Ronda to Sevilla

On Monday we met our guide Alfredo at the parador for a walking tour of Ronda.  Alfredo was fantastic. Not only was he very knowledgeable about the whole  area, he was fun and personable.  He told us that he is considering purchasing an apartment as an investment to rent on AirBnB.  He would greet all the visitors, and also offer his guiding services.  This struck me as quite entrepreneurial. It's so interesting to see how our Silicon Valley companies are reshaping the world economy!

Alfredo first gave us an overview of the area, pointing out which crops were being grown (olives, almonds, cork).  

We then went to the bullring where we spent quite a bit of time.  It was fascinating to hear the history of bullfighting in Spain, but also to see the back rooms and how they manage the bulls before heading into the arena.  We made plenty of comparisons to the NFL (the matador being the quarterback, of course).

We then toured a mansion that is now a museum ... Lovely to see the Islamic influences again including beautiful tiles, wood carved doors, gardens.  And, of course we stopped into the Cathedral.  This, like many, was a former mosque converted into a church.  It has both Gothic as well as Renaissance elements.

We split after the tour with Len and I going to the Pinedo museum.  He was an artist in the 20th century who was a friend of Picasso and painted in the cubist style.  Both the building and the art were worth seeing.  The others headed to a street artist we had seen earlier to buy some of his work.

After a 2 hour bus ride we arrived in Sevilla.  (The opera Carmen keeps playing in my head every time I think "Sevilla").  We are staying at the magnificent Hotel Alfsonso XIII, where no square inch is without some kind of decoration (Ann said the bathroom made her dizzy). 

Our evening activity was a cooking lesson with Amelia and her assistant Yolanda.  Amelia explained many of the culinary traditions in Spain, and then set us up to chop, mince and dice all sorts of stuff that eventually were combined into a wonderful meal of guacamole, beans with (for some of us) local ham,  chicken paella, and strawberries and cream for dessert.  Amelia was quite lively and enjoyed critiquing our work; Karl's onions simply were not chopped fine enough.  

She had a fabulous location with a view of the cathedral.  At night, it was lit beautifully and surrounded by bats who were eerily lit as well.

Donna