1. Ronda
2. Grazalema
3. Paterna
4. Bollulos Par del Condado
5. Cadiz
All 5 cities are located in Andalucia (within 1-2 hours of Sevilla) yet, topographically, differ vastly from one another. From the mountains to the beach, rolling countryside to steep cliffs, I have seen it all within the past 6 days. This week has been so packed with adventure, excitement, and exhaustion that, as amazing as it's all been, I am completely overwhelmed and genuinely struggling to find a healthy balance between sleep, schoolwork, travel, and a social life. For the second time since being here, my body has rebelled against me and I have completely lost my voice. It's shot. Kaput. Maybe I could squeal a teeny tiny bit if I really exerted myself... but aside from broken, raspy, guttural attempts I can't communicate verbally. In retrospect it makes complete sense why I'm kinda sick again, but it's so easy to get caught up in the moment here that I don't really realize how much I've over-extended myself until it's too late. With that said, I just woke up from 15 hours of sleep and finally have 2 full days where I can rest and recover without obligations, something that is so necessary for me right now!
SO, let me tell you about my trips!!!
By a huge stroke of luck, I found myself with 6 consecutive days without school this week thanks to Dia de Andalucia, a workers' holiday where classes and many businesses close for the day. Since all of my classes fall on Tuesday/Thursday and this holiday happened to fall on a Tuesday, I didn't have class for a full week from Thursday to Thursday. I decided to take advantage of this unexpected free week by planning a 3 day trip by myself to Ronda and Grazalema, two beautiful cities situated in the mountains and foothills of Andalucia. This trip was fairly impromptu, aka I bought 4 bus tickets and booked 2 nights in a hotel the day before I left, and turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made for myself since being in Spain. The 3 day adventure was unbelievably refreshing in that it enabled me to foster a whole new sense of confidence and self-reliance (because we all know I can be a little spacey from time to time). Done safely and consciously, I would recommend a long weekend of solo travel to anyone. Here are some pictures from Ronda and Grazalema:
Ronda: Day 1
Ronda: Day 1
Ronda: Day 1
Grazalema: Day 2
Grazalema: Day 2
Grazalema: Day 2
Ronda: Day 3
Ronda: Day 3
As you can see, both cities are absolutely breathtaking. I arrived back in Sevilla Tusday night (I left Sunday morning) and on Friday morning left again to visit a factory where olive oil is produced (un molino en espanol) in a small city called Paterna and, right after, a vineyard in Bollusos Par del Condado with my gastronomy interest group. We had a PERFECT day visiting these two pueblos, I am so glad I got the opportunity to go.
When we arrived in Paterna, we were greeted with a breakfast of bread, olive oil, cheese, honey, and juice. YUM.
Me leaning against a giant cylinder of olive oil
The manager of the molino
Our lovely gastronomy group
Extra virgin olive oil in the making
At the winery in Bollulos with it's crazy owner!
Wine aging in its barrel. The layer of residue on top is to prevent the wine from oxidizing.
Comparing wines
Our feast at the end of the tour. Complete with FIVE separate wines to accompany the various courses. Needless to say we all got a tad bit tipsy.
This post is getting so long and I haven't even talked about Cadiz yet! So in an effort to wrap it up, Cadiz is a city on the coast of southern Spain and is one of the "must-see" sites in Andalucia. The seafood there is to die for. To give you an idea of how the trip went... let's just say my iphone is now buried somewhere in a bag of rice, my leggings, skirt, shirt, bra, socks, shoes, and sweater are all still DRENCHED from yesterday, I may have a new scar to brag about on my right hand, and 2 hours after returning to Sevilla I slept for a solid 15 hours. Here are some pictures of the beautiful city:
A foggy morning on the beach
From the top of the Cathedral, overlooking the coast
At the enormous seafood market
Am I in Ireland or southern Spain? This is my favorite place in Cadiz.
Serenity.
Well, that's about all I have for now! I feel like I could go on writing for hours because there is such an abundance of information, stories, and experiences to share, but I think I'll leave it at that. Next weekend I'm off to Barcelona with Lauren to visit our friend Chris from high-school. Hopefully this week will be much more restful than the last one. Hasta luego! xo
BLAIR! This looks absolutely amazing! We have to talk about Ronda and Grazalema and wow I am so jealous you went by yourself--I absolutely want to do that!!! This looks insanely beautiful--you have to fill me in on what you did and where you stayed. I'm GOING.
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