Our Holiday to Spain, Days 1 & 2
Spain: 22nd April 2006 to 2 May 2006
We were both in need of a holiday by the time we headed off to Spain, Ian (uvjunkie) much more so than myself as he had been working late most nights and almost every weekend for months. Because we were both exhausted we had planned on having a fairly chilled and relaxed time, rather than try and fit everything there was to see in our 10 days there. Because we were staying in Keith’s (my mums partner) place, we know we have the option to go back there whenever we wish, which meant there was much less pressure to see everything!
Saturday 22nd April 2006
After a fairly late night on Friday, Ian (uvjunkie) and I got up at 4am, and got ready before my mum came and picked us up to drive us to the airport. We flew to Malaga and then got our hire car and I drove us to our house in Alcaidesa. The area we were staying was along the coastline in the south of Spain, about half way between Malaga and Gibraltar. On a clear day we could see the rock of Gibraltar from the villa we were staying in.
The View from our Villa
We arrived at the place at around 1pm, both had a quick shower and freshen up before we headed out to explore the resort. We wandered down to the Dragonfly bar and sat in the sun with a drink before wandering back to the house.
Ian by the golf course
Me by the route to the beach
We then drove out to Carrefour to get some food & drink for our stay. We walked back down to the Dragonfly in the evening for dinner.
Sunday 23rd April 2006
We got up, ready and had some breakfast. It was not a nice day at all, and it rained a lot all day.
We headed out to Alcalá de los Gazules because we had found out that they have a really lovely Saint George festival and celebration.
We arrived to find a very quaint little village which wound its way up to the very top of a steep hill / mountain. At the very top was the town square which was barred up and as we gathered they brought out a bull for the bull fighting. Though it wasn’t really proper bull fighting as it looked like a very young bull, and the children of the village were in the ring taunting it. I know that it is a very old Spanish tradition but whilst I was stood watching I couldn’t help but feel sad for the bull who was very obviously distressed and confused by what was going on. The festival and community spirit was wonderful to see though, even the pouring rain didn’t dampen their spirits!
Bull fighting
We headed down the hill again and finally found a restaurant that was open (everywhere was closed as everyone was at the top of the hill celebrating!!) and it turned out to be a wonderful place. We had a leg of lamb which has to have been the most amazing leg of lamb I’ve ever eaten (which was certainly reflected by the price). We also had a mixture of Spanish hams as a starter, which was the first tapas I’ve ever had, and which featured fairly heavily in our diets for the remainder of our holiday!!
After food, we headed back up the hill again but because of the rain, most of the festivities had been cancelled until the next day. We made our way back to the car at a leisurely pace and headed back to the house and had a very chilled evening together.
The views on the walk down
Ian in the rain!
We were both in need of a holiday by the time we headed off to Spain, Ian (uvjunkie) much more so than myself as he had been working late most nights and almost every weekend for months. Because we were both exhausted we had planned on having a fairly chilled and relaxed time, rather than try and fit everything there was to see in our 10 days there. Because we were staying in Keith’s (my mums partner) place, we know we have the option to go back there whenever we wish, which meant there was much less pressure to see everything!
Saturday 22nd April 2006
After a fairly late night on Friday, Ian (uvjunkie) and I got up at 4am, and got ready before my mum came and picked us up to drive us to the airport. We flew to Malaga and then got our hire car and I drove us to our house in Alcaidesa. The area we were staying was along the coastline in the south of Spain, about half way between Malaga and Gibraltar. On a clear day we could see the rock of Gibraltar from the villa we were staying in.
The View from our Villa
We arrived at the place at around 1pm, both had a quick shower and freshen up before we headed out to explore the resort. We wandered down to the Dragonfly bar and sat in the sun with a drink before wandering back to the house.
Ian by the golf course
Me by the route to the beach
We then drove out to Carrefour to get some food & drink for our stay. We walked back down to the Dragonfly in the evening for dinner.
Sunday 23rd April 2006
We got up, ready and had some breakfast. It was not a nice day at all, and it rained a lot all day.
We headed out to Alcalá de los Gazules because we had found out that they have a really lovely Saint George festival and celebration.
We arrived to find a very quaint little village which wound its way up to the very top of a steep hill / mountain. At the very top was the town square which was barred up and as we gathered they brought out a bull for the bull fighting. Though it wasn’t really proper bull fighting as it looked like a very young bull, and the children of the village were in the ring taunting it. I know that it is a very old Spanish tradition but whilst I was stood watching I couldn’t help but feel sad for the bull who was very obviously distressed and confused by what was going on. The festival and community spirit was wonderful to see though, even the pouring rain didn’t dampen their spirits!
Bull fighting
We headed down the hill again and finally found a restaurant that was open (everywhere was closed as everyone was at the top of the hill celebrating!!) and it turned out to be a wonderful place. We had a leg of lamb which has to have been the most amazing leg of lamb I’ve ever eaten (which was certainly reflected by the price). We also had a mixture of Spanish hams as a starter, which was the first tapas I’ve ever had, and which featured fairly heavily in our diets for the remainder of our holiday!!
After food, we headed back up the hill again but because of the rain, most of the festivities had been cancelled until the next day. We made our way back to the car at a leisurely pace and headed back to the house and had a very chilled evening together.
The views on the walk down
Ian in the rain!