It's a bird, no...a plane, nope... its just another castle:)

Two Murcianos I met in a café my first week here told me I should take a day trip to Lorca and, since we had a free day this Friday, that is exactly what I did. It is a small city about 50 minutes outside of Murcia. Our Mexican/American group of eight hopped on the first bus out of Murcia at 6:45a.m. and arrived in Lorca at about 7:45a.m.

Getting an early start turned out to be somewhat interesting because the city didn't wake up until 11:00a.m. Luckily, the tourist office opened at 9:30a.m. and we were able to get the run down of what we should see.

The tourist office first directed us to an old neighborhood in town and we stumbled across an outlook and church after a steady climb uphill. Here is the view from the top of Lorca...it was gorgeous:)

Gretchen and I with the stunning view of Lorca, Spain!

That thing you see in the top left hand corner is a castle. Yes, another castle. I am beginning to think they grow them here like trees. After climbing this monster of a hill we were all a little tired and hungry so proceeded to search for lunch. I had seen this wonderful meat and cheese shop on our way to the viewpoint and was instantly craving a sandwich and fruit. The rest of our merry little band wanted pizza so I separated from the group in search of something less american. This is what I found...

My beautiful Salami & Cheese sandwich with grapes!

The food was exactly what I had been craving. I plopped myself down in this little square with a fountain and just enjoyed the taste of my food and the feel of sunshine. It has been overcast for the past week and that glimmer of sunshine in the courtyard couldn't have been more perfect.

the little bench where I ate my lunch...

The fountain in this square...

After lunch a few little boys started playing soccer around me so I quickly joined in. It was a lot of fun to touch the ball after so long and a great way to pass the time.

Next we headed off to a castle that was quite a long walk up hill. It was such an adventure to walk up past houses attached to the hill, through neighborhoods that tourists rarely see. Finally, we ended up on a windy path that went round, and round the hill until tapering off into the entrance of the castle. It was called Fortaleza del Sol. The town of Lorca, in between Granada and Castilla, was a passing route and the castle was used to control the route.

View from the tower of Fortaleza del Sol

I never thought I would say this, but I am burnt out from visiting castles. I have seen three in the past two weeks and while some were larger than others they all have most of the same common features. The wonderful thing about them is their stunning views!