chit chat

On the train...

The past week has been filled with many naps and hot chocolate! They make delicious churros here, which are essentially just a fried bread. But pair them with a hot chocolate and you have heaven! (And hot chocolate here is more like drinking a Hershey bar.) The best bargain for a chocolate caliente y churro is in the village - only 1.35 euros. If you head into the larger city of Ronda, it's 3 euros. With the exchange rate as it is (and it keeps getting worse while we are here), I tend to have my little treat locally. Yum, yum!

Since last week, we have ventured into Ronda a few times and viewed the sites. The Plaza del Torros is a very important bull fighting ring and it's beautiful. It's not bullfighting season yet, but someday I would love to see a fight. Yes, I know they kill a bull or two, but the energy of the day would be amazing.

Alcazar in Sevilla

Last Sunday, we attempted to take a short day trip to an olive oil mill. It's about 20 minutes away. Well, not knowing the area, we took the windy, twisty route that took over an hour to get another village on the way. Being the American tourist with an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads, I had a trail of cars and motorcycles behind me. Trust me - if I could have turned back or pulled over, I would have. My husband drove back on another road - all we really can do about that day is laugh! We are going to try again today on the regular highway and cross our fingers that it is really only 20 minutes!

View from our bedroom

It's been in the 60s and 70s here. One would think that the beach would be ok with that weather, right? So, Wednesday we jump in the car and head to the coast for a day trip. It was pretty chilly here and a stiff wind had sprung up. No problem, we thought, the beach will be warmer. So here I get out of the car, with my mini skirt and flip flops, only to find it a bit warmer, but a wind that was even stiffer! Estella had to wear jeans under her skirt or she would have froze. Then, she spotted the playground equipment and headed on her own to play. If she can remember any of this trip, it's going to be of swings, pigeons and fountains! Needless to say, we hopped back in the car within 45 minutes and headed home...

One track mind...

Yesterday we went on a hike in the natural park up the road. It was a very lovely park with large trees and terraced hills. There was no underbrush, so we couldn't really get lost. On the road we came across several bands of caterpillars that were crossing the road in a chain. I have never seen anything like it - one of the chains was at least six feet long!

Chain of caterpillars