.  Afterwards, the lure of the ice cream shop across the road was too much, and most of us enjoyed some ice-cream!