It’s time for an update to our original ‘Top 10’! We take our research very seriously (of course!), gather opinions from friends and feedback from our guests about the most popular bars, cafés and restaurants in Ronda and the nearby villages. We couldn’t possibly limit ourselves to just 10, so we’ve expanded our list to our favourite 25, so that there’s something for everyone and every occasion.
♫ “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gr—” ♫
Oh. Wait. The sky isn’t grey and not all of the leaves are brown, because this is Ronda in Southern Spain.
But is the weather turning colder, greyer, and wetter where you live? If you’re starting to long for sunshine, why not book a winter break in Andalucia? Here are a few reasons why Andalucia is the perfect place to visit during the winter months.
“Framily: noun. Friends or blood relatives to whom we would actually choose to be related because the relationship is mutually respectful, close, supporting, and affectionate. The favourite people in our lives we would include in our family, whether they are blood-related or not, typically because we love them.” Your multi-generational family, your furry family, your framily; La Cazalla loves you all! According to recent studies, 95 per cent of parents believe the key to happiness lies in spending quality family time together, and greater than 70 per cent believe that a good life is defined by having meaningful connections with family. So how can we help you out with this at La Cazalla de Ronda?
It’s almost the end of November, meaning there are only a few weeks of frantic shopping time remaining before Christmas. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, with office parties, family gatherings, social events, and lots and lots and lots of food and drink, culminating in the grand making of resolutions on New Year’s Eve. If simply the mention of the holiday season sets your heart palpitating as you worry about the work you need to finish before the year end and a busy, and perhaps difficult, social schedule, consider this: you could take advantage of low-cost flights during January and February, rest your mind and body, and reset to start the new year in a more peaceful frame of mind at beautiful La Cazalla de Ronda.
At a time when the world is focused upon climate change, and during the month our trees hang with their annual bounty of fruits and nuts, we felt inspired to write a blog in appreciation of trees. Trees don’t only provide health benefits by producing oxygen. Scientists have demonstrated a link between trees and reduced instances of cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, stroke, and diabetes. Looking at trees calms us and has a positive effect on mood, self-esteem, stress, and depression. So take a break from your screen and look out of the window or go for a walk, and truly admire the trees around you. Or to thoroughly immerse yourself, book a stay at our luxury villa rental in Ronda and relax in our secluded country home, surrounded by sunshine and trees.
With an average temperature of 17°C/63°F, 10 hours of sunshine a day, and the last of the glorious spring flowers splashing colours across the meadows, May has always been one of our favourite months in Ronda. It’s the perfect temperature for outdoor activities, such as hiking, biking, and yoga, and during the evenings, it’s warm enough to dine outside on the jasmine-fragranced terrace. It’s just heavenly.
Additionally, there’s just so much going on in and around Ronda in May. There’s the MotoGP in Jerez, the Battle of the Flowers in Córdoba, the 101km endurance race, and the Ronda Romántica festival, to name just a few of May’s annual events.
As this is the time of year for showing your love, we’d love to extend a seasonal greeting to all of our beloved guests - those that have visited and will remain forever in our hearts, and those that are yet to come. Additionally, as 2018 has been our busiest year yet at La Cazalla, we wanted to share with you our favourite moments from what has proven to be both a very special and an extraordinary year. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad, Happy Holidays, and Happy Festivus from all of us to all of you.
This summer we had a self-described ‘serious’ road cyclist stay with us during one of our summer of love celebrations and he couldn’t praise the local cycling highly enough, declaring it ‘a cycling gem’. In fact he felt that La Cazalla would be an ideal base for a holiday with his own cycling club, which led us to thinking about what kinds of experience we could provide for groups of cyclists. We are always responsive to new ideas from our guests and love bringing like-minded people to the region so that they too can enjoy everything the amazing Serranía de Ronda has to offer.
It's been a few months since our last blog, but that's because we've spent the summer celebrating love. La Cazalla has been privileged to host three affirmations of love during the last month, beginning with Elke and Benjamin's celebration of their marriage, Melanie and Oscar's wedding, and finally Bea’s surprise ‘Do you know how much I love you?’ day for husband Ceri.
As it seems that our blogs recommending restaurants in and around Ronda are among the most frequently-read (hiking in Ronda is the most popular - thanks for following us folks!) and we love to help our guests and visitors to Ronda experience the very best from our hometown, we thought it about time we shared another five of our discoveries with you. It was such a struggle to dine out in so many different places, experiencing all the natural flavours of Andalusia (and we certainly need to do a bit of hiking now to balance things out!), but we were strong enough to accept the challenge and here are the results:
The beauty and intricacy of the Alhambra Palace, glowing warmly in front of its backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains; the winding cobbled streets and colourful bazaars of Albaicín; the humbling magnificence of the Cathedral; and the dazzling glory of the Basilica of St John of God. These delights and more are why you simply must visit Granada. Wake up with the valley's birdsong and take the easy two-hour drive from La Cazalla and spend your day soaking in the multicultural ambience of the city.
What does the word 'luxury' mean in 2018? Do we overuse this word, in the same way that the word 'awesome' is utilised so frequently that now everything is awesome? As we market La Cazalla de Ronda as a 'luxury villa rental', we thought we'd take a look at what makes an item or experience 'luxurious'.
Something prospective guests frequently ask before confirming their booking is if there is anything to do in Ronda. The answer is always a resounding "Yes!" and we direct them to this blog where they can discover articles with recommendations of things to do in Ronda, details of adventure sports and activities, hiking, bird watching... we could go on and on. However, what is particularly tantalising is how many parties, celebrations and festivals there are going in Andalusia (around 3,000 a year!). Let's have a look at at one that's coming up soon: the Ronda International Guitar Festival.
As it's Valentine's Day, we thought we'd write about our old rescue horse, Oberon, and his contentment with the new ladies in his life! If you've been reading our blog you'll know that we've had a rescued white male horse on the property for over a year now. He had been abandoned in the forest across the gorge from us and we were worried about him all alone over there, so we found out his history and brought him across the stream to La Cazalla.
As it's the time of year for our feathered friends to build their nests around the property again, and the proliferation of species at La Cazalla is bountiful, we feel the estate is the perfect base for birding. Its secluded valley location, with a stream running through it surrounded by forests and cliffs, provides an optimum habit for a variety of birds and animals.
Officially spring doesn't begin until the 20th of March, but it always seems to arrive early here in Andalusia and it's one of the most beautiful times of year. Wild flowers and blossoms burst from their buds and the mountainous countryside is speckled with colour. As we wandered past the Roman alberca last Saturday and spotted these wonderful daffodils and buttercups, we were inspired to tempt more visitors to come and enjoy the spring with us.
What more could you want?! The ancient port city of Jerez in neighbouring province Cádiz is well worth a visit during your stay at La Cazalla de Ronda. Just under 2 hours drive from our luxury villa rental in Ronda, Andalusia is a city famous for its Carthusian horses (considered to be the purest strain of Andalusian), flamenco and, most of all, its sherry wine.
