Road trip (part I) – Friday 17th October

The only plan for the entire trip was that at some point we had to get to Gibraltar so I could stock up on underwear and socks at Marks & Spencer. Other than that, Susan and I were free agents.  Though we also had to consider the weather. The forecast said it was going to be sunny on Friday and rainy on Saturday, so we weren’t sure if it might be better to do shopping and fish & chip eating as rainy day activities. . .

The general idea had been to follow a similar route to the Magical Mystery Tour that I had done with friends Peter and Craig (aka zoomer) back in July 2006. And it started off in a similar fashion after Susan picked me up and told me she hadn’t had any breakfast. I suggested that we stop off in Arcos so she could caffeine up and also check out this very pretty pueblo blanco.

We were still undecided about whether we should go straight to Gibraltar or over to the Costa de la Luz, but the iffy weather forecast made us think it would be better to hang out on Cádiz beaches in the sun … so it was off to Conil (remember Conil, Lizzie?).  We got there quite early and realised that we could actually make it to Bolonia in time for lunch. Sue was keen on sampling the very best chipirones a la plancha in the universe at the Restaurante Miramar, and I was dying to try them again myself, so imagine our dismay when we saw that the restaurant had not only obviously changed hands (and was now called – are you ready? – Dogville ) but it was also CLOSED. As was most of the village. Hungry and disappointed we decided to push on … to Gibraltar!

We’d already visited my two favourite beaches, albeit briefly, and the original notion of maybe spending the night in Bolonia was no longer an option … and we were both in the mood for a bit of shopping.

But first we had to stop for sustenance, which we found at Roy’s Fish & Chips in the form of battered cod and breaded scampi and a ton of fabulous crispy fried chips …

By the time we got through our late lunch and Marks & Spencer it was getting on and we still didn’t know where we’d be spending the night.  But then I remembered how we had visited a lovely nearby village called San Roque on the Mystery Tour and had found a fabulous place to have a cold beer (Susan will especially appreciate that last linked photo) and I thought it would be a good place to ask for a hotel recommendation. And it was! There was no doubt in that we had to stay at The Atrium and we were given instructions as to how to find it.

While we were wandering back down into the centre of the village (we’d parked at the Mirador where I took that photo of Gibraltar) someone called to us and said he’d overheard us asking for directions to The Atrium and he told us of a shorter way that was on ‘his route’ (as a street cleaner) and he also informed us that the building was once the area court house and was very big and impressive.  And so we found The Atrium and it was charming well beyond our expectations …

Our hosts, Mike and Jean, were very friendly and helpful and suggested a few options as to where we could find dinner.  But we still had to go back up the hill to collect our bags … and on the way back ran into our street cleaning friend who asked if we’d found the hotel and went on to tell us how when he was a child  (I’m guessing he’s in his mid-30s now) his father was in charge of removing all the furniture once it ceased to be a courthouse, and that had been the only time he’d been inside.

And so after we got settled in we went off in search of dinner and as we were taking a walk around the main square we heard a car horn and turned to see our street cleaning friend once again, waving and smiling at us as he drove past! And dammit – I’m so sorry I didn’t ask him to stop so I could take his photo. Anyhoo…

We ended up finding a very busy-looking place called the Cruz Blanca in the square and it turned out to be quite fabulous…

After a bottle of wine and a wonderful snacky meal of rosada and presa we wandered back to our hotel, got into pj’s and GOT ONLINE.  Susan had brought her laptop and was able to connect to The Atrium’s wifi. Later on it was lights out … and I think this is my favourite memory of the whole trip … we lay in our beds and just sleepily chatted about this and that, often bursting into uncontrollable laughter, until we finally fell asleep after having shared a wonderful day together.

~ Road Trip photos ~

~ Road Trip (part ll) ~

Mike & Jean are retiring and are selling The Atrium, in case anyone is interested…

The Atrium
Coronel Moscoso 3
San Roque, Cádiz
Phone: +34 956 780 266
email: information@atriumsanroque.net
Atrium Website