Day 6 - Day trip to Ronda and first night in Seville

 Day 6: Day trip to Ronda and first night in Seville








Seville is our next stop for three nights, and is nearly four hours from La Herradura. On our way today, we made a quick stop in the town of Ronda. It’s known for its cliff side location and a deep chasm that carries the Guadelevin river and divides the town. The famous bridge, the Puente Nuevo, is the star of the town, built 300 years ago. I was really looking forward to hiking down the hill to get the best views and photos.


While I thought the boys would be fully rested for the hike, I was sorely mistaken. We walked just far enough to discover the bridge, and it became unpleasantly clear the hike to get to the base of the bridge was quite a ways further ahead.  Colton had his first official meltdown, tears and all. Considering he’s eight, I think day six is a pretty good run. We decided to manage our expectations, fully expecting we’d never make it down for the hike. Then, a thought occurred to me: we told the boys today would be a “clean” day, meaning no sugar, and for us, no drinks. :) I mean, can we really eat Gelato and drink vino every day for thirty straight days?


Welp, I guess so! We quickly pivoted, and offered two scoops of Gelato if we could make it down the hill to the first lookout to see the bridge. He quickly rallied, and we made it all the way down! The view was absolutely worth the 18 euros in Gelato and the sugar high that followed. We told him one scoop for making it down, and one scoop for making it back up to the top without any whining. He ran the entire way. Just love that kid’s tenacity.


We drove another two hours to Seville, only to discover our apartment is in the area of town with very narrow streets, nearly in-passable with our car.  We dropped off our luggage, checked into our very unique double story VRBO, and dropped the kids off so that we could find a parking garage, with Aaron driving and me navigating. The boys locked up, and we left my phone with them while they watched a show.


Little did we know that Aaron and I would get completely stuck down narrow alleyways, and require backing down an alley for blocks because we simply could not move forward.  Sadly, no photos of this insanity. We have never seen a city like this in our lives!  I finally jumped out of the car, and a couple who spoke English told us they’d made the same mistake two days prior, and gave us some tips, one of which was prayer! Ha! The other tip included getting rid of the car as soon as possible.


After a solid half an hour trying to get out of one way streets far too narrow for our vehicle, we finally prevailed and found a main avenue. We then made a split second decision, and left the alleyways to return the car a day early to the train station. While it went rather quickly, I stressed about leaving the boys behind.  When we returned, Aaron remarked that our “clean” day was no longer doable, and we’d both be enjoying a glass of wine with our dinner. LOL. We were delighted in the fact that after fifteen years of marriage, we made it through quite a stressful situation without even raising our voices. 


Much later in the evening, the apartment owner sent me a manual for our stay. I was having trouble downloading it prior to our trip to Seville. In the first paragraph, she details what a terrible idea it is to have a car in Seville!


Whew! We taxied back to the apartment, and the boys were blissfully unaware watching their show and laying on their new couch.


With little food consumed all day, we found Pelayo Bar, a tapas place close to our apartment in Seville. We met Elena, a local who provided excellent service and recommended our favorite meal to date: Pork cheeks, Oxtail, Garlic Shrimp, Baked Goat Cheese, a balsamic salad, and a three layered chocolate dessert. Aaron bought a bottle of delicious Sevillian red wine for 16 euros, easily $50 in the states. The boys told Elena they’ll see her tomorrow! They are becoming foodies.


Favorites for the dia:


Afton: The Puente Nuevo in Ronda, dinner at Pelayo Bar

Aaron: The Puente Nuevo in Ronda, Surviving the tight streets in Seville in our rental car, and the baked goat cheese at dinner and the dessert - okay, basically the whole day!

Zachary: The really cool new apartment (I love this place!) and dinner at Pelayo Bar

Colton: Dinner and dessert


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