Monday 11 June 2012

Help me RONDA....!!


Apologies to the Beach Boys but couldn't resist it !!!

Once again my trip to the Finca in Andalucia was a great experience. A welcome return to the lovely little white village of Marcharaviaya is always a joy with its quiet streets and grand church entrance, all very paintable . The one and only bar was just off round the corner and was just the ticket for that cold beer after the painting session.
A new venue was found just above the panorama bar where we usually go in the area. This restaurant overlooked the hillside village of Isnate with the distant mountains in the background. The bottom pic is the sketch I did there. We ate lunch in the restaurant and it went down a treat.

The highlight of the week was our trip to the wonderful city of Ronda, a place I have wanted to visit for years....and I wasn't disappointed !! We drove up in convoy through some magnificent scenery, very different from the coastal views I was used to. Our afternoon stay was at a small village just about 10 minutes out of Ronda itself and what a treat that was . A few of us were staying in the tiny cottage down a small lane and right by a stream which was quite idyllic. The afternoon painting session was done in and around the cottage and my top pic is the view looking back at the cottage  from the lane. The evening meal was in the hotel in the village right next to a series of waterfalls. Couldn't resist doing a demo of them in the morning !

Then it was off to Ronda. Parking is a problem so we parked in a quieter part of town and walked in.
What a place. It was baking hot and there was a lot to see so I got my skates on and took in all the magnificent views in and around the Puente Nuevo. Climbing halfway down the hillside to get the classic view was fine but making our way back up the steep path in the heat was quite exhausting ! All in all a truly terrific tour !


2 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous place! Love your sketches..I feel like I've been on a mini vacation.

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  2. It was a great holiday Barry, Ronda was truly inspirational. Hope to be back at La Finca next Sept with Joan and Sue.

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