Our Temple Break (part one), and Our Lost Weekend

OUR TEMPLE BREAK

part one

Ronda and Seville

First I will explain our "lost weekend."  Yesterday morning we packed our bags and were ready to leave on a fun trip to Granada.  We had rented a car and the Hawkins, and Deschamps were going with us.  Granada is where the famed Alhambra is located.  We left for our temple shift expecting to return home, grab our bags and leave.  About an hour into our shift Greg's nose suddenly started bleeding.  Because of his heart attack he is on blood thinners.  He was taken to the infirmary in the basement of the temple.  Nothing they could do could stop it.  They called in the paramedics, who in turn tried their best to stop it.  They thought they managed it, but as soon as we got him home it started in full force again.  I took him to the medi-center around the corner.  They couldn't stop it either, and called a cab for us to go the hospital ER.  By this time it had been bleeding for over two hours.  We sat in the waiting room for four more hours, thanks to socialized medicine.  Finally he was taken in and the bleed was cauterized. He says it was the most excruciating pain he has experienced. Coming from a man who had a heart attack five months ago, I believe it must have been painful. They then stuffed an enormous plug all the way up his nasal cavity, giving him a major sinus headache that will remain until the plug is removed on Tuesday.  Needless to say, we didn't get to go on our trip.  It's hard for me to complain when I see how miserable Greg is. but it was a big disappointment to both of us.  

On our way to the hospital with plugs up his nose and gauze taped everywhere.

After our trip to the hospital, and a Mack Truck up his nose.
He can still smile, but don't be fooled.  He is plenty miserable.

Anyway, I decided to use this lost weekend to  try and catch up on our travel pictures.  I have so many it will take many sessions to complete.  In January the temple closed for two weeks for maintenance.  All the missionaries left to various destinations.  We chose to go to the Malaga area in southern Spain, and then to the Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, which also belong to Spain.  This first post was our first day out.  Our condo was in the city of Estepona, south of Malaga.  It was a great condo! It was beautiful and on the beach.  For our first full day we decided to go to Seville, by way of the lovely "white village" of Ronda.

It was a beautiful drive and we could see several other villages along the way.

As we drove up the mountain we had a chance to stop for this breath-taking view.  That is the ocean that shines like silver in the middle, and the yellow sky is left over sunrise.

It had been raining off and on, and this beautiful rainbow was the evidence.

The entrance into Ronda.

The typical narrow and winding streets.

The church

The city wall.

The Carmelite Convent.

Cobblestone roads.

The convent.

The white village.

Ronda's bullring.  Every town has one.

The matador out front.

Like so many towns in Spain, the streets are lined with orange trees.

White villages dot the countryside.  We took of tour of them all on another day.

Now this looks exactly like a certain spot in Bakersfield.  

Now we're getting into Seville.  Unfortunately, I was shooting pictures out of a moving car.

And the moving car had glare on the windows.  But I take my shots where I get them.

This made me wonder if we made a wrong turn.

The Arabic influence is clearly seen here.

I loved the finials on top of this fence.

Still in our car.

Finally time for lunch.  Our two single sisters with us.

Gotta love a guy with a smile like that!  Traveling
with three women it's amazing he can still smile.

We are finally on foot, and because of the cold, we head right to the Seville Cathedral.

More orange trees lining the streets.

We came to a lesser chapel first and went inside to get warm.

A net covered the ceiling to protect the people below from falling debris.

In need of repairs.

The facade of the main cathedral.  Sadly, we were too late, and it was closed.
Means we have to go back again, I guess.

It is considered one of the top three cathedrals in Spain.  We have seen the other two, and can't wait to see this one, which may be the number one.  Columbus is buried here.

Very elaborate spires of the cathedral.

I could not find a way to get the whole thing in one shot.  It is massive!

The local castle across from the cathedral.

Our companions were freezing, so it was time to go.  : (

A great day, all the same.  I can't wait to go back on a warmer day.  But it was still a pretty good walk back to the car, and I got a lot more pictures on the way.

Seville has the only Costco in Spain.  We had to take advantage of it.  However, it turned out to be a disappointment.  No Advil, No Aquafresh, No Sweet Baby Ray's, and no warm coats.  Not even a cookie that looked fresh.  So sad! We left with only a box of cashews.  I've never gotten out of Costco for less than $100 until now.