Summer In Spain - Day 9

Stop 27 - Mercadillo Filatelico Flea Market: After visiting Arcos de la Frontera the day before, we headed to Sevilla to stay the night. The next morning we walked over to the Mercadillo Filatelico flea market to get some breakfast and browse the stalls. The kids enjoyed running through the city streets before the crowds came out and using their map to navigate their way through the city.

Stop 28 - Plaza de Espana: On our way out of town, we quickly stopped at the infamous Plaza de Espana to see what all the hype was about. It really was a sight to see with its unique architecture and massive square.

Stop 29 - Benagil, Portugal: After leaving Sevilla, we crossed the border to Portugal and headed to Benagil beach. We took the boat tour out to see the infamous Benagil Caves and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the beach. The kids thought it was so cool getting to ride on the boat and were in awe by the various caves we boated into. 

Our time on the beach was the first time that the kids have ever really played in the sand. Maeli finally let us bury her in the sand and both kids were completely covered in sand from head to toe. The weather was perfect and the kids were happy - it was pretty much a perfect afternoon at the beach.

Stop 30 - Lisbon, Portugal: After visitng the beach we headed to Lisbon where we spent the night. When we got up the next morning, we roamed the city for a bit before packing up and heading to the airport. Our trip to Spain definitely had its ups and downs, but overall it really was the perfect family vacation!

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Summer In Spain - Day 8

Stop 22 - Plaza de Toros de Ronda: As we spent the morning walking through Ronda, we ended up stumbling upon the Plaza de Toros. Having heard that it was one of the oldest bullrings in Spain, we figured it was worth a look. Walking into the ring and seeing the stadium of seating was such a cool experience. Milo ended up getting stung by a bee while in the stadium, but Maeli was happy to make him feel better with a few twirls in the center of the ring.

Stop 23 - Puente Nuevo Bridge: Ronda was a beautiful town filled with stunning old buildings and plenty of side streets to explore. As we made our way through the town, we couldn't pass up a chance to see the popular Puente Nuevo Bridge.

Stop 24 - Fields of Sunflowers: After grabbing a quick lunch of bocadillos (baguette sandwiches - we pretty much ate these for every meal while in Spain), we headed off towards the White Villages. On our drive we discovered miles and miles of sunflower fields. Seeing Maeli walk through the rows of flowers towering over her was quite the sight to see.

Stop 25 - Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos: Driving the route of the white villages was easily one of our favorite parts of the trip. Driving through the beautiful Spanish countryside and coming around the mountains to see the white villages glimmering in the sun was one of the coolest things we've ever seen. Each village had its own unique charm and distinct identifying characteristics.

Zahara

Grazalema

Espera

Stop 26 - Arcos de la Frontera: Our final stop of the day was in the beautiful town of Arcos de la Frontera. Being one of the most talked about of the white villages, we had high expectations for our visit. Although we were a bit skeptical as we drove into the village, we quickly found ourselves in the middle of the classic narrow streets winding through alley after alley of stairs and towering churches. After exploring the streets for a while, we ended our day with a dinner of tapas on a beautiful street corner. As we were finishing our dinner, a bride walked by in her white dress. Maeli pointed her out and said, "Mom, look! A princess!"

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Summer In Spain - Day 7

Stop 19 - Casares, Malaga: We started our day off driving to the beautiful white village of Casares. Coming around the mountain and seeing the village set on the hill was one of the most breathtaking views we saw in our time in Spain. And when we got into the village, it was even more beautiful than we expected. Of all the white cities we saw, this was by far the most charming. Everything about this village was perfect! The streets were immaculate, the people were friendly, and it was small enough to make you feel as though everyone in the town knew each other by name. It was EXACTLY what you would picture one of these white villages to be like. We parked at the bottom of the village and wound through the narrow streets up to the main square where we enjoyed a quiet lunch outside under a shaded patio. This was another one of my favorite moments of the trip. After lunch, we cooled the kids off with some popsicles and strolled through more of the village on our way back to the car.

Stop 20 - Rock of Gibraltar: After Casares, we headed down to Gibraltar to drive to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. On our way to the top, we stopped at the "monkey den" to visit with the infamous havoc-wreaking Barbary macaques. The kids were SO excited to be able to walk right up to a monkey - especially since there were several small baby monkeys among the group. After visiting with the monkeys we headed to the top of the rock where we were able to see Africa in the distance. On our way back down the mountain, we stopped to see another group of monkeys. When I was leaning down, one of the monkeys stole my water bottle. When I tried to get it back, two of the monkeys lunged at me and grabbed my arm. Although I was laughing, the kids got totally freaked out and began crying. We decided it would be best to say goodbye to the monkeys. Needless to say, we never got our water bottle back...

Stop 21 - Costa Del Sol Beaches: On our way to Ronda, we made a stop at the Costa Del Sol beaches. We made it to the beach between 5 and 6pm so the sun was lower and the beach wasn't quite as busy. As the kids began to play in the water, we quickly noticed that the beach had tons of small hermit crabs near the shore. We ended up spending the rest of our time collecting them in our buckets. I'm pretty sure the kids thought it was one of the funnest things they did on the trip. Time after time we continue to discover that the best parts of our trips are the unplanned, unexpected things we stumble upon.

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