TravelswithCharie

Ronda "Ronda is the place to go if you are planning to travel to Spain for a honeymoon or for being with a girlfriend. The whole city and its surroundings are a romantic set." Ernest Hemingway Ronda is the first stop along the route of the pueblos blancos in Andalusia. Framed by blue skies and the green valley below, it lives up to its title as the City of Dreams.

"My soul can find no staircase to heaven unless it be through earth's loveliness." Michelangelo  Plaza de España in Grazalema In the valley of the Sierra del Endrinal sits a peaceful town of a few thousand residents. Grazalema was our first stop along the pueblos blancos route. We had heard of their "cabello del angel" pastry and were curious about this "angel's head". We picked up some at a bakery off the plaza. They were sweet, as sweet as little angels who lovingly keep us out of harm's way.

Puerto Rico Restaurant We were lucky to have found a really good restaurant in the center of Madrid. So many other people concur by the queue that forms outside the restaurant on most days.

Assumption of Mary I keep going back to Madrid. I like it so much I was there twice this year. On the second visit, I decided to check out some of the places I hadn't yet seen like the Templo de Debod and the CaixaForum. I wanted to see the statue of Julia in July but didn't have much time then so it was great to see her last November. I was made aware of the crypt of the Almudena Cathedral by local friends. The entrance to the crypt is on Calle Mayor, at the back of the cathedral. A chapel runs the length of the crypt and it is flanked by side altars separated from the apse by a row of columns supporting a vaulted ceiling.  At the back of the crypt and across the central nave from the main altar is this beautiful painting of Mary, Queen of Heaven. There were many people inside the crypt on the feast of the Almudena and the tombs were decorated with beautiful flowers, just like on All Soul's Day. A choir was singing the Almudena hymn which has a beautiful refrain: 

Offerings The statue of Our Lady of the Almudena was brought to Spain by St. James, the apostle. It was hidden for centuries to keep it from being desecrated and destroyed by the arrival of the Moors in Spain in the 8th century. The search for the statue commenced after Spain was reconquered from the Moors in the 11th century.  It was miraculously found on November 9, 1085 during a novena and procession held for the purpose of finding her image. Since then Madrid has celebrated annually the feast of Our Lady of the Almudena, the patron saint of the city, on November 9.

"To Cordoba belong all the beauty and ornaments that delight the eye or dazzle the sight. Her long line of Sultans form her crown of glory; her necklace is strung with the pearls which her poets have gathered from the ocean of language; her dress is of the banners of learning, well-knit together by her men of science; and the masters of every art and industry are the hem of her garments." Stanley Lane Poole, The Moors in Spain: Introduction   Mezquita One of the most amazing places I've visited in the world is the Mezquita. The Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba was built on the site of the Church of San Vicente from the Visigothic occupation of Córdoba in the 6th century. It has changed ownership a few times since then. Muslims ruled Córdoba from the 8th century through 1236 when Córdoba fell to Christian Spain. The Mesquita which was completed in 976 was left intact until King Ferdinand III converted the mosque to a cathedral within a mosque in the 13th century.

Happy Travels!

Rock of Gibraltar The train service between Ronda and Algeciras is limited. In Algeciras we took the bus to Gibraltar. We knew we had a tight window for sightseeing so we could make it back to Algeciras in time to catch the last train to Ronda. And the rain didn't help at all. But we managed. The approach to La Línea de la Concepción on the Spanish side of the peninsula gave us the best glimpse of the 426 meter high limestone rock towering behind the beach and harbor. The Rock was a spectacular sight to behold! Crossing the runway We waited for an EasyJet flight to take off before the security barricade was lifted and we could safely cross the runway to get to the city center. Cars, buses, trucks and people moved quickly across the tarmac. In the distance we could see a lot of new construction. Gibraltar's area size is only 2.6 square miles but it's home to some 32,000 people. It's pretty crowded. The runway of the Gibraltar International Airpo

Sunrise For several years now, on the 26th of December, I've taken a photo from my front door of the sunrise. Today there was not much to see as the fog was so thick. It wasn't until an hour after the "scheduled" sunrise when the sun finally broke through the fog to light up our day. So nice after several days of rain. We need rain though after 3 years of drought. Grateful for these blessings. “One grateful thought is a ray of sunshine.  A hundred such thoughts paint a sunrise.  A thousand will rival the glaring sky at noonday - for gratitude is light against the darkness.”   Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway, quotes, Verse & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year  ***** Image by TravelswithCharie