Ronda

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March 8, 2008

Julie and I went to Ronda today. We had a very confusing start to the day because the bus we were supposed to take, and that we got on, ended up being the wrong bus. So about 5 minutes before we left, we switched buses. It was weird though because they were both the same company, and both had Ronda as their destination. We were so confused, but thankfully got on the right bus! The ride was about 2 ½ hours, and when we finally got there, we got a map and figured out where the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) was.

The New Bridge was built in the 18th century to connect Old Ronda with New Ronda over the Tajo gorge after previous attempts at building bridges had collapsed. We were able to walk into the bridge and see all around. The bridge was used during the Spanish Civil war as a jail in the part we were in. Most of the monuments closed at 1:45, so Julie and I went to a park, Alameda del Tajo, to eat our lunch. The park was so pretty with the trees and fountains, and the views from the end were amazing. Since the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring) was open all day, we went there next. There were various museums that we could see what they use during bull fights, the clothing they wear, pictures, paintings, sculptures, etc. Then we went into the bull ring. This bull ring is one of the oldest bull rings in Spain.

It was around 3 when we were done, and everything was supposed to be opening back up, so we made our way to the Casa Palacio de Mondragón. This used to be a palace used by the Moors, but today it is used as a museum to show the history and culture of Ronda from ancient times until recently. There was one section that showed cave men and how they lived, and when I turned the corner to go in, one of the cave men scared me so much! When we were done there, we found the Casa del Gigante (Giant’s House). We have no idea what this place was, or who the giant was because there really wasn’t anything there. There must have been a “giant” though because there were busts of a giant.

From there we went to find the Arab baths. This made for quiet the adventure! The cobblestone roads were very steep and slippery so we had to be careful not to fall. We managed that! When we got a little father down, and many more steps down, we found the Arco de Felipe V (Phillip V’s Arch), the Puente Romano, and the Puente Arabe. These were bridges built by Romans and Arabs many centuries ago. We finally made it to the Arab baths, after many more steps. We decided to not go in, and just look through the fences because we could see most of it, and we had already seen what the baths looked like. It was then time for our hike up. We had gotten so far down that we didn’t want to have to climb all the steps again, so we opted for the steep streets. We sure got our workouts in! We were so exhausted after all this that we decided to go back to the park and eat our apples and relax for a little bit.

Then to kill time, we went shopping on their main shopping street. We had read about a home-made, Belgium chocolate place, Chocolat, so we ended up finding the store. It smelled so good in there, especially since I hardly have chocolate anymore, that I had to buy some. I bought 4 caramels covered in chocolate, and they were definitely worth it! We walked around a little more, until it was time to take the bus home. Once we got to Sevilla, we headed for Foster’s Hollywood Restaurant, an American restaurant because we have been craving “normal” food. Everything on the menu sounded amazing, and I ended up getting a wrap and Julie had a chicken caesar sandwich. We went home, and shortly afterwards passed out because we were so tired!

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Comments

[anonymous]

Love Ronda!
Hey you!! I'm sorry I've been neglecting to post a comment. I love hearing about your adventures... great times in Sevilla. Did you get a special tour through Ronda at all? In the bullring, my favorite. Did you go to the center of it and clap?? Amazing. Well, Glad you're having fun!! I'll be talking to you soon. Love, E