Me Voy: Ronda, Andalucía

I've been in Granada for nearly a week now, and what a week it's been! After spending the past four days getting to know the city, seeing the Alhambra for the first time, and starting a Spanish culture class, we left the city for the first time today and took a field trip to Ronda, a small town 2.5 hours southwest of Granada.

Ronda is a beautiful, historic city and we spent the first few hours exploring. Ronda got it's name because it is rodeado /redondo (surrounded) by mountains. On top of that, the city is built on 100+ meter tall cliffs, with a spectacular bridge connecting the old and new parts of town. (The old part of town was built by the Moors centuries ago, whereas the new part of town was built when the Christians took over during the reconquista, 500 years ago).

As we walked the streets, we saw many old cathedrals, and even a few weddings! Our tour guide says it is good luck to see couples getting married, because their happiness spreads to you.

For lunch we ate at a cliff-side restaurant, with a sweeping view of the farmland and mountains beyond. Our lunch was spectacular, starting off with a salad with grilled brie, followed by chicken, and helado for dessert. Oh, and did I mention that Michelle Obama ate there when she came to visit?

After lunch, we toured the Plaza de Toros, which was preparing for a big celebration and Corrido next weekend, La Feria de Pedro Romero. The rink was spectacular; it used to be the largest one in the world. But they had to make it a few meters smaller (in diameter) in order to build an extra barrier, because it was too easy for the bulls to jump out of the ring and into the crowd. Yikes!