The month has flown by! We have been relaxed here as opposed to Marbella. Covid is not a big issue in Ronda and other than everyone wearing masks, life is pretty much back to normal. No tourists though which is why it is quiet but it is not good for the local economy. We will be sorry to leave although it is getting a little warm for our tastes…the thermometer currently sitting at 38C. We managed to rebook our last KLM flight and so we are in Malaga for a week and then home on July 10th via Amsterdam and Toronto. Nobody has cancelled…yet. We haven’t done too much as…
Category: Spain
Ronda – (You look so fine)
Catchy Beach Boys tune that, ‘Help Me, Rhonda’. Perfect for our situation right now. As you have probably astutely guessed, we are not in Canada. We needed a change of scenery from Marbella with all the palm trees and beaches etc…boring. Also having our flights cancelled…again…possibly had something to do with being here, but an influx of alcohol has put the subtle nuances of the decision process just out of reach. Our friend Charo was more than happy to rent us her lovely apartment for however long it takes, and they even came down to Marbella, picked us up, and drove us to Ronda. How nice was that! Something always…
Marbella – Freedom (kinda, sort of…)
Another long interlude between posts. You’d think with sitting around doing nothing and numbing out that we’d have more time to post, but in actual fact, when you’re locked up with very little to do, the days blow by in a haze like snow drifts in Alberta. Besides, there is not much to post about let alone take photos of. You’ve already seen the palm trees off our balcony and I’m pretty sure 10 different angle shots of the murphy bed, Ikea dresser, and the fridge are not high on your interest list. We have fumbled through the days with the usual yoga, scrabble, almost daily grocery shopping, reading, and…
Marbella – The Golden Mile
I was initially going to entitle this The Golden Rip-off, but to be fair, that would be a bit harsh. This strip of southern Spain’s Andalusian coast is absolutely beautiful, and we are staying smack in the middle of it. Extending about 5km from old town Marbella to Puerto Banus, this stretch of beachfront is home to some of the poshest villas in Spain And the wealth continues up the hillside away from the water towards La Concha, an imposing shell-shaped mountain that overlooks and protects the entire area. Needless to say, things are a bit on the pricey side here. When we see brunch at a sea-side restaurant being…
Jerez – The Mini Alhambra
We thought we should at least visit the Alcazar here since it is one of the most emblematic monuments in the city and we’ve been a little slack in the touristo department having skipped this wonderful relic on our last 2 visits. The Alcazar, or walled city, was built in 12th century and is one of the few examples of Almohade architecture that still exists in the Iberian Peninsula. While not as extensive as the Alhambra in Granada, it was quite grandiose back in the day, as Jerez was an important city in Lower Andalusia with the Alcazar’s 4km long walls enclosing a population of some 16,000. What’s left today…
Jerez 2020 – Dog Days
It’s not summer, being only the beginning of February, but with temperatures in the low to mid 20s and today more like 27 (again), it sure feels like it. Our third time here, we’ve seen most of what the city has to offer a tourist and we’ve certainly posted enough photos of statues, buildings, relics, and pointy-hatted dudes. So, to change it up, we thought we’d celebrate the warm weather by drinking (more) sherry and sharing Jerez’s dog-days.
Ronda – Arte de Andalucia a Caballo
As part of the Romantica festival, we took in some more Art of the Andalusian Horse on the final day. The event was free, and we had front row seats, minus the seats. It was in an open area plaza next to the old cathedral and there were a LOT of people wanting to see this. The hour-long show was a showcase of dressage moves with the odd flamenco artist dancing with the horses. It was similar to the one we saw in Cordoba last year but it’s always a treat to see this and we weren’t disappointed. Enjoy the photos
Ronda – Romantica
We got here in time for the annual festivities this year and as Spanish cultural parties go, it was colorful, which I think was how I described the last party in Jerez a week ago. Seems to be a weekly thing over here, colorful parties, parades, song and dance, food and drink, and of course horses everywhere. I was tempted to make this post a pirate theme, but I did that earlier with the lame parrot thing and while the dress looks sort of ‘pirate-ish’, they are actually bandits. Could be called land-pirates I suppose. Is that a thing? And that is what the Romantica festival is really about. Bandoleros. …
Jerez – Fare Thee Well
Our month here is at an end and we will miss this place. And we’re leaving in style, weather-wise as it has been in the md 30s for the past week. We took in the Cathedral de Jerez and the Cathedral of San Miguel a couple of days ago and as old churches go, these are pretty spectacular and well worth the tour. Amazing construction, very beautiful buildings, and you feel in awe just being inside them. Wandering around the streets and squares we would often come across interesting cultural activities such as the groups of people singing or, for want of a better word, mariachi-style bands marching up…
Jerez – Episode II – Return of the Clan
Well, it could be a Star Wars episode. Darth Vader and the Imperial storm troopers certainly wouldn’t be too out of place in the street festivities. Yes, it’s Holy Week again here in Spain and the hooded hordes are everywhere. It’s a big deal in Southern Spain over Easter as we saw last year in Granada, Cordoba, and Seville and Jerez is no exception. The parades, put on by the many brotherhoods, wind through the narrow streets and the cacophony of the beating drums can be heard for miles. Today is Easter Sunday and we should give thanks, mostly for the fact that the Klan competition is over. On Good…