Southern Spain & the Connellys

The Rock of Gibraltar

Our trip to Spain was better than we could have imagined. We got to go to Southern Spain & Madrid including Sevilla, Utrera, Rota, Ronda, Gibraltar& Cordoba. We also got to participate in an authentic Spanish fiesta where the girls wore feria or Sevillana dresses. We ate Spanish food & Tapas and the weather was warm with a bit of a breeze most days. We were also able to speak a lot of Spanish which is such a treat. We had to learn or re-learn words and we started speaking with the Spanish theta. It makes me wish we could speak Spanish in Zurich!

Days 1 - Saturday- Madrid
We couldn't catch a train down to Sevilla as early as we wanted to, so we killed some time in Madrid. Not a bad place to get stuck for a few hours.
This is a park we went to in Madrid called Retiro

Tally watching a Spanish Futbol game

A main plaza in Madrid by the Atocha train station

El Jardin inside the Atocha train station...there are hundreds of turtles in that pond

Arriving in Sevilla

Day 2 - Sunday - Church & Mothers day
It was cool to visit a ward in Spain and to see what it's like in another country. Here's a picture of their relief society (don't worry, I took it after). Our friends had the elders over for dinner so they could call their moms. Happy Mother's Day!


Day 3 - Monday - Sevilla
We loved this town and would go back and visit again. The cathedral boasts that it has the most square footage of any cathedral in the world. We walked up to the top of the tower (34 ramps, not stairs b/c the bell ringer used to ride his horse up to the top every day) where we saw a beautiful view of the city. We want to stay in this hotel someday.
Beautiful 5-Star Hotel in Sevilla

Cathedral in Sevilla

Christopher Columbus is buried here

View of Sevilla from the cathedral's tower


Torre del Oro - This tower used to be plated in gold and was used to defend the city. What do you think of it in black & white? I love playing around with the pics. I think I'll ask for photoshop for my birthday this year.

Day 4 - Tuesday - Rota & La Playa
Prices & Connellys catching some much needed rays

Tally playing with Jay's beach toys


Day 5 - Wednesday - Ronda
Ronda is a city built on a plateu with this huge gorge running through it. It's like nothing I've ever seen.



La Plaza de Toros - The bull fighting ring in Ronda

Moorish Baths

Day 6 - Thursday - Gibraltar
The views were spectacular, there were wild monkeys running around, and you could see Africa. What more could you ask for from one place? Oh, they had caves too. This cave (last pic) is where one of the first or oldest human skulls was said to be found. It was also said to be the Gate to Hades. Now it has neon light effects and an ampitheatre. Wouldn't you want to play there if you were a band?






Day 7 - Friday - Hanging Out & Feria Fiesta
We decided it was a day for a little R&R. The question is...who took more naps: Jay or Tally? You decide.




Later that night (Spainards don't get the party started until after 10pm or 22:00), we had a blast with Mike & Anna's & their friends at this party. One of her best friends, Maria, was so great to me. She's Anna's friend who has also been her Spanish teacher. The whole time she spoke to me in Spanish but slowly enough that I could understand and she would explain words I didn't know. I wish Maria would come visit us in Zurich! We had fun dancing, eating and talking...it's what we do best. Well, except the dancing part. They do that best. I looked silly but it was fun to try.


Day 8 - Saturday - Cordoba
We got to see a really interesting cathedral here. It was a Moorish Mosque that was turned into Catholic cathedral when the Christians took over. You could definitely tell which piece was designed by which group of people. You could still see the signatures of the artists who built the columns and did the art.




Days 9 & 10 - Sunday & Monday - Madrid
Mike came to Madrid with us because he had to go there anyway for business. When he wasn't in meetings, he showed us around a bit. We got to go the the Museo del Prado and the coolest part was that we got to go to the front of the line because I was pregnant - THEY noticed! It was a good thing we got to go right in because there was a huge line. We went back to Retiro Park and saw the lake in the middle. I guess we missed that the first time. It is a beautiful park. We also walked by the Royal Palace, but didn't have time to go in. We'll definitely go inside when we go back.





Tal & I got to visit the temple (it was closed) and Tal took some great shots. The one of the two of us we had to set up by leaning the camera against a wall...it took a lot of tries but we finally got it. Tal is getting to be quite the photog - and this isn't even our nice camera!





We had a blast with the Connellys and hope to visit again next year...but this time with a little babe for Jay to play with. He's such a cutie. I could do a whole post longer than this with all the pics I took of him this trip. Thanks guys for having us! We'll see you in Zurich in a few months!