DAY TWO FRIDAY THE 13 TH MAY WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY.

FRIDAY THE 13^th MAY 2011 A DAY TO BE REMEMBERED.

We sat down in our breakfast room to Tea and Coffee, Toast and various conserves, Local Ham and Cheese, Chorizo and chilled Melon along with freshly made Orange Juice to set us up for the day ahead. The weather forecast was sunny later and getting warmer; we set off to show the folks our end of the Costa Del Sol starting at Sotogrande Marina, the nicest on the coast where we sat on the front overlooking the marina in the posers bar “ Ke ”for a mid morning strong Coffee. As we made our way back along the coast road we called into see Ana Mari, Carlos’s wife, who has started work in a new job in the last few days at a complex Bar /Restaurante by the side of the N340, local wine was soon flowing along with the Bacardi and Coke to help us on our travels. Next we stopped at El Castillo de la Duquesa to show them the old fishing port, the Castle where there was formally a Roman Villa and the sea front views over to Africa on a clear Day. We then called into El Puerto de la Duquesa where the council has spent a lot of money, lately to improve the overall state of roads etc. After a quick look around we next hit San Luis de Sabinillas and stopped at the Friday Market on the front, we had earlier shown them around the village and our Friday Market down by the sports ground; It was time to head up into the hills for a spot of lunch in our favorite workers Venta in Casares for the Menu del Dia; we had been unsuccessful on the way in finding a Venta that some friends had recommended on “ Tripadvisor ” More about this later ! We got on a window table overlooking the gorge just before the workers hit it, Salad hits the table as you sit down, for starters we had Potaje, Paella and Gazpacho and to follow two sorts of Pork Loin, Chicken a la Plancha and Entrecote steak all served with fresh crisp fried sliced potatoes and mixed vegetables. The local wine is crisp and dry and a friendly Bacardi and coke also helped us on our way after a sweet of Egg Flan and whipped cream finished with the house Carajillo’s ! As we came down the steep and twisty road back to the coast I spotted the sign for the “ Hotel Hermitage ” which turns off up at steep and twisty unmade track to the hotel, we could have never been able to make it in the Smart Car, it is only passable in Four by Fours; it is over 3ks. and on the way you pass lots of secluded grand villas on the hillsides, in the next two weeks they are closing the road to resurface it complety after years of negotiations with all the villa owners, the hotel is the hidden gem on the Costa de Sol. We were welcomed by the restaurant manager Alberto who made us most welcome as we settled on the terrace overlooking the pool and Hotel cottages in the grounds and down to the coast and the Mediterrnean.He recommended for the girls a very floral crisp local white, a beautiful sharp Rose for David and I had my usual Bacardi and Coke served in a large Brandy Balloon glass. After studying the menu of the " Celima " restaurant which has a very good Menu del Dia as well as the a la carte the Chef came over and introduced himself, Rod Williams comes from Preston and has trained with all the great Chefs back in England just like David so they got on like a house on fire ! We then requested a Cheeseboard which came along as you can see in the pictures below with an excellent selection and garnished with a savoury Chutney and Quince Jelly.Alberto then offered us a drink on the house so Jane and I had a local Licqueur on the rocks and Brenda had a spectacular Brandy warmed over a glass of hot water and severed in a novel fashion with a paper napkin ! We shall return ! On the way back down we spotted the Venta that we had been looking for and called in to check it out – we soon arranged to go back on Saturday for lunch which will be revealed on the next blog;We tried to call into the Golf Club on the Finca Cortesin course but the security would not let us in so we stopped at a Chirningito on the beach front at the end of Sabinillas overlooking the bay for a early evening cocktail ! We headed back up to Manilva and our house for a little sun worshipping on the roof terrace for Jane and a siesta for the rest of us; later in the evening we ended up at Bar Rojas for supper, sat outside on a balmy evening we soon had a bottle of Brenda’s regular white on ice, the local Rose for David and the largest Bacardi and Coke of the day; sadly Lumy did not have any John Dory so we had instead Swordfish Steaks with salad and fresh Patatas Fritas along with fried Eggs and Garlic for me ! Coffee Solo, Hot Chocolate and Carajillos’s finished off one of the most memorable days down here on the Costa del Sol. A Friday the 13^th not to be forgotten in a long time !!

Thought for the Day;

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.

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