Gelves Marina, Sevilla

Our new home until April 2008

Susannah on the River at Gelves
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

3 - 10 December 2007

On Saturday, a boat came out which left a space on the pontoon on the river, which we grabbed as soon as possible. It is lovely to be getting some sun on the boat!

Roger and I started our Spanish classes on Monday. It was a bit of a shock to the system as we had to catch the 8.00 a.m. bus! We get to Seville just in time to throw a croissant and coffee down us before starting class at 9.15 a.m.

The school is superb. The classes are completely in Spanish, including the grammar. There are students of all nationalities - in my class there are students from Sweden, Holland, Germany and France. We have classes until 1.00 p.m. and then there are optional visits/classes. Roger and I went to the extra Phonetic class and a class about Spanish cinema on Tuesday.

Wednesday evening the Christmas lights were turned on in Seville. This year thousands of blue LED lights have been used, which looks beautiful but also uses less electricity. It took three days to build a crib scene in the Plaza Nuevo, using real rocks and cement. Miniature oranges were used as part of the decoration instead of holy. We met up with people from the school in a small Flamenco club, La Casa de la Memoria, which was superb. I recognised the club from the same one Roger and I had gone to a few years ago when we were in Seville.

Thursday was a fiesta day, so there were no classes, but the school had arranged a visit to Ronda. Roger and I both felt we got more from this trip than when we went on our own a few years ago, as we had two Spanish speaking guides from the school. Many of the houses are built on the edge of a precipice and the view is spectacular. Apparently, quite a few people come to Ronda to commit suicide by jumping off the edge! 

We crossed over the New Bridge, which was built in the 18th century and spans the gorge between the new and old towns. We then visited the fantastic Arab baths which were built in the 8th century, and are amongst the best preserved in Spain. We had lunch outside in the main square as it was lovely and warm in about 23 degrees, before visiting the famous Bullring. Ronda’s bullring was built in 1784 and is the oldest preserved one in Spain. Inside the corridors there is a permanent exhibition about bullfighting, including the usual photographs of Ernest Hemingway.

Flamenco at
Casa de la Memoria

Ronda with the Spanish Class