Category: trips

Baraka Boutique B & B in Ronda

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[click on images to enlarge]

One of the nicest things about travelling is the chance encounters you have with people, and the places that you could so easily have missed. On my recent trip to Ronda with friends to the beautiful town of Ronda we were lucky to find this pretty little B & B in the old town, just around a corner from the Puente Nuevo. Baraka is an Arabic word that loosely translates into English as a blessing – you use it when you want to wish someone all the best in their lives.

     

We were met at Baraka by its owner and very charming hostess Anahid Blannin, a Lebanese of Armenian extraction who had arrived in Ronda by way of California and London, and who helped make our short stay such a pleasant one. Indeed, almost as soon as we arrived, some friends dropped in for a visit, and we ended up sitting around the table in the patio drinking sherry and eating biscuits. It’s the kind of impromptu get together that adds something unexpected and special to a holiday.

   

The building itself is one of those “typical” Andalusian houses built around a small internal patio that is all tiles and greenery, with a lovely rooftop terrace. There is one suite, and two double bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms. Ours had a partially timbered ceiling, a pretty street view, and most importantly, clean, comfortable beds. I liked that there were little extras like a kettle and fixings in the rooms for tea or coffee, and a fridge in the kitchen where you could purchase drinks and mineral water. And although there is free WiFi available, Anahid has also thoughtfully put in a desktop computer that clients are welcome to use.

   

The highlight of the stay, however, was probably the breakfast that Anahid served us round the table in the patio the next morning. Lovely fresh coffee, orange juice, fruit, and toasted rolls with tomatoes, basil and olive oil, and a fabulous Lebanese dish called labne, which is a sort of yoghurt cheese with olive oil and herbs that was perfect with the toast and tomatoes. It was just what we needed to set us up for what turned out to be a fairly strenuous, but fun and interesting day in Ronda. It was late in the afternoon when we finally picked up our bags and said goodbye to Anahid, vowing to be back when we got the chance.

     

One of the delights of staying in a personally run B & B like this is that you are made to feel at home and comfortable, which is ideal for a relaxed visit. If you are more used to hotels a couple of things to keep in mind is that the parking is about a ten-minute walk away but Anahid gives you easy-to-follow instructions and a map to the parking options. Also, there is no central heating or air-conditioning, but space heaters are provided in winter and ceiling fans make sleeping comfortable in summer. I think I would personally miss having air-con in July and August for an extended stay, but for a weekend get-away it wasn’t an issue. The location of the Baraka is perfect for exploring and it’s close to pretty much everything you’ll want to see in Ronda. Anahid puts out information leaflets in the patio about tapas bars, flamenco, and things going on in town. It’s all these personal touches that made our stay so wonderful and we would definitely go back again.

Baraka Boutique Bed & Breakfast
Calle Ruedo Doña Elvira 16
Ronda, Málaga
Tel. +34 952 872 843

The Flavour of Seville

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It was not long after I’d started my Sevilla Tapas Tours that I met travel and food writer Shaney Hudson. On Twitter, natch. Shaney had said she was going to be in town doing some research and we met up to spend a very pleasant evening visiting a few tapas bars and ending up having late night cocktails on a rooftop bar somewhere… who, us?

So when Shaney came back to Sevilla this past April to do a feature for Virgin Australia’s Voyeur magazine it was great to get together once again and “do tapas”. We went to three of my favourite places (Vineria San Telmo, La Azotea and Bodeguita Romero) and we had a great time. We tasted the best pringá in Sevilla, totally melt-in-your mouth slow-cooked pig’s cheeks in red wine, and beautiful langoustine carpaccio. I know, it’s a tough job but…

Because this article was about feasts for the eyes as well as for the tummy, my lovely friend Fourat (aka Lebanicious) very generously arranged an interview with Seville’s most prominent living architect, Rafael Manzano, so Shaney could get a unique insight into the city’s history and culture.

As always, Shaney writes with heart and with a style that really captures the essence of a place, and what couldn’t be said with words was brilliantly captured by photographer Helen Cathcart. Read all about it…

The Flavour of Seville

words by Shaney Hudson
photos by Helen Cathcart


Tapas at the Palacio de los Patos | Granada

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I’ve been a fan of Hospes Hotels ever since I was writing as the Seville Expert for SimonSeeks and was given the opportunity of staying at their luxurious rustic-chic Las Casas del Rey de Baeza and sampling the delights of the Senzone restaurant there.

So when I was invited to take a tour of five-star Palacio de Los Patos while I was in Granada this week I jumped at the chance. In a word – stunning. The swanky deluxe rooms are located in the old lovingly restored 19th century palace and the “Dreamer” standard rooms are in a modern annex, along with the restaurant and spa. At first I didn’t know what to think of the façade, which I was told was meant to mimic the moorish latticing in the Alhambra, until I saw the effect from the inside of the spacious minimalist rooms. The cool alabaster tiles let in a cool diffused light without letting others see in, and all the Dreamer rooms look onto the garden. Which is what this post is mostly about, because after once glance at the garden area I was in love.

This is a fabulous oasis in the centre of the city, with various fountains cooling the patio area where you can either sit at tables to eat a meal or curl up on sofas to enjoy a drink. Large trees and hanging wisteria provide natural shade and all the greenery running along the wrought iron fence shuts out traffic and city noise. My favourite was the gnarly pomegranate tree, which I was told was over 200 years old. If you don’t know, the pomegranate (or “granada” in Spanish) is the emblem of the city.

I was surprised to see that the Senzone Restaurant offered tapas as well as a full-service menu and an intriguing tasting menu made of Riofrio caviar products, and so I was thrilled to be invited to a tapas tasting lunch the next day (my last day in town). I went with my friend John Sullivan, ex-Londoner, musician and fellow foodie, who has been living in Granada for over three years now.

And well, the food was gorgeous, the setting divine, and the service was both efficient and friendly (but Hospes! please get those poor girls out of head-to-toe black when it’s 35º out there!). We tried four tapas, which were all so good that they left us hankering to come back and try out the rest of the tapas menu…

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Patios and Feria in Córdoba

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I’d been trying to do a day trip to Cordóba all during May, as that’s the month when everything seems to be happening there, and although I missed the Cruz de Mayo and the Festival of the Patios, I finally made it on the last Friday of the month, in time for the Cordóba Feria, which was also my 20th anniversary of living in Spain, so that turned out to be a good choice.  And the weather was perfect.

First stop was for late breakfast/elevenses, at a little café alongside the Plaza de Colón, with some rather yummy tostadas topped with olive oil, fresh tomato and tiny taquitos of jamón. Thus fortified, it was off past the Torre de la Malmuerta (tower of the bad death) to our first stop, and one of the main reasons for coming to Cordóba, the newly opened Palacio de Viana, the Palace of the Patios. As you can see from the photos below, this wonderful 500-year-old building has no fewer than eleven interconnecting patios, as well as a garden, each with its own individual design and character. Really worth a visit. Also nice that it’s a bit outside the main tourist area around the Mezquita, and wo walking back to the centre through the winding streets of the old town we saw a part of the city that we hadn’t seen before.

Palacio de Viana

Along the way we stopped off in the Plaza de la Corredera for a pre-lunch cold beer. This is a magnificent Castilian-style Plaza Mayor, apparently the only one of its kind in Andalucía, mostly built in the late 17th century, although the buildings on the south side of the square where the market (a former prison) is are even older. The name comes from the fact that it was once used for bullfighting, and it is also thought to be the site of the Roman amphitheatre. Then it was off to find some lunch…
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Córdoba Feria 2012

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[youtube=”http://youtu.be/PATKgtofgxs”]

[watch full screen if possible]

Some pics from my first visit to the Feria de Córdoba. Another fair, like the one in Jerez, that is totally different to the Feria de Sevilla and which, in my opinion, is much better. The casetas are larger (with air con) and are open to the public. Depending on what you fancy you can opt for traditional flamenco music (sevillanas), flamenco rock, salsa, disco… the casetas ranged from fairly rough & ready tents to solid structures decorated like country homes with servers dressed in maid’s outfits. You can get some great looking food, watch the crowds or join in, or stroll the streets and enjoy the parade of horses and carriages in the afternoon.

It really felt like being at a country fair – I even went on the ferris wheel! Too bad we were just there for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I found myself wishing that I could stay to see the fairground lit up at night but duty called and we had tickets booked on the 19.30 train (which we almost missed, arriving at the station with about two minutes to spare).

Note: at 2.44 is the horse of the day – a gorgeous beast, my photo doesn’t do him justice.

Travel tip: the Sevilla – Córdoba Avant (19.10€ one way)  is much better value than the Ave (33.20€) and takes the same amount of time (45 minutes). And if you return on the same day you get a 20% discount.