Espana con mi amiga, Heather

At the end of March I was lucky enough to

be able to visit one of my oldest and dearest
friends, Heather. Her husband, Justin, is a Jag officer
in the US Navy and they have recently been

stationed in Rota, Spain! So, 2 1/2 hours on a plane
and there I was. Spain is one of my absolute
favorite places and now Heather lives there! I hope
she knows what she has gotten herself into. Hee Hee.

Can we say house guest!


These first two pictures are in Rota, the
town where they live. I am so bummed that I

did not take any pictures of the boardwalk. Rota
has a beautiful beach and is such a cute town.
And it gets plenty of warm sunshine!
I didn't take any pictures if the Naval
base either - but it is very pretty.

All of the buildings are white with Spanish
tiled roofs. I went for a run in Heather's neighborhood
and I could see the Atlantic Ocean for most
of the way! Heather"s backyard over looks the
ocean too!

After a wonderfully relaxing day laying in the
sun and touring Rota we went to Seville or
Sevilla in Spanish. This is at the Plaza de Espana.

The Plaza de Espana is a huge half-moon of
buildings which was Spain's centerpiece pavilion
at the 1929 Exhibition.

Next, it was on to the cathedral. This building is
massive and pictures just don't do it justice. It
is the largest and highest cathedral in Spain, the
largest Gothic building in the world, and the world's
third largest church, after St Peter's in Rome and
St Paul's in London.

Inside (I know this picture is dark - not enough light!)
is the monument to Christopher Columbus. His
coffin is held up by the four kings representing the
medieval kingdom's of Spain: Castile, Leon, Aragon,
and Navarra. I am still awe struck by the fact
that he is really in there. Wow!

Back out in the town. This is just a pretty picture
of Seville.

This is Heather and I at one of the palaces.
You can see much of the Moorish influence
in the design of this building.


There are beautiful gardens surrounding
palace. Seville is famous for it's orange trees.
You can't eat the fruit because it is too bitter

but the smell of the orange blossoms was hypnotic.
I timed my trip perfectly when they where in bloom.
The whole place smelled amazing!

Here is Heather with Justin and Olivia
in the gardens.


This was taken in a beautiful canopied walkway.
The vines and their flowers were gorgeous.

More of the gardens!


We stopped to get a bite to eat at
a tapas place of course! The cathedral is
behind Heather.


The next day we visited Cadiz. A trip through
Cadiz is a trip back in time. ;)

The area is world famous for being the land
of Sherry. Here is the special soil called albariza
which is the secret to the grapes used in Sherry.

Cadiz has 3,000 years of history and is
considered the oldest continuously inhabited
city in the Western world.

We opted for Churros y Chocolate instead of Sherry!



Mmmm Chocolate!!

Olivia and Heather agree!


The final day of my trip was spent in Gibraltar.
Now, Gibraltar is still a British colony so
we had to cross the border from Spain
into the UK. How funny! But the minute
you did, everything was in English and very
British. They call it Britain with a tan.

Wait a minute -Crikey are we in London?
Nope, the weather is too nice! Just kidding!

The Moors seized the peninsula in 711. After the

Moors ruled for 750 years the Spaniards recaptured
the Rock in 1462. The English gained control in 1704.
Spain has been trying to get it back ever since. Good
luck with that since the Brits think the British Empire
still exists! :)

During the Napoleonic wars, Gibraltar served as Admiral
Horatio Nelson's base for the decisive battle of Trafalgar,
and during the two World Wars, it served the Allies as a
naval and air base. In 1967 Franco closed the land border
with Spain to strengthen his claims over the territory,
and it remained closed until 1985. Flights from the Spanish
mainland to Gibraltar were just introduced in November 2006.

Sorry for the history lesson but I had no idea of Gibraltar's
importance and sorted past.

We visited the Trafalgar Cemetery before we
headed up on the Rock.
Here I am with Africa in the background.
The Strait of Gibraltar is only 25 km wide.

Another great family picture! The mountain
in the background is in Morocco!

Gibraltar was one of the pillars of Hercules in ancient
times. The Rock of Gibraltar was one pillar and
mountain in Morocco was the other. These
pillars represented the western limits of the
known world.

So, this is one of the world famous Barbary
Apes. They are the only primates that exist
naturally in Europe. The saying goes that as
long as the Apes remain in Gibraltar, the British
will keep the Rock.

Funny video - OK I will probably never remember

not to turn the camera.

Um, Dad what the heck is that and why can
I get so close to it? This isn't like the zoo at home...


All in all the day was jolly good! Olivia was having
a blast in the taxi that took us around on the Rock.

I had such a great time with Heather and Justin
and Olivia. I will definitely be back! Thanks again to Heather

for hosting me and letting me get some sun on my face!
Next time it is my turn in London...

Miss you guys!!