To visit Andalusia, we decide to rent a car from Goldcar and spend 4 days on the road
As during our first world tour, we decide to find the hotel at the last minute, depending on the weather, our mood. In freestyle mode

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Antiteatro de Italica

We start our little trip with these Roman ruins, located 11km from Seville. Access to the site is free for Europeans
The site includes a large amphitheater (which can hold up to 25,000 people) but also ruins of dwellings decorated with mosaics on the floor and communal baths

I advise you to go there if you have a car, but if you have to take a 48mn bus to get here from Sevilla, it’s not worth it

Jerez de la frontera

This is the city we have chosen for lunch. Finding a parking space is very easy during lunch hours. Even the parking meter takes a nap between 1:30 pm and 5 pm

Photo of a place in Jerez

We choose Tabanco el pasaje, a tapas bar with a very local/Andalusian atmosphere – with flamenco show and/or flamenco music. The waiter notes the order with a chalk on the counter, and serves all types of sherry– the local wine (prefer fino sherry dry). It’s very alcoholic, so be careful if you drive

The tapas are served on a piece of paper with mini breads that we don’t like too much

We then pass by the Alcazar de Jerez (the Palace of Jerez), where, as everywhere in Andalusia, there are plenty of orange trees

When you come to Jerez, you have to do a wine tasting at the bodegas. But we didn’t, because I don’t drink and JB has to drive afterwards

… before visiting Jerez Cathedral with its impressive façade

You have to look up, it’s beautiful!

Cádiz

The must see thing in Cádiz is this beautiful cathedral

If the interior is bof bof, you can go up to the top and admire the view of the ocean and the city. Beware one of the bells rings every 15 minutes!

However, we will notice that the city is a bit industrial, with cruise ship constructions not that far from the city center

We then follow a long road that takes us to the sea, to the castle(Castillo de San Sebastian), which is closed for work at the moment. We see many fishermen, birds… but we also suffer a lot from the wind

In the evening, we return to Jerez, to theHotel Jerez & Spa and have dinner there

Pueblos blancos: Arcos de la Frontera

The next day, we follow the road of the white villages (pueblos blancos). We might as well tell you right away: if you have a lot of time, go by car – history of – but if you don’t have much time, just visit Arcos de la Frontera

We wanted to cross this hill but after a bitter failure (we aren’t used to climbing in such narrow streets), we miraculously find a well hidden parking space next to it and climb on foot. Fortunately we did it because we will see later the locals coming out of the very small streets, with 5cm margin on both sides

It’s lunch time, JB falls for a huge sangria (left on the picture)

I’ll spare you the rest of the route of the pueblos blancos that I find quite boring because they are finally all the same

In the evening, we stop at the B bou Hotel Molino del Arco, which is an old olive oil factory, 20km from the city of Ronda. The hotel’s restaurant serves a menu at 24€/person. I find it a bit expensive for Spain, but the quality is there and on top of that, it’s raining – so I don’t feel like getting back in the car and looking for another restaurant

It’s the first time I see olives… on an olive tree..

Ronda

The next day, under a torrential rain, we discover the city of Ronda. You have to find an underground parking lot as soon as you arrive in the city center because it is impossible to find a place in the street

To go and see the beautiful bridges that Ronda is famous for, we cross a long pedestrian street full of stores, like this one

It is in this street that we taste for the first time the Andalusian breakfast. Delicious!

Then, we arrive at this magnificent viewpoint

before discovering an incredible landscape from the Puente Nuevo (new bridge)

You have to go down the hill in the small alleys (making a stop at the Casa Del Rey Moroet if you want), then cross the Puente Viejo (Old Bridge)

… to get an overview of the Puente Nuevo. We take a lot of eyes !