Not yet on the American tourist map, Conil de la Frontera, Spain, is a genuine Spanish beach town. On the Atlantic side of southern Spain, this old fishing village has miles of wide beaches, a plethora of restaurants, and real European culture. You won’t find high-rise hotels spoiling the classic white washed Andalusian landscape. Nor will you find beach chairs for rent or peddlers roaming the beach desperate to make a sale.
Just BYOC (bring your own chair) or as we did, stop at one of the many convenience shops along the main drag to the beach to buy a few towels, an umbrella and paddle ball.
The wide, flat beach is ideal for paddle ball with plenty of room to carve out a court. And the waves are just the right size for body surfing. Not wanting to leave the beach for lunch, fresh bread, salami and spanish cheese made for a fabulous and affordable picnic lunch.
Hanging out at the beach was like watching mini foreign films varying from romantic to family and european college students on holiday. The many languages that surround really top off that cultural experience as I heard French, German, Spanish, and Swedish (I think). The only English I heard outside my own family was of the British variety.
For a relatively small town, Conil has an impressive number of restaurants, bars and cafes. During the dinner hour tables line the narrow cobblestone streets as the restaurants take advantage of the fresh air and evening sky to add to the ambiance.
I love this picture, taken after a memorable Spanish tapas feeding frenzy. But what I love most about this picture is the cute old lady in the background. She is the reason I snapped it. About halfway through our dinner, she opened her door, put her chair right there in the doorway and sat there the rest of the evening just watching the comings and goings on her street, as well as the tourists dining about 6 feet away.
But perhaps our favorite meal in Conil was not at the typical Spanish tapas restaurant, but at Trattoria Pizzeria Da Pietro, a small authentic italian place in the center of town. We hesitated on eating Italian food in Spain, but this was truly genuine, mouth watering Italian food. We were the first in the restaurant at 8pm, but by the time we left, it was a full house. The homemade pasta was to die for, as we had to literally stop our kids from licking their plates. And the wine? For 7 euros per bottle, I wish we had bought cases. It was THAT good.
