Road to Ronda and more

We travelled the scenic route from San Martin de Tesorillio to Ronda. A wonderful windy, twisty road into the mountains with beautiful vistas at every turn.

If you click on this one, you'll be able to see the route we took.

The wildflowers en route were simply gorgeous!

I couldn't resist gathering a bag full of enormous pine cones too, but sadly my suitcase wasn't big enough to transport them all and I had to leave most behind :( Only one actually made it back here to Malaysia where it now enjoys pride of place in my workroom with a lovely etching of the Al Hambra.

This is the beautiful town of Ronda. It's located on a rocky shelf of the Serrania (mountainous area) of Malaga. Breathtaking!

What a lovely way to display a colourful collection of plates.

More fabulous Moroccan ceramics and lanterns in this shop in Ronda - a veritable Aladdin's cave. Tempting, but again, no chance of buying anything as we are travelling with budget airlines which means we have next to no weight allowance :(

Note to self - must come back by car one day to buy a few of these beauties!!

Speaking of Morocco - it's not far on the ferry from Tarifa. We did the trip one day and experienced a whirlwind tour of the Medina at Tangiers. Unfortunately, there was no time to stop and take many good photos , as our guide was a man on a mission, intent on showing us the whole place in 2 hours flat and stopping only at favourite tourist traps .....
Carpet, silver and spice sellers all plied their wares, but years of living in the Middle East have honed our souk shopping skills and we fended them off!
I snapped these as we raced around!














Still to come: FIESTA in Frigiliana and glimpses of the Al Hambra Palace.

South of France part II

Ready for Part 2 of this mini tour of Provence? Got your comfortable shoes on? You'll need them today as we'll be covering a fair amount of ground! First let's enjoy a stroll in the early morning sunshine. We're going to head out past the olive groves at the end of the road to admire the poppies and other wild flowers growing alongside the country road.

Now it's time to hop in the car to drive to Lac St Croix and the spectacular Gorges du Verdon.

Yes, the water really is that amazing colour! It's melt water from the mountains.

A little further on we reach the picturesque medieval town of Moustiere Ste Marie. The setting is dramatic - the town is perched in front of 2 towering limestone cliffs. It's a quaint little place, very popular with tourists and home to several Faience pottery 'ateliers'.

A nice little shop here with Provencal fabrics. Pity we're travelling with budget airlines on this trip - 15 kilos baggage allowance = not much shopping :(

Looking across the valley from the town.

I think you can tell that I love the old shutters!

Moving on again to another very picturesque village. This is Tourtour - full of quaint, flower filled narrow streets ..

Charming cafes and restaurants...

and little art galleries.

This is a view from one. I love this pair of birds perched on the windowsill.

Two elegant sculptures and an amazing view!


Dog Tired

Time to pack up the suitcases, leave Provence behind and head for the airport again. Our next destination is Spain! See you there!