FUN-travel: Arcos de la Frontera to Tarifa, Spain

August 29, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Arcos de la Frontera to Tarifa, Spain 

Trip Day 43 – Wednesday, August 22 – Arcos de la Frontera to Tarifa, Spain

What I LIKE

  • 7:30 – wake up coffee on patio overlooking valley
  • 9:30 – ready to go on to next adventure
  • 11:30 – arrive Tarifa
  • Garmin is still working after update last month
  • much cooler by the ocean – high 80s
  • we are staying right in the middle of the old town
  • Hotel Blan+co – really, really, cute
  • recommended by Rick Steves
  • we’re on the top floor, loft with coved ceilings
  • have a suite with refrig & stove top
  • 12:30 – people watching & beer
  • 1:30 – lunch in park – sandwich from breakfast buffet
  • stroll down to beach – find Moorish castle
  • 8 pm walk to “Souk” – restaurant recommended
  • 8:30 – attempt to find another restaurant in area
  • 9:00 back to plaza by hotel
  • dinner @ Morilla – across from church  – big, thin cut tuna steak – mixed salad with tuna, tomato, onion
  • 10:00 pm streets are filled with tourists
  • sights & sounds are abundant

What I DIDN”T LIKE

  • 11:00 hit traffic in Algeciras
  • OMG more narrow twisty teeny tiny streets in a walled city
  • have to snake through narrow streets
  • no place to park to unload car in the old town
  • have to go around the entire old city again
  • didn’t read the fine print
  • no elevator or air conditioning
  • hotter than expected
  • room not very functional
  • no closet or drawers & very little shelf space
  • “Souk” no open & nothing strikes our fancy

FUN-travel: Arcos de la Frontera to Rhonda, Spain Drive

August 26, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Arcos de la Frontera to Rhonda, Spain Drive 

Trip Day 42 – Tuesday, August 21 – Arcos de la Frontera to Ronda, Spain

Grazalema

What I LIKE

Ronda

  • 7:30 – hot strong coffee on patio
  • 9:30 – head down to main road
  • at least it’s a one way lane
  • drive through heart of Andalucía’s white hill towns
  • beautiful & scenic through mountains
  • 10:30 – 1st stop – Grazalema – postcard cute hill town
  • 11:15 – drive to Ronda
  • 11:45 – arrive
  • find parking garage
  • nice walk through town
  • eat lunch of sandwich made @ breakfast
  • main attraction is The Gorge & New Bridge – ravine is 360 ft down & 200 ft wide – built 1751 to 1793
  • 1:30 – head to Zahara de la Sierra – tiny town clinging to side of hill with a Moorish castle on top
  • aqua colored lake at base is actually a reservoir
  • 3:30 – arrive back to parador
  • happy hour beer with olives tapas
  • 8 pm – venture out & down to cobblestone walkway (also known as “main street” & the same one we drove up on!)

The Gorge & New Bridge

  • 8:15 – dinner @ Mamma Ttina – authentic Italian restaurant (owner is from Italy) – caprese salad, spicy pepperoni pizza & tiramisu – really VG!
  • one of the best meals we’ve had so far
  • after dinner “tapas” of Lemoncello
  • decadent dessert day!
  • had ice cream cone in Rhonda too

What I DIDN”T LIKE

  • on pins & needles driving down from parador
  • just as narrow & twisty as coming up
  • locals go any direction they want on one-way streets!

FF (FUN-fact) – I have never eaten, let alone seen, as many olive types, tastes, sizes and colors as I have since I’ve been in Spain.

Zahara de la Sierra

FUN-travel: Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain

August 26, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain 

Trip Day 41 – Monday, August 20 – Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain

Plaza on Top

What I LIKE

Church in Plaza on Top

  • there are 3 Starbuck’s within 5 minutes of our hotel
  • 9:30 ready to go on to next big adventure
  • take taxi to parking garage for $6 Euro
  • not trying to drive on the crazy tiny, narrow streets
  • don’t have to drive far
  • 11:30 arrive – Arcos de la Frontera
  • sheer cliffs
  • dramatic views
  • once again Parador is on the very top of the hill
  • 12:30 lunch here – big mixed salad – tuna sandwich & beer
  • stay cool & take siesta
  • 8:30 – dinner @ Parador – “typical” local dish of huge white beans & ham, grilled tuna steak, salad – pretty good

What I DIDN”T LIKE

  • had to go to all 3 Starbuck’s to find the one that opens @ 7:30 am
  • OMG more twisty, teeny, tiny cobblestone lanes for streets
  • really, really hot!

FF (FUN-fact) – Andalucía is the home of bullfights, flamenco, gazpacho, pristine whitewashed hill towns and glamorous Mediterranean resorts.

Plaza on Top