Just a short drive from the sea to Sella.
After the past week of daily rain and flash floods, during which we spent too much time in our small condo longingly looking out the window wishing the rain would stop, it finally turned sunny and hot again. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny and hot Costa Blanca day. We decided we needed to get out and take a drive. Our destination would be Sella. a small village just 18 km from the sea and our base in Benidorm.
Sella is a sleepy village, just a short, pleasant drive up into the mountains. We thought it would be perfect for a walk and late lunch. We’d also read about a restaurant called Restaurant Bar Fonda in Sella and we wanted to give it a try.
It was an easy drive on a typically Spanish, winding and narrow mountain road, which we shared with only a few cyclists.
Once we arrived in Sella, we parked in the free municipal parking lot at the bottom of the village. From there we walked up the fairly steep, narrow 300 meter long road to the Plaza Mayor. There we found a small outdoor market on the main square, but it was rather deserted, like the rest of the village. Since it was noon and very hot, we weren’t surprised by this. Most of the local villagers were likely comfortably lounging in their homes behind the cool, 1/2 meter thick clay walls, away from the heat of the mid-day.
We strolled up and down the narrow streets of Sella, snapped a few photos and decided to look for the Restaurant Bar Fonda that had been recommended to us. Even though it’s a small village, we couldn’t seem to find it so my husband asked a very friendly man at the market. Hearing that our Spanish was very poor, the kind gentleman walked us about 4 minutes down and around a couple of winding streets and pointed us across the street to the Restaurant Bar Fonda.
We entered and were greeted by a very friendly older Spanish woman. She reminded me of my grandmother. We were given a great table overlooking the Spanish hillside. Because it was rather early for spanish lunch, it was quiet like the village. To begin with, we were the only people in the restuarant. But by the time we finished, it was starting to get busy.
We started with a glass of rose wine and a large bottle of water. We both ordered the menu del dia, choosing the lamb over the chicken in tomatoe sauce or a choice of different paellas. The meal consisted of starters: salad, ham and cheese plate, garlic bread, sausage and the best tortilla I've ever had.
This was followed by the main course of lamb chops and fries and we added a nice bottle of red. Vino tinto this time to go with the lamb. Finally dessert, tart a la casa made with melon and a cortado. Overall, it was a very typical spanish style meal. Simple, made from fresh ingredients and very tasty. We were both satisfied and agreed we would not need dinner that evening. Content and happy, we asked for the bill. Total bill was Euro 32. Would we do it again? Absolutely. It was a great half day excursion and gave us a needed break from our "big city" life in Benidorm.
