Road trip - Ronda

 So Jean & Tim arrived back in town late on Thursday night. Then Friday they went out to explore the city and we had Leslie. We met up for coffee  and a light lunch at Santa Gloria. Dnner that night was at Islamorada where they have the amazing tortilla trufada (Spanish omelette with truffle). The guys had the big shrimp and avocado dish. We drank a large pitcher of cava sangria. MITO on the way home (the one in Postigo not our regular) then walked back via Guichot to drop Tim off at his hotel. An easy evening with only a bit of drama when a full glass of sangria broke at the bottom of the bowl and flooded Jean's side of the table with wine. Luckily it was white not red.

The next day we were off on a road trip adventure to Ronda and Gibraltar. We stopped at a roadhouse on the road to Ronda for lunch. We had a simple meal: chicken for Phil, eggs for Jean, a burger for Tim and I had "albondigas" (meatballs.) there were literally more than a hundred people here for Saturday lunch. Some in a large dining room and some in the garden and we ate in a small dining room off the bar with a fireplace. Very atmospheric if not gourmet.

Then on to Ronda and Palacio Hemingway our hotel for the night.  Our short trip out of Sevilla this weekend started with a night in Ronda. It has an absolutely spectacular setting on the top of the mountain. The old town and new town are joined by a bridge over a steep ravine with a stream that runs through it. We went out in the very late afternoon to take a walk aorund town.

Below the hotel - which was less than a block off the birdge and in the oldest part of the city 

The bridge over the ravine and some views into the valley below- 

view of old town from the bridge-

the countryside from the bridge-

The new town, seen from the bridge with the afternoon shadow of the bridge projected onto the cliffside.

We walked to the bullring - one of the oldest in Spain and a favorite of Hemingway's 

 

a nearby park overlooking the countryside below-

We also stopped for coffee and churros at an excellent place right on Plaza Espagna. They had a choice of sauces I went for a delicious dulce de leche and Phil had the nutella 

Later we met up with Tim & Jean and made the short walk to dinner. We had virtually all the food as Tim skipped dinner and just had wine.  And Jean only had the EXCELLENT canelloni. Phil and I shared the tartar with the bone marrow. Then he had the giant lamb dish and I had the pastrami sandwich. 

The next morning we were off to La Linea, the border town by Gibraltar.