Adios Espana

Our final two nights in Spain were spent in Tarragona, a major industrial port which has preserved many remnants of its Roman past, which of course means there were lots of ruins to explore. Unfortunately we only had one full day in Tarragona on Sunday when most of the tourist spots were closed and we were unable to enter the closed gates although there was still plenty to see.

In the town square there was a very "different" statue of hundreds of men standing on each others shoulders like a human tower. Apparently this is a rendition of what actually happens at the Terragona festival when there are contests held to see who can build the highest human tower!

We had a couple of lovely meals for our last evenings in Spain, enjoying tapas and sangria on Sat evening and on Sunday night I had the best duck breast ever, cooked in the most divine sauce.

The sales were in full force here and a little last minute shopping just simply had to be done before leaving at about mid- day on Monday to drive to Barcelona.

Feeling a little nostalgic from our last visit to Spain in 1973 we stopped at Sitges for lunch. This is a delightful little beach resort (supposedly known as a "gay" resort) with lots of seaside restaurants and lively bars. We enjoyed a lovely "menu de dia" at a restaurant facing the sea watching the little fishing boats with the Sitges' landmark, the 17th century church of Sant Bartomeu, standing on the hill in the distance.

Sadly this was our last stop before heading to the airport, returning our hire car (not without some drama as the location had moved) and commencing the long trip home with short stops at London, Hong Kong and Melbourne airports on the way.

Adios Espana and Portugal. We have had an awesome holiday.

A taste of heaven at the Costa Blanca!

On 1 July we reached Eastern Spain to spend a night in Alicante in the Costa Blanca. We were on the 5th floor of the hotel and it was accessed by a lift surrounded by glass like a bay window on the outside of the building giving the sensation of actually being outside. The beach was a drive away and took several roundabout ways to find where to park as we always ended up going past it in the wrong direction and not able to turn around. Eventually we found an underground carpark and at 8pm on an overcast evening we jumped into the waves. I was a bit dubious until my bare feet touched that water. It was just amazing. It felt like a tepid bath except there were great waves for fantastic body surfing. We had a glorious swim. I couldn't believe how beautiful the water felt and how long we stayed in there at that time of night without sunshine.

Later in the evening we found the most fantastic little restaurant where we chose a very large plate for two of prawns cooked in a variety of ways. Yummo - it was divine and the bottle of vino was great too.

Everyone at all the little restaurants on the hill where we were, was serenaded by an accordian player (who was actually really good) and his partner who was playing the tambourine. When they finished she turned the tambourine upside down and approached everybody for a donation. We responded positively as we enjoyed the music. However, we didn't buy the red roses, glow sticks, watches or shirts which we were also offered during the course of the evening!

Next morning we had time for a run before breakfast. We ran from the hotel to the beach and along the boardwalk enjoying the sea air. With less hills we managed to run our 9km two minutes faster than our previous run.

Later we went for an explore and discovered that all the sales started that day, on 1 July, just when our suitcases were already full (almost) to the brim!

Exploring Granada

We spent three amazing days in Andalucia in Granada, Southern Spain. Our hotel was in a busy area and about ten minutes walk from the busy bustling city where there were pedestrian streets with "Christmas" lights hanging in rows above us. We explored everywhere by foot including the Albaicin which is in a corner of the city on the hillside. This is mainly pedestrianised and reflective of Granada's Moorish ancestry. The Albaicin is the site of the first fortress built in the 13th century with cobbled alleys and villas with Moorish decorations and gardens. There were some stunning views and we could view the Alhambra (see below) perfectly. Many of the street names start with Cuesta which means 'slope'! We were also rewarded with a free orchestral concert conducted from the top of an apartment which was a school of music. It was lovely!

On one of our days in Granada we joined a tour bus which collected us from our hotel and took us to The Alhambra. This amazing complex dates back to the start of its construction in 1237. The gardens were built to be a recreation place for the King of Granada and the palace was built much later in 1525 for Charles V just after his marriage but he never actually lived there.

The Alhambra was a complete town within the walls with shops and public baths, but it fell into disrepair with nobody living there. In 1923 restoration began and continues today it being declared a World Heritage site in 1984.

Our extensive tour took three hours and then we continued to explore the places we missed such as the baths and the fort. With so much to oooh and aaah at and hours of walking we definitely enjoyed our final dinner (and wine) in Granada that evening.

Missing Africa by ONE minute!

The drive to Granada took most of the day and it was nearly midnight when we arrived. However on the way we passed hundreds of modern windmills dotting the landscape and stopped to explore lots of interesting places. During our stop in Tarifa, a 30min ferry ride to Africa, we suddenly had the urge to "just do it". The boat left at 3pm and it was 2.45pm and our passports were in the car parked a long way up the hill. We ran back to the car and pulled everything out of our backpacks and suitcase having momentary panic attacks when it took 10 mins to find the passports in the bottom of the suitcase. We rushed back to the boat with one minute to spare but weren't allowed on - bother, that was 15 very exciting minutes when we almost caught the boat to Africa! We had to be satisfied with blurred photos of it in the distance instead!

Our next stop was Gibraltar where we stopped to ogle the legendary rock and to laugh at the monkeys guarding this British colony. It was quite strange realising that residents here speak English, have British number plates and we were actually in the UK in the middle of Spain - bizarre!

Our last stop before Granada was Ronda and here we spent two hours exploring as it was a fabulous town, with great views and gorgeous white washed houses on steep banks.

A few hours later we finally reached our destination. Granada is in Andalucia in Southern Spain and the temperature continues to rise!

Living the High Life in a Monastery

On Monday 27 June we drove to Santa Maria near Cadiz in Southern Spain for just one amazing night in a monastery which had been converted into a fabulous hotel. It was unbelievably luxurious with marble staircases, 16th century paintings hanging on the walls of long corridors and huge chandeliers, original monks' kneeling benches and gorgeous courtyards. For a really reasonable price we had a luxury suite and free wifi. In fact we have stayed in 4star hotels or equivalent everywhere we have been and have paid less (often much less) than $100 a night except in Barcelona where it was very slightly more. Booking online as we go seems to be the way to travel.
Santa Maria was a delightful little place with very narrow cobbled streets, cute restaurants and interesting markets by the river. We also discovered that petrol is 30cents a litre cheaper in Spain than in Portugal!

Next morning we took the very slow winding scenic route to Granada.

Soaking up the sun!

We are now back home in freezing Canberra (minus 5 last night) so this title does not seem very apt! However I need to bring us to the present day so back I go to.........

Days of endless sunshine and a washing machine meant an opportunity to relax, run, swim and wash our clothes instead of buying new ones! Damn!

It had reached 40deg when we arrived in Albufeira in The Algarve and it has been hot and sunny, with temps between 37 and 41deg, every day since. We stayed in a resort near Albufeira about 2km walk from the beach. It had six swimming pools, one of which was long enough to swim lengths (at least 20metres) and actually feel like we had exercised. We ran three of the four mornings we were there - 7.3km, 11.3km and 9km. They weren't long distances but undulating, uneven cobbles made for a considerably slower pace than it should have been. Actually, that's my excuse. The true reason for the speed (or lack of it) could be the extra kilos which have have made their way round my waistline and butt. Even my running clothes feel tight which is not a good sign! Hmmm - a lot of hard work is needed in the two weeks we are home before leaving for Vanuatu on 20 July to run in the ultra marathon relay team.

But oh, it has been worth it. We loved our time in The Algarve. Our washing dried outside, we ran and went for a swim straight afterwards, sometimes up to 40 lengths, all before breakfast.

Later in the afternoon we would go for swims at the beach and inbetween browse round the interesting little shops or drive further afield to check the sights such as the day we drove to the most south western point in Europe (Cape St Vincente) where there was a working lighthouse (although we didn't see any ships), great views and a windswept little town nearby.

We spent four nights in The Algarve before heading for Southern Spain.