Seeing the Sights In Setenil de las Bodegas

It's been a while since we enjoyed a day trip with Jaime Parker, so with a free weekend on both our calendars, we picked Jaime up at 9 am on Saturday, March 2, and began our road trip to Setenil de las Bodegas!

Our road trip began with travel updates and tons of laughter as we caught up on the last few months! Jaime has been traveling as much as us, and our trips have bounced back and forth making it hard to meet up! Getting together today seemed like no time had passed as we passed rolling hills on our way to Setenil!

Roca sobre Calle Cuevas de la Sombra

Located two hours northeast of Rota, Setenil de las Bodegas is a famous Spanish white village built into the side of a cliff! Reminding us of Native American villages out west, these homes were built under the cliff's edge to provide protection. Originally a town filled with vineyards along the river, Setenil de las Bodegas has transformed into a touristy town that is home to 3,000 locals.

La Tasca

Since we arrived mid-morning, we were ready for a bite to eat, so we found the cutest restaurant for a traditional Spanish breakfast sandwich of tomato spread, sliced meat, and cheese alongside a nice warm cappuccino!

The inside of this cafe was breathtaking! It was a rock wall and ceiling, with a traditional Spanish wall closing it off from the outside! What a cool place!

After warming up inside La Tasca, we ventured out to explore the rest of this white city! As we climbed higher, we continued to find white houses alongside the cliffside of the town; what a unique place!

Of course, we had to pause at Setenil's very own besame en este rincon wall for a photo. Jaime was a good sport and snapped a few pictures of Bryan and I! You may remember, that Rota has their very own kissing corner that we visited with Mom and Dad back in January!

You may notice these stairs are parallel to another cliff. We all got a good laugh at a sign outside one of the houses under the cliff; for one euro a person, we could tour his house! We passed on this experience but did chuckle at the entreprenuer spirit!

Castillo de Setenil de las Bodegas

After climbing a few steep streets, we reached the village's castle, Castillo de Setenil de las Bodegas, where we got some good pictures overlooking the city from up high! Seeing the many hillsides carved out to house Spanish homes was a pretty spectacular view!

Una flor, una mujer

Our afternoon continued with spouts of rain...but when life brings rain, we choose to sing in it! Wandering the streets of Setenil de las Bodegas took our breath away- from both the hilly climb and the stunning viewpoints!

Cafeteria Bar Sol y Sombra

Those hills worked up an appetite, so it was time to find lunch! Google recommended Cafeteria Bar Sol y Sombra; we were ready for some sol (sun) and a chance to get out of the sombra (shadows!)

Together we split a few tapas & wine while defrosting from the rain & wind. Here's what we tried:

Tartitas de berenjenas con queso de cabra y miel

Eggplant tart with goat cheese and honey

Flamenquin de pollo, queso, cebolla caramelizada y salsa de soja

cheese roll with chicken, carmelized oinion and soy sauce

Surtidos de quesos (queso frito con memelada de pina y crujiente con membrillo)

assorted cheeses- with pineapple jam and quince

And those tapas were good! Bryan didn't think he would like the eggplant, but it was my favorite of the three tapas and he ate his entire portion. The fried cheese with pineapple jam was killer, while the chicken/onion/soy sauce roll was our least favorite. I tried to get a bite of our Japanese love...but it just wasn't right. Whew do we miss good Japanese food!

Just as the skies cleared up, it was time to begin our journey home. At least the bright skies gave way to bright photos of the rolling hills as we made our way back south to the much-drier Rota scenery!

We weren't ready for the day to end, so once making it back to Rota, Jaime, Bryan and I walked to Malandar Brewing for a few craft beers to end the day! We passed the evening drinking and playing Rummy- a perfect ending to a wonderful day of sightseeing in Southern Spain!

Days like today make living abroad totally worth it. THIS is why we chose the military lifestyle.

Well, this and the whole dental school scholarship.

But mainly this!

--Katie