Days 276-282, 15-21 March 2015, Day trip to Ronda (16th), final tapas outing (21st), Hugely Important Solar Eclipse (unseen due to clouds), Nigh-on miraculous six odd days of constant rain (unheard of in southern Spain and contributed to non-sighting of eclipse). Obviously a very big week.

We had taken a squiz at the weekly weather forecast and it did look a bit dodgy, so we took the Toro by the horns on Monday and hit the freeways for a day trip. Lucky that - since our day in Ronda it's pretty much rained constantly. Watching the lawn grow is actually a past-time! But back to Ronda. Officially gazetted as James's new favourite place in Spain, we had a super day. The drive up is an event in itself with about 100 switchback bends on the climb up to this epitome of white villages. Aside from anything else, the speed limit is 60 km the whole way up which a) allows for the views around the Sierra Nieves to be appreciated and b) is hugely challenging for Spanish F1 drivers-in-waiting. After 120 km on the freeway (more a minimum than a limit) it suddenly feels very slow. One thing we did forget was actually the altitude - brilliant sunshine for our day out, but much nippier than down on the coast. By the by, whilst we have had rain all week since, Ronda has had a sprinkling of snow. Incredible at this time of the year. We strolled the old Arab heart of the town. Saw the fabulous "New Bridge" straddling the El Tajo gorge (pictured from the Jardines de Cuenca). Walked down and around via the Wine Interpretation Centre and had an actual sit-down lunch in a restaurant, including pil-pil prawns (oil & garlic). Found the Old Bridge (aka:Roman Bridge / Arab Bridge). I finally got to see the old Arab Bathhouse at the original entrance to the city. I came to Ronda on a coach trip last time and it was very economical and included lots of lovely extras like the wine centre visit and the bull ring - but this time in the car was awesome. We drove in via the steep road past the Arab Walls and Gate and up the hill and through the old town - quite exciting to drive over the New Bridge. On the coach trip I didn't even see the old walls and gates - so a great experience. On our way out of town we drove down, parked and then took a climb around the walls and took in the views - quite funny coming along the walls as the inner side is just peoples back yards! We took the long way home and discovered where all the Spanish mandarins come from. All in all a great day... and we didn't leave the house until Wednesday for a jaunt to town and a visit to Casa Pedro. It rained. Back home until Saturday when we headed up to Mijas for our final visit to a tapas bar as part of their promotion. Believe it or not 25 degrees+ a couple of weeks ago and Saturday I was back to welly boots, jeans, leather jacket, scarf and brolly. It rained. We're off to our next housesitting adventure this coming Wednesday. Hopefully weather will have perked up. Fingers crossed!