At dinner Scarlet had mentioned that we would go and cuddle baby tigers on our last day. Of course after a few glasses of wine, I just smiled and nodded. It wasn’t until we passed the petting zoo on the way to Castillo de Castellar that I believed that this was actually a thing in Spain!
Castellar used to be somewhere I would go a lot with my family to explore the castle and the surrounding countryside. I hadn’t remembered the ridiculous climb up the mountain to get to the foot of the castle, or the beautiful town hidden behind the incredible castle walls.
Driving up, the car lurched around each corner as we prayed we wouldn’t meet another car coming downhill. We were lucky to only meet one and found a parking space at the side of the road, before walking up in the scorching heat to the castle entrance.
Shaded by the cool, thick stone walls, we explored the castle and houses hidden inside. A whole village opened up to us; residents sitting in their doorways propped up on moulding deckchairs as they watched us creeping through the quiet walkways. Dogs watched us from open balconys; too hot and lazy to even bark and bright pink flowers delicately waltzed in the breeze.
Sunglasses – Bailey Nelson | Top – All Saints | Shorts – Burton | Shoes – River Island
Playsuit – Quiz | Wedges – Moda in Pelle (similar) | Bag – Charles Clinkard
Feeling completely enveloped by the village and at risk of getting too lost, we made our way back to the castle walls, stopping for a little while to sit on the edge watching the swallows dipping and gliding in the wind.
Feeling adventurous, we thought we would go in search of another castle suggested by Scarlet at the top of a cute little town on the side of a hill. The roads were steep, steeper even than those to Castellar and the car was struggling to heave itself up the narrow lanes.
Arriving at the castle and just about managing to park (vertically) we decided it was all a bit much when I nearly lost my door as it swung open at such a force I thought it might break off its hinges and fly off down the hill.
Going down was much much worse than coming up and we hadn’t prepared for one way streets and roads made out of cobbles. We were both terrified, but some excellent driving skills from Ben meant that we arrived safely back at the bottom of the hill in time for a delicious lunch at a local restaurant.
That evening, we decided to give the Trocadero another chance and popped in for dinner. We didn’t book, but managed to get a gorgeous table outside overlooking the sea and the pool, just in time to see the most spectacular sunset.
Shirt – Next Menswear | Jeans – Celopman | Shoes – ASOS
Dress – Boohoo | Heels – Missguided
Inside, Trocadero really is a wonderland. Giant Lions stand guard over the black tiles of the pool, candles line the tree line and the palms are lit up with twinkling fairy lights. It’s a truly romantic dinner spot. Forgetting it was Levante weather, the wind started to pick up and it got really cold but the staff quickly moved us and our delicious Paella inside to the candle-lit, African themed restaurant.
The food, service and wine was all delicious so I did feel slightly bad about slating the sun beds previously, but I still stand by what I said in our Youtube video – they should apply the same service they did to our dinner to day time at the club.
It was a really romantic meal and exactly what we needed after such a hectic few weeks.
