Part 1 is our first week in Spain >>HERE
Part 2 starts now:
Monday June 16, 2025
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel in Cordoba. The nice man at the front desk called a taxi for us and it arrived right away. The driver didn't speak English so the hotel guy translated for us. He loaded up our luggage and took us to where the bus was going to pick us up. It was a measly €8.65. Much better and as it should be in the world according to Patti and Lisa! Everyone else in the group schlept their luggage, but we didn’t care. It was €10 well spent to not start our day on a downer.
It was about a two and a half hour drive to Ronda where we walked about 15-20 minutes to get to the cliffs that overview the gorge known as El Tajo.
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| Streets of Ronda |
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| Gorge view on the left side of the bridge |
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| Gorge view on the right side of the bridge |
History of Ronda: it is one of the oldest towns in Spain. The separation was created by erosion which divides the town.
Then we had about three hours on our own. The girls went with us today. There’s a family in our group that have two of the most delightful daughters. One just graduated high school the other just graduated college. They decided to hang out with us for shopping and lunch. Their parents gave us the seal of approval.  |
| A French cotton store. OhLaLa |
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| Random fruit store |
Then we went to a tapas restaurant for lunch. The first one Lisa and I have been to. If you don't know, tapas are like appetizers. Small plates where people often order several to share. Elena speaks some Spanish and was able to help decipher the menu.
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My Potato Salad with Tuna,
Bread with Grilled Pork and Cheese.
The sandwich looks big here but it was roll size, about 4”
Goat Cheese with Jam (one was mine and one was for the girls)
Lisa got grilled chicken skewers and I don't remember what else. |
Back to the bus with a two hour ride to Seville. Adios to our driver Rafael. This was the last stop with our big bus.
History of Seville: Seville is known for it's Moorish and Mudejar architecture depicting centuries under Muslim rule. Horseshoe arches, intricate geometric tile patterns, and Islamic influenced design.
After we checked in, we relaxed for a while and then decided to wander around the streets to find something for dinner. Well, that was an adventure! There are no restaurants in this immediate area. There were several restaurant signs, but they were all closed. We rounded a corner and there was a grocery store. We discovered some premade salads and grabbed a few other things. We went back to the hotel and had a hotel bed picnic, which was actually quite nice. We find good meals in the strangest places.
After dinner I went down to the front desk and asked if they have an area map. He was very nice and circled important sites to see. I asked him about restaurants and he said “no". I said “no restaurants?" He said not here. 🤪 There are some that are about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. He circled the street and wrote down the name of his two favorite places.
Sidenote 1. We’ve been averaging about 16,000 steps per day according to Lisa’s tracker. Today was only 7000. We did have a lot of time sitting on the bus.
Sidenote 2. Since I’ve been asked about the “no tourist protest”. Yesterday our guide told us that protesters were supposed to be in The Alhambra however we did not see any. She said that the protests are mostly because of their dramatic housing shortage. Tourists need places to stay and investors grab real estate to use as Airbnb and VRBO‘s. It is kind of a Catch-22 situation because tourist bring in about half of their economy. No, they aren't specifically anti American.
Sidenote 3. In Madrid, we did see one table with Pro-Palestine Anti-Jew demonstrators. There were about six of them behind the table and there was a police car at each end of the table, so no shenanigans would be happening.
Tomorrow morning after breakfast, we have a walking tour. Then a mostly free day until the evening when we go for the “Live Flamenco Performance”. I’m really excited about that and I’m also excited that they indicate that it is “live”. 💃🕺
Tuesday June 17, 2025
Breakfast at this hotel was very nice, although the cappuccino machine at the last hotel was better.
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| Old bus station, now a plaza with not many tenants |
Agenda:
In the morning you'll meet int he hotel lobby at 9:30 am for your included walking tour of Seville. Most of the day is free following the walking tour and you will meet at the hotel lobby at 8:30 pom so your tour leader can take you to the included 9 pm live flamenco performance at Casa de la Memoria.
We met in the Lobby and started walking towards the meeting place for the tour guide. Ohhhhh, that’s where all the restaurants are!
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| Typical side street in Seville |
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| Iglesia de San Pedro |
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Metropol Parasol,
referred to as the “mushroom umbrella” |
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| Sindone Chapel |
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Sindone Chapel
Tile Wall Art with ornate framing |
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| Tour Guide Roberto |
We ditched the tour early and went shopping! Lots of shoe shops and clothing stores. There was one store where I felt like I could purchase an entire wardrobe. I didn't get anything there but Lisa got a top or two.
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| Jeep Ducks!! |
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| Teas and Spices |
I wanted to get some teas and spices but wasn’t sure how to buy them. Later Elena told me a friend of hers bought some and had a very difficult time getting through TSA because they look like drugs. Hmmmmm. If I see another shop at the market tomorrow I might try to get some. I’ll just put them in my checked bag and hope for the best. ETA: I didn't see another place like this in our travels so no tea and spices for me. We *DO* have a great spice store at home so it's not like I needed them.
We stopped for lunch and ended up with bagel sandwiches.
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| I got salmon, Lisa got turkey |
Then we went back to the hotel and relaxed in the lobby for a while before going to our rooms to try to rest/nap before our late night entertainment.
The flamenco presentation doesn’t start until 9 pm. I’ll update about that tomorrow because by the time we get back to the hotel tonight, it will be WAY past my bedtime.
June 18, 2025
Last nights Flamenco performance! 💃🕺💃 The dancers were phenomenal. It was like tap dance on steroids.
Flamenco is song, dance, guitar music.
You can tell they are telling a story, kind of like opera. I image it was a love story of some sort, like love, loss, love again, but no hablo español. It was definitely filled with passion. It was still quite enjoyable. I highly recommend.
Agenda:
In the morning you will have the option to visit Cadiz by bus or by train. Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in the world, and we feel you will enjoy it's white-washed buildings and beautiful beaches. The rest of the day is free.
We had decided way before the trip to pass on that and schedule a cooking class instead. Everyone else in the group opted out of the trip to Cadiz too and just did their own thing.
We walked over to the Mercado with Erika and Aaron. They are the parents of "our girls". Aaron saved my life. We got off the main road to walk along the river and as we went through a grassy area I stepped off a curb a bus came zooming around the corner. All three of them yelled PATTI. 🚌went BEEP! As I turned to the left and saw the bus, I quickly turned to the right and hopped back up on the curb, but the curb was high and I lost my balance. Aaron grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. I wouldn’t have been hit by the bus but I most likely would have fallen. Whew. Crisis averted. TYJ. We got to the Mercado and found where the class was. They weren’t open yet so the four of us walked around a little bit. Most of the stores were food vendors with olives, meats, cheeses, pastry. There was one souvenir shop, and there was a vendor with beautiful leather.
Long story short - the cooking class was amazing. It was actually the best one I’ve taken.
Long story longer - there were 12 of us including four kiddos. After we got all checked in, Dani took us on a tour around the market to show us the vendors who sell the food we were going to prepare. The building was an old deserted castle, so local vendors would gather there in the mornings to sell their fresh produce, seafood, etc. It is still only open in the mornings, although some vendors stay open till 3 PM.
Menu - Tomato Gazpacho Soup, Spinach with Garbanzo Beans, Traditional Spanish Paella. He told us traditional Spanish Paella has chicken and sometimes rabbit. Today we would only be using chicken. He said traditional Spanish does not include sausage or seafood.
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| Cooking in pearls, channeling Julia Child |
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| Domenico, our instructor |
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| Spinach with Garbanzo Beans was much better than it sounds. |
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| The Paella was much better than it looks plated |
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I don’t know what the dessert was called.
Lemon Sorbet with Cava
It was fresh mint, Prosecco, and something lemon like a
cross between sherbet and ice cream.
Recipe says either ice cream or sorbet. He said use half of each.
Refreshing and delicious. |
Everything it was really good and pretty easy to make. The Paella is a little time-consuming but I will definitely make it. I already messaged Paul that I will be needing to buy a Paella pan! I asked Domenico how he felt about cast-iron. He said it would be okay if it has the rivets going up the side of the pan where the handles are but carbon steel would be better. Okey-dokey then. They will be emailing all of the recipes to us. ETA: Received.
We made a quick swinging back to the leather vendor before heading back to the hotel.
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| Capilla de la Virgin del Carmen |
Lisa napped a little and I rested. Then I went down and hung out in the lobby for a while.
This morning there are was an email from Clint that he has added on dinner tonight at a local Tapas Bar.
I probably won’t have time to update in the morning. Breakfast at 7 and we’re out of here at 7:45 to catch the train to Barcelona. It’s a six hour ride.
Thursday June 19, 2025
Agenda:
At 7:45 you will bid a fond farewell to Seville as you make your way, via taxi, to the Seville train station for a high speed journey to Barcelona. Arriving in Barcelona around 2:30 pm you'll have another short taxi ride to check into your hotel(s). At 6:30 you'll have an in-depth walking tour of the Gothic Quarter and other sections.
Quick breakfast than off to the train station. Once we arrived we had to put our bags on a scanner and the take them down a moving ramp, like an escalator with out steps. Hold on!
Oy, the train! The biggest issue with the train, again was luggage. Someone in our group who got on the train before us helped heave them up from the platform. The car has very limited space to put bags when you board so you have to use large overheads. I have no problem lifting my carry-on roller bag up, but my 50 larger suitcase, not so doable. I saw a guy help a lady put hers up so I asked if he could help me and he put mine up and then Lisa’s. Thank you kind man! Once we got settled in our seats, the ride wasn’t bad, but unfortunately we had two young girls behind us banging on the back of our seats, either kicking the footrest or putting up and down their tray tables.
Six hours later Barcelona. Now, to get our bags down. The nice man was already off the train. Sophia helped me with mine and one of the other girls helped Lisa get hers down. Someone in the group helped us get them off the train back onto the platform. What a PITA. We are not fans of this mode of travel!!
We got taxis and finally arrived at the hotel. Not going to complain about the hotel, I’m just going to stay we would not suggest this place. Small glimpse, it was very plain wrap. Sophia expressed concerns to Clint the next morning and he actually had to call the manager because none of us had A/C all night. Luckily we’re only here two nights. Our group is split into two hotels. We walked over to the other hotel to start our walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. The other hotel had a really nice lobby but tons of construction out front and they said the rooms were small and meh.
History of Barcelona: It is known for it's world-class architecture. The Gothic Quarter is old-Europe streets and alleys. It was under Roman dominion through the Spanish Civil War.
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| Narrow side street in Barcelona |
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| We saw a dragon. |
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| The Mercat |
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| Beautiful produce |
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| Empanadas |
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| Alien fruit |
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| Cathedral of Barcelona |
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| Tile Wall Art |
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| Plaça del Pi |
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| Locals hanging out on the balcony |
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| Today we saw a unicorn |
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| Love to the Loved |
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| Band playing and people circle dancing |
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| Yes, I feel safe here |
When we were done with the tour we went for gelato with our girls and their dad.  |
They got one with churros.
They both agreed these were the best ones yet. |
Friday June 20, 2025
Agenda:
At 8:30 am you'll proceed on foot for an optional tour of Gaudi's magnificent Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Afterwards, the rest of the day is yours until 7 pm when your leader will meet you in the lobby for your farewell dinner*.
*Six people are leaving our group. Erika, Aaron, Elena, and Amara (our family of four) and Laura and Taylor (the mother-daughter dynamic duo).
Breakfast doesn’t open til 8 so this morning I walked down the street to a bakery to get a latte. When I got back, Nikki was outside so we chatted for a while.
ETA: Now that I'm back home I will add that some girl threatened to kill us! She was arguing with some man as she rounded the corner. He huffed off. She walked up to us and put her hand out and said/demanded "Euro!". Nikki said "I don't have any". I shook my head no. Nikki was smoking so she put her hand out again and said "Cigarette!" Nikki said "I don't have any more, it's my last one". She got mad and kicked the metal cabinet that was between me and Nikki. Like a straight out from the hip, HARD angry kick. Nikki and I didn't even flinch. She started to walk away and then turned around and threw two air punches and said "voy a matarte!" (I will kill you!). Nikki and I just looked at her and then back at each other and she walked off yelling. Nikki said "I'm so proud of us!" I said "I took kickboxing lessons a while back and thought I was going to have to put them to good use!" We really weren't scared at all. She appeared to be still drugged up from the night before. Pretty sure I could have taken her down! 🥊😉
Then Lisa came down so the three of us walked back to the bakery so they could get coffee. We had a quick breakfast and then the taxis arrived and went to Sagrada Familia. Gorgeous!
History of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral: The cathedral was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. It is a blend of Spanish Gothic, Art Nouveau, and Catalan modernism architectural styles. It's been under construction since 1882. It's supposed to be completed in 2026, marking 144 years of construction!
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This is the family we adopted.
Our girls and their parents.
The Dad is the one who saved my life the other day. |
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| Jesus, Mary, and Joseph |
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| Three Kings / aka Three Wise Men |
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| My favorite thing inside the Cathedral |
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| The back side of the cathedral |
After the tour we went with the girls through the museum and gift shop, then we broke off and went back to sit in the cathedral for a while before heading back to the hotel. Then we went back to the Mercat for lunch. We got empanadas, chips, watermelon.
I didn’t like my empanada but I ate chips and fruit which was very good. Then we went to a beautiful Christmas store we had walked by on last nights tour.
I “had a moment” with a guy on the street!
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| Hangin’ with the locals |
We went to the gelato place and split a churro with gelato, which we both thought was better than the churro with chocolate. The churros were warm and crispy.
Tonight we have a farewell dinner at a Tapas restaurant. Our little family is leaving and headed to Berlin, then London. We’re going to miss them. Mother-daughter team are leaving too. They are headed to Amsterdam for a few days before heading home. The rest of us are going on to France tomorrow.
Saturday June 21, 2025
Last night was fun at the Tapas restaurant. This time no menu choices, it was all pre fixe. A little concerned about that since Lisa and Cheryl are self proclaimed non-foodies. Sophia had told the restaurant that several people in our group do not eat seafood and they altered accordingly. There was some seafood (a shrimp dish plus cod croquets) but plenty of other things. No pics of the food except dessert.
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| Yummm |
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| Art in restaurant of Ciutat Vella |
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| Groupies |
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| Too much sangria for me!! |
Today’s Agenda,
Morning free time to explore. 3 pm you'll meet back at the hotel where taxis will take you to the Barcelona airport for your included trip to Marseille. Upon arriving in Marseille around 6 pm, a taxi will take you to your hotel for check-in and leisure time. At 8 pm a local expert will meet you and take you on a special night time walking tour of Marseille.
And we’re off to the South of France aka The French Riviera.
This morning I walked down to the bakery for coffee and the barista said “cafe latte hot?”
Yes please!!!
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| So good |
Continued to Part 3>>HERE
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