Debra and Dana

In the area around Ronda, there are a number of settlements that are called white towns. We referred to a few in previous blogs. Nestled in the mountains close to Ronda, Juzcar was once a “white town” that turned blue. In 2011, Sony Pictures painted the whole town in conjunction with release of its 3D Smurf movie. The transition created so much publicity, that the local residents refused Sony’s offer to restore the original colour and hence Juzca is now called the “blue town”. Remnants of “Smurfdom” can be found throughout the town and although the road was narrow and winding, it was worth the visit. The first week of Angela’s and Dary’s visit provided more rain than the Andalusia region had all of last year. So with the water reservoir levels improving and the sun ... read more

Our friends and neighbours Laura and Doug are visiting with us in Estepona and after a couple of cloudy and rainy days, the weather cleared and we were able to enjoy some nice, warm sunshiny days while touring the immediate area before heading out to Cordoba which is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Estepona. The area around Cordoba is one of the largest olive growing regions in Spain and unlike Granada, which sits besides the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Cordoba is nestled in a valley surrounded by acres of olive and almond groves. During the Moor occupation of Andalusia, the city was once its capital before falling to the Conquistador’s. The Mezquita (Mosque in Spanish) is an astonishing structure that was started in the 8th century AD soon after the Muslim conquest of the area. ... read more

A short drive inland from the coast, there are a series of small towns called “White Towns” which are historical communities going back to the Moors (Muslim occupiers). The Moors had some unique architecture in the area with narrow streets etc and they used a lime based plaster that made the buildings white. On a practical side, the buildings were cooler in the extreme heat and the lime reduced the amount of bacteria thereby making the town more hygienic. Or as an alternative explanation, my brother Daryl might hypothesis, ”maybe they got a deal on white paint”! After an hours drive along a winding road, we arrived in Ronda one of the larger of the “White Towns” with a population of 35,000. It was captured by the Moors around 712 AD. Running through the middle is ... read more

Forgot to mention on the last Blog, after the Jameson Whiskey tour we had dinner at the Brazen Head, reputed to be the oldest pub in Dublin, established in 1198. It was a cavernous place so probably had a few expansions over the past 1100 years. Undoubtedly there were few parallels to the original other than a few guys sitting at the bar; although the patrons of 1198 would be surprised with their 2024 peer group who were mainly looking at their phones as opposed to chatting with each other. We ordered Irish stew which was good but cost $30.00CDN per bowl!! Couldn’t find the inflation rate from 1192-2024 so unable to calculate what the stew would cost when the pub first opened. The third day in Dublin was warm and sunny which made the trip ... read more

After an appx 2 hour train ride from Florence, we arrive in Cinque Terre (pronounced Chink weh Tay reh). The name refers to 5 Villages that hug the rugged coast line as part of the Italian Riviera. Up until about 1990, the area was a relatively obscure tourist destination with a few visitors mainly from France, Germany and other European countries. When Rick Steves, the American travel writer, discovered it, the area became the 4th most popular travel destinations in Italy, behind Rome, Florence and Venice. In the early days prior to the “tourism takeover”, the main attraction in Cinque Terre was the Via Delle Amore, or ”walk of love”. The trail connected two of the villages, Manarola and Riomaggiore and when opened, it dramatically improved relationships between these once isolated communities. Young people, who rarely ... read more