2012 seemed to be on our doorstep before we could say “Light the fireworks!” We stayed in Munich because of heavy snow in Austria and it ALL started just before midnight and continued until 1AM…..The whole neighbourhood went totally mad with fabulous and huge fireworks going off in all directions…..my parents had also never experienced such an amazing sight so close to home!Mid-January brought me back to France and my lovely friend Philly. Her happy face greeted me at Rennes airport and soon we headed off to the south of Spain via Bordeaux, through the Pyrenees, towards Madrid and down to the coastline where we rented a casa for 2 months in the Andalucian village of Olvera. The vista from our sun terrace is just stunning with low mountains and hills covered in endless rows of olive groves.
The streets of most of these white villages are lined with orange trees that no one seems to pick. It looks so fresh and delightful amongst the setting and whilst the weather is cold, more than we thought, it is just so very quaint!
Olvera is one of 14 white ancient villages and its church boasts a large double bell tower on top of the hill with an ancient Moorish Castillo nearby.
The village tumbles down the hillside from the church and our casa is ¾ of the way up. The people are warm and friendly; the food offered is tasty, authentically regional and so inexpensive it’s silly. A generous tapas meal for TWO including 4 glasses of delicious local wine will only lighten your wallet by some 8 euros each! Awesome!
You can see by the first photos (taken from our terrace) how gorgeous the town is; white washed walls reflect the cornflower blue sky with wavy terracotta tiles fringing the scene like a postcard. There are however, some minor drawbacks to these Spanish villages; the streets are steep and narrow and we are told most vehicles receive “kisses” from other cars passing by! You just have to keep your fingers crossed that your “kiss” does not leave a large dent! The locals must be very fit walking up & down constantly!
Andalucía offers many day trips and one of our favourite “so far” is Ronda. About 40 minutes by car from Olvera south and towards the coast, Ronda is a larger town separated by a towering MAMMOTH gorge!
About 300 years ago the town built an amazing bridge to join the villages and the bridge has become a major tourist attraction. Ronda is rich in history with a Moorish palace, Arabian baths (only discovered when a building collapsed some decades ago) AND Spain’s first bullring. The bull ring is still used today and photos of it are below! There is an incredible museum housing bull fighting garments and a horse saddlery donated by royalty. We wandered through the streets to the large piazza dotted with restaurants and a huge fountain. Lunch was enjoyed sitting outside in the winter sunshine accompanied by the faithful glass of Spanish red!
We loved Ronda and intend to return to see more of it, but know that this area is steeped in history with other great sights to relish. There are Moorish hot springs, lakes home to 1000’s of flamingos, mountain fortresses and Roman ruins, flamenco dancers to watch and stunning coast line to explore, Seville, Granada, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Malaga and Marbella along the “Costa del Sol”, and of course the impressive Sierra Nevada’s. We won’t be able to see it all, even within the 2 months we are here, but will take each day step by step, kilometre by kilometre on our road to discovery.
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