Rota, Spain!

Late Saturday night Taurean and I caught the bus to the Stanstead Airport. We then got our plane to Jerez, Spain. We arrived in Spain and were greeted by one of my brothers’ good friends, Joseph, who we would be staying with in Rota Spain. Rota, Spain is a place where we lived as kids. My brother actually graduated here in a Spanish bull ring. We spent our first day at a pub, owned by Joseph, called Brixton, sipping on mimosas, enjoying a DELICIOUS burger, and soaking in the sun.

Rota, Spain was exactly how I remember it… but smaller. As a kid, everything seemed so big and so far apart, a good example of how your perception changes.
After a great experience at Brixton, we went down to the boardwalk and stopped at some of the beach bars, Chiringuitos. When I was younger I always remember my parents enjoying “Tinto Limon” which is pretty much just red wine with lemon Fanta. I am not a big lemon fan, so I decided to try “Tinto Naranja”, Red wine, and orange Fanta. It was the best thing ever and so refreshing! Now I understand why my parents liked it so much. I enjoyed stopping at all the beach bars and experiencing their different atmospheres.
After a short “siesta” we went for dinner and a steakhouse… I know, not very Spanish, but with the Spanish seasonings everything tasted different and way better than in the States. For starters, we had grilled provolone cheese and garlic shrimp. We split the main course of different grilled meats, chicken, pork, lamb, sausage, and beef. And of course some fries. To top the night off we went to another Chiringuito to meet up with some of Taurean and Joseph’s friends.

The Next Day

Monday was a great day as well. We got up and ready for a day in Rota, intending to go to the beach. Unfortunately, the wind here can get very strong and Monday was one of those windy days. Another point on our agenda was to get a Spanish tortilla (potatoes, eggs, and onion), so we stopped to get a bocadilla , snack, a tortilla sandwich, and Tintos. It definitely brought back some memories from when we lived there.

They have some nice signs downtown so we also stopped and did a mini photoshoot there. I saw a candy store and was on a mission to get some of the candy I loved so much! Once again this brought back memories. We spent some more time “bar hopping” along the beach trying not to get sand swept.

Siesta

After another siesta, we went out for the night. We walked down into Rota and Taurean wanted to show me his old “stomping grounds”. We walked through the beautiful streets down to the beachfront where he reminisced on his high school years. (This trip wasn’t meant to be for touristy things, just visiting our old home. And that’s exactly what we did.) After walking around we settled at an Irish bar for drinks and food that Joseph recommended. We had a great time there chatting with the owner. Since it is not yet tourist season in Rota things were pretty slow, meaning we got more “personal” service.

Around 2 am we headed to Brixton to watch the NBA finals. I made it through the first half then had to take my own siesta. By the time we finally left the pub the sun was coming up! We got a small breakfast and then went home to get some sleep.

We didn’t want to waste our last day sleeping, so after a 3-hour nap, we got ready for the beach again. Taurean and I went to get lunch with one of his other friends who still lived there. We went to do some souvenir shopping, got ice cream at oh la la (my favorite childhood ice cream store) and then went home to get Joseph.

Rota, Spain Beach

Finally, it was time for us to get some sun on the beach. We hopped in a taxi to our favorite Chiringuito and savored some more Tintos. I couldn’t believe how great the water felt, especially after laying in the hot sun. I was so glad the wind held off on the last day so I could get a bit of a tan. Following a few hours of beach time, we stopped at the candy store again to top up our supply. We had Tapas for dinner. Joseph suggested the good ones and we tried them all. This was a great way to spend our last evening in Rota, Spain.

The next morning we were up early for our flight back home to England. I would like to say thank you to Joseph for being an Amazing host and to my brother Taurean for a lot of the pictures and getting my ticket as my birthday present!!! I can not wait to go back again… and maybe do some touristy trips… or not 😊 Check out some of my other tourist blogs here!

And more recently, how to travel with a toddler!