Seville, Spain — Chris Moore

Our next stop on the June 2022 trip is Spain. I've never been to Spain but I kinda like the music.

Sunday, June 12: Porto to Seville

We loaded up our van and hit the road early. At six hours, this was going to be the longest drive of this trip so I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time for stops. We did a quick video tour of our Airbnb and left town at about 8:45am.

We made it to the hot Spanish border at about 1:45pm. We hopped out to take a few pictures. The temperature gauge just kept going up all the way to our next pool. I think we were around 45ºC/113ºF when we got there.

White farmhouse beside trees and a gravel drive

Children beneath the España border sign — Country #14 for these kids. They don't now how lucky they are :D

We arrived at Teresa's Villa around 5pm. We stopped for lunch in Portugal, snacks and fuel in Spain. We were all pretty excited to hop in the pool with these new temperatures.

Towels and drinks beside the garden pool

We took a quick trip to Carmona to get some groceries and do a bit of exploration.

Stone fortress walls in warm evening light

Children climbing through an opening in stone ruins

Church tower above white rooftops at sunset

Monday, June 13: Chilling at the pool

It was super hot and we were recovering from the drive. I took a walk around our new neighborhood. First time I've had olive trees and cactuses in the yard.

Tuesday, June 14: Ronda, Spain

Ronda is one of the Pueblas Blancos of Andalucia. That means "white hill town" for us English speakers. It's also the origin of bullfighting. The drive was a bit longer than I expected but it was totally worth it. Ronda is a wonderful city.

Family posing above a mountain landscape

View across a valley from a stone lookout

Empty sandy bullring surrounded by arcades

White buildings on the edge of Ronda's gorge

Stone bridge spanning Ronda's deep gorge

Large building on a sheer cliff above the gorge

Gorge dividing the white buildings of Ronda

Rock formations and hillside below the town

Since we had Grammie along for this trip, Katharine and I snuck out for quite a few dinners. Here's some meat from a little place in the neighborhood we were in.

Grilled meat with potatoes and sliced tomatoes

Platter of grilled meat, potatoes, and tomatoes

Wednesday, June 15: Beach in Cadiz

It's Wesley's 13 birthday today! Happy Birthday, Wesley. He asked for a beach day so we're heading over to Cadiz.

Restaurant menu beside the seaside promenade — Pizza and beer on the beach. Works for me.

We found a great little bakery last night and snagged a birthday cake for the oldest. They even wrote his name on it for us!

Birthday cake on the table beside a child

Thursday, June 16: Seville

We booked a tour through a site called Withlocals. If you're traveling, give it a shot. You meet with a local and they take you around the city giving you all kinds of cool history you wouldn't normally get! Our guide was Alma and she was great. She gave the youngest two a fun task to keep them busy the whole time.

Ornate fountain and historic buildings in Seville

Ady, Grammie, and I drove up the road to another little town (Brenes) for some ice cream.

Friday, June 17: Costco!

Grammie is a quilting enthusiast so we found a few fabric shops for her to snag some souvenirs. I also found out Costco was near this one so we popped in to explore and fill up the car. It's always cheaper at Costco!

Shoppers in a warehouse store — The checkout line is at the back of the store.

Food court menu and counter inside Costco — Hot dog and a drink: €1.50.

I took another walk.

Dirt track between golden fields at sunset

Spanish private-property sign beside a track

That's it for our stay in Spain. Tomorrow we'll drive back to Portugal with a stop in Huelva along the way.