Location: Gaucín, Andalucía, Spain

M: I was told to sleep in and that Aunt Sally would be sure to wake me if the clouds cleared and we could see the view. I don’t need to be told twice to sleep in and the clouds didn’t clear so I had a nice, long sleep. This was the first time I had slept in a room all by myself since we left home in September. It was a little weird but very nice to not be tiptoeing around everyone else already asleep and to not hear other people’s alarms as I tried to sleep in.

After a nice slow morning we headed off for Ronda, a little town further up in the hills. The drive was very foggy and cloudy. We could see some of the villages we drove by, but nothing past them as the valleys were completely full of fog. The villages were full of white houses built into the hillsides surrounded by olive and chestnut trees, with a few sheep and goats grazing near the road. When we got to Ronda the clouds lifted ever so slightly and the rain slowed down to a drizzle. I hopped out of the car and walked around the bridge across the big gorge. It was quite a drop. Not sure about the accuracy of this story, but I heard that Franco threw nuns off the edge of the gorge during the civil war. The town is steeped in history having had so many different people living there, from Phoenicians to the Romans, to the Moors, then the Spanish. You can see all these different influences, particularly the last two, throughout the town. There’s only one tiny Mosque, but even the churches have a bit of a Moorish flair to them.

Out of nowhere, the clouds dropped down and with them came another downpour. We never get rain like this at home so I kinda like it. We took cover inside a tapas bar and had some delicious lunch and a glass of sherry. I will have to come back to Ronda one day and see it in the sun. I have a funny feeling it won’t be too hard to convince just about anyone to come back here with me, it’s so beautiful.

We talked about going down the hill to visit Alexander and his family, Sally’s son and my mom’s cousin, but because of the horrible weather and the state of the roads we decided to stick to the fireplace at Sally’s house. The evening was spent relaxing with more time with the cats and dogs in front of the fire, and later a nice hot toddy.

M

Location: Barcelona

***Over to Barcelona

Sav: I slept in again today, having sat up a good portion of the night coughing. The hostel is really nice, with personal lights, plug-ins and comfy beds, so it didn’t bother me too much to stay in bed this morning. It feels weird staying in when I know Barcelona is out there waiting for me, but I’m so tired of feeling sick I just want to get better!

Po and I got brunch at a really hipster place with a great motto on the wall that read “Brunch without booze is just a sad late breakfast” – which we thought was hilarious. Well played café, well played. We found a place on the way home that had every available candy you could think of (except cat yoghurt gummies sorry Meag) and Po got a whole baggy to bring home for her Gilmore Girls Marathon she was about to have.

Later in the day we met up with Adam, an Australian we met in Budpaest, to grab dinner. We laughed and talked through the evening, exchanging travel stories and photos. It’s still exciting for me every time we get to meet up with people from earlier parts of our travels, and Adam is someone I got along with well.

After dinner we walked around for quite a few hours, checking out the Gothic Quarter and going down to the water. Everything is so beautiful in Spain, in such an intentional way. It’s like someone planned it completely for aesthetics because everywhere you look there are statues and groomed gardens and beautiful buildings. We walked down La Rambla, a busy market street, and checked out a few of the stalls selling all types of Christmas wares. I thought frequently about how much my sister would love all of the Christmas festivities going on in Spain, how every street is lit up and green sparkly garland is wrapped around every street lamp.

I was feeling the effects of walking around so much, and my cold wasn’t getting any better so it was time for me to head home and crawl in bed.

S