Beautiful Ronda – In a Nutshell

Greetings from beautiful Southern Spain! I’m down here in the HEAT (it’s almost 95 degrees right now) and absolutely loving it. After spending the weekend on the Costa Del Sol, I’m one happy sunburnt clam. Not too long ago, Dan and I spent an entire week on vacation in Sevilla and Granada with a stopover in one of my absolute favorite little towns in Europe, Ronda.

Ronda in a nutshell is:

1. A BEAUTIFUL white village, one of many in the region, famed for their white-washed walls.

2. Home to the Puente Nuevo (the ‘new’ bridge), a stunning bridge that connects the two sides of the village across a deep canyon. Not so new as the name claims, construction began in 1751 and took over 40 years to complete.

3.  The site of on our FAVORITE hotels, Parador de Ronda.

Starting in the early 1900s, the equivalent of the Spanish Tourism Board established a chain of boutique hotels (Paradores) in former monasteries, castles, and palaces to increase tourism. After catching glimpse of the Parador in Ronda, we knew we had to pay the charming town a visit.

Once we arrived, Dan realized he’d made a boo-boo in the booking and accidentally reserved a handicapped-only room. The sweet receptionist explained that they’d need to keep that room open in case another guest needed it, so we were moved to another room. What she didn’t tell us was that we were upgraded… uber-upgraded, to the BEST room in the hotel. For one fabulous night, our home was a two-story, double balcony delight! Exploring our digs for the evening, we jumped around like kids unsure of how to really appreciate it best.

The view from one of our balconies.

4. Apart from exploring the sidewalk cafes and shops selling olive wood products and other Spanish treasures, hiking nearby is pretty darn spectacular. Dan and I loved our trek down to the canyon below for gorgeous views of the Puerte Nuevo.

The Parador where we stayed is at the top left with the beautiful arches at street level.

With it’s close proximity to Sevilla and Granada, Ronda is an ideal stopover while in Andalusia. It’s beautiful, cozy and not (yet) overrun with tourists. Perhaps there’s isn’t a bustling nightlife or a dizzying amount of art galleries and museums, but sitting outside of a cafe in the main square, dunking sweet churros into fresh hot chocolate, was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable moments of our trip. Ronda has an exotic Spanish charm all it’s own that’s well worth a visit.