2026 Steward School Spain Explorers Program

Blog 6

DAY 6: Skies, Street, and Shops of Seville

March 4, 2026

Today was a day of urban exploration. We began by touring Seville’s magnificent cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Initially a mosque, work on today’s sprawling structure began in the fifteenth century. Its tower, however — named the Giralda and a universal symbol of the city of Seville — is the original minaret of the Islamic construction. Among the many wonders inside the cathedral walls is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. And the view from the top of the Giralda is one of the city’s best.

However, our second stop for the day — Las Setas — gave the Giralda a run for its money. This sprawling wooden structure floats over Plaza Encarnación, and its observation deck offers 360-degree views of the vast cityscape.

After observing the city from above, we decide to dive a little deeper, making incursions into some of Spain’s most renowned clothing and department stores, such as Zara and El Corte Inglés. To wrap things up, we put on our aprons once again and jumped in the kitchen, cooking a Valencian variant of paella and fresh gazpacho.

“The department store was huge! And Columbus’s tomb was definitely a sight.” — Brady Webb

“More shopping time!” — Parker Bowlin

“The cathedral was intricate.” — Cam Turner

“I loved getting to see all of the shops in the department stores! It was so pretty.” — Lilly Kersey

“I went to Zara and Sephora and got some cute clothes, so I’m happy about that. Also, the cathedral was so pretty.” — Brooke Frankenburg

“Our cooking class went so well! I loved the food.” — Lochy Voeks

“Walking around Las Setas in the rain was an experience that I will not soon forget.” — Zoe Basmajian

Blog 5

DAY 5: On Olives and Oils

March 3, 2026

Departing from Ronda, Sevilla bound, we made a visit to Basilippo, a family-run olive grove that produces its own extra virgin olive oil.

We learned that olive trees were brought to Spain from the Middle East and can live for hundreds or even thousands of years. We toured the grove and even planted two olive trees! Five hundred years from now, they should still be there.

We also toured the oil facility, where we learned about each stage of oil production. We sampled different olive oils, some spicy, others fruity, and then we shared a fireside lunch at the hacienda, complete with chocolate ice cream topped with salt and olive oil.

In the afternoon, we pulled into Seville, Andalusia’s capital and one of Spain’s most beautiful cities. On a bike tour, we saw a reproduction of one of Ferdinand Magellan’s ships that circumnavigated the globe half a millennium ago, we perused the city’s beautiful gardens, and we made a stop to explore the iconic Plaza de España palace, used as a film set in Laurence of Arabia, Star Wars, among others.

We finished the day’s agenda with dinner at a restaurant set in 12th-century Arab baths, just steps away from Seville’s grandiose cathedral, certified by Guinness World Records as the largest on Earth.

“The bike tour went well, every place we stopped was so interesting and full of cool history.” — Lochy Voeks

“I loved the bike tour. I hadn’t ridden a bike for years, and it was so fun!” — Zoe Reynolds

“The olive oil process was much more complicated than I expected. I enjoyed different olive oil combos and meeting the dogs at the hacienda.” — Zoe Basmajian

“Sevilla has been my favorite so far! It is so pretty and unique. I also LOVED the Starbucks run!” — Lilly Kersey

“I really enjoyed the bike tour. It was very pretty to see the buildings on a bike. Starbucks was also amazing, and I’m glad we did that.” — Brooke Frankenburg

“The bike tour was so fun, and our bike tour was so funny.” — Fiona Simmons

“The food was great!” — Victoria Sessa

“The palace at Plaza de España was huge!” — Brady Webb

“I liked the bikes.” — Ty Nguyen

“Formula 1, biking edition.” — Parker Bowlin

Blog 4

DAY 4: Rolling into Ronda

March 2, 2026

Today we woke up and hit the road. Traversing the highways and backroads of Andalusia, we saw many “pueblos blancos”, small, iconic towns built by the Arabs many centuries ago. All their homes and buildings are covered in white paint, which offers a degree of respite against the sizzling summer sun.

Luckily, though we had a slightly overcast day, the weather was just perfect. We made a stop at Setenil de las Bodegas, one such pueblo blanco, famous for its main street, which is literally built into a cliff face. There’s no better place to have lunch, we thought, so we sat down and shared plates of steak, lamb, and shrimp.

After lunch, we continued our journey onward to Ronda, in the Andalusian province of Malaga. Here we visited the town’s famous bullring, once frequented by Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles. The stadium dates back to the 18th century, and the sand arena is the largest bullfighting pitch in all of the peninsula.

We also saw Ronda’s most iconic structure, its towering quadruple-arch bridge that fills the canyon that divides the town. Its name, the “New Bridge,” is a bit deceiving — it was built 233 years ago — but, as we learned, it replaced earlier, smaller bridges. It goes to show that time is relative, especially in Ronda. And our time here has been relatively short, but most certainly sweet!

“Eating under the cliff at Setenil was awesome.” — Brady Webb

¨The bullring was very cool. I enjoyed racing everyone across the bullring. I could only imagine how cool bullfights are to watch.” — Fiona Simmons

“I really enjoyed eating lunch under the cliff because I had never done that before. And I enjoyed the ice cream we ate afterwards. The bullring was also very cool and I could imagine the bull running around and fighting.” — Brooke Frankenburg

“Seeing the bridge was very cool! It was very pretty and gave us a good view of the old and new town.” — Lilly Kersey

“The food in Ronda is great and there were so many cool things to see. The bullring and the bridge were so cool!” — Victoria Sessa

“I liked visiting Plaza de España in Ronda.” — Parker Bowlin

“Exploring and eating under the cliff was really fun! The views were breathtaking.” — Zoe Basmajian

“The cats that came up to us were adorable! I also loved visiting the bullring.” — Zoe Reynolds

“I got a bull!” — Henry Bagwell

Blog 3

DAY 3: Stories from La Alhambra

March 1, 2026

Today we awoke in Granada, once the capital of the Nasrid Sultanate and home to one of Spain’s most prominent universities. As we learned, the city is named after the pomegranate, which abounds in the region.

We spent the morning exploring the halls, courtyards, and gardens of the famous Al Alhambra, the 13th-century palace built by the Nasrid sultans who ruled over al-Ándalus in southern Spain. It was also where Christopher Columbus successfully petitioned King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to finance his westward excursion.

For lunch, our Group Organizers let us fend for ourselves: we managed to find a pizzeria and place our own order in Spanish (or, when necessary, Spanglish). Afterward, we celebrated our success with ice cream.

In the evening, we travelled to the caves in the Albaicín neighborhood outside the city center, the historic home of Granada’s Romani population. There, after a tasty dinner, we saw an authentic flamenco show that gave us a taste of the intensity, passion, and anguish of Andalusia and its people.

“I loved getting to go to the Alhambra. It felt like I was walking back in time and actually living with the Royal Family.” — Graylen Kafantaris Rambo

“The flamenco show was not what I was expecting, but it was really amazing to see. The food was also really good.” — Sabrina Galpern

“The flamenco show was a whole different experience, so much fun!” — Fiona Simmons

“Getting to see the flamenco show was so cool!” — Lochy Voeks

“After La Alhambra, we got to eat lunch on our own, which was good. And then we got ice cream, which was very good.” — Brooke Frankenburg

“I enjoyed seeing the Alhambra and all of the history along with it.” — Cam Turner

“The pizza in Plaza Nueva was unbeatable.” — Brady Webb

Blog 2

DAY 2: Museum marathon

February 28, 2026

This morning we continued in Madrid, experiencing something for which this city is internationally renowned: its museums.

We began at IKONO, an “immersive” museum that breaks with the norm and offers a series of installations that participants can touch, feel, and quite literally “jump right in”. Then, after a picnic in Retiro Park under the warm Iberian sun, we ventured into the Prado. There’s far too much to see here in a single day (perhaps even in a single lifetime), so we focused on some highlights: Velázquez’s Las meninas and Goya’s 3 de mayo en Madrid. We also discovered that exhibition attendants are, unfortunately, really quite salty. Picasso’s Guernica still awaits us at Reina Sofía, which we’ll visit on our last day in Madrid.

In the afternoon, we hopped on our bus and set out towards Granada, one of Andalusia’s most historic and iconic cities. We rolled in around nightfall, just in time for a Spanish (read “late”) dinner before settling in at our hotel in an old monastery.

“The museums were really fun, cool, and an immersive experience!” — Zoe Basmajian

“IKONO was more like a playhouse than a museum, loved every moment.” — Sabrina Galpern

“The IKONO museum was so much fun.” — Fiona Simmons

“Going to see all of the art was so pretty! I could tell that all of the artists put a lot of time and effort into their pieces.” Lilly Kersey

Blog 1

DAY 1: Meeting in Madrid

February 27, 2026

Today we touched down in Madrid! For a moment, we thought there was a lost checked bag from our group, but luckily, our last suitcase appeared on a different carousel, and we left the airport. We met Cush, our guide with Walking Tree, and took a bus to the hotel. After leaving our luggage, we began to explore the city.

Our hotel was just a block away from the Gran Vía, Madrid’s most famous avenue that slices right through downtown. We saw the Plaza España, where Mr. Forlano showed us statues of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza, and then we continued walking past the Royal Palace. We didn’t say hi to the king, though, because, as we learned, he doesn’t live there. Afterwards, we ventured through Madrid’s most famous square, Plaza Mayor, before heading to its second most famous, Puerta del Sol.

In the afternoon, we tried our hands at Spanish cuisine in a cooking class where we prepared paella with seafood and chicken varieties, the world-famous Spanish omelet, and even a regional specialty, Santiago cake. All these dishes turned out so well that we even decided to eat them!

“Everything in Spain is so pretty, the buildings are so beautiful.” — Fiona Simmons

“Seeing downtown Madrid was so exciting! It was so cool to explore other cultures!” — Lilly Kersey

“I love seeing all of the different things and buildings that we don’t have at home.” — Brooke Frankenburg

“I liked the cake” — Ethan Stefanick

“Every day is a new chance” — Ty Nguyen

Welcome!

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