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Spain and the Canary Islands
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Spain and the Canary Islands

It’s the big 70th for Tory and Christine. To celebrate (a little early), we are off on a cruise to the Canary Islands followed by 2 weeks in Spain. Bring on the tapas, paella and wine! Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 21, 2019
    Delaneys to GoSpain and the Canary IslandsTraveler

    The airport wait,

    February 21, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    Drinking beer at Pearson. Got through the new automated baggage check and security system without too much trouble but the poor people without a Nexus card are probably still waiting. Next step is to find our tour group and escorts. Our flight to Barcelona has a transfer in Frankfort so sleeping might be a bit tough. Tory has suggested that we take ownership of our posts so henceforth we will try to let you know who wrote them. Christine (edited by Brian)Read more

  • Delaneys to GoSpain and the Canary IslandsTraveler

    Sagrada Familia

    February 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    One of the iconic buildings in Barcelona is the church built by Modernist Antoni Gaudi. The cathedral was started by another architect who quit after one year. Gaudi accepted the commission and 100 years after Gaudi’s death, in 2026, the cathedral (now a Basilica) will be finished. The Basilica has 2 facades finished (the Nativity, the Passion), with the Glory facade still to be completed. Unlike other churches, the stories of Christian teaching are portrayed on the outside. The inside is designed to suggest a forest. The columns reach to the ceiling and then branch out like tree limbs. There are no flying buttresses...the columns are fashioned from different stones, according to the load they support. The church will eventually have 18 spires, the highest representing the Virgin Mary. This building has so much symbolism and design complexity that it is impossible to discribe.

    We thoroughly enjoyed our audio tour and were glad we had pre-bought our tickets on-line. We were told that on a slow day, 5000 people visit the Basilica.

    One additional oddity...The printed information wall posters refers to the church as a “temple” but we did not see any explanation.    Read more

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    Tour of Barcelona

    February 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We all slept pretty well last night. We are at the Hotel Alexandra on Majorca St. It is a contemporary hotel, not too big, with excellent staff and a good location in the Eixample area of Barcelona. This area was a military district until the 1860’s when it was razed for a planned community. As a result, the streets are laid out in a grid system and all are 20 meters wide; 10 meters for cars and 10 metres for the sidewalks. The streets have many trees and the architecture has a distinct Art Nouveau look. It is very reminiscent of Paris with lots of wrought iron balconies.

    Very sensibly, each corner is cut on a 45’ angle, rather than 90 degrees like in North America. This allows for parking for about 6 cars on each corner of an intersection and provides much better sight lines.

    Our morning bus tour took us first to the Sagrada Familia (more about that later), then on to Montjuïc. Much more interesting than the standard “scenic view” point. Montjuïc has sports facilities ( swimming, riding, tennis, platform tennis) a soccer stadium, an art museum in a former palace, and many repurposed buildings from the Olympics. Fortunately it is a beautiful day (sunny and low 70s).

    We finished the morning with a short walk down Las Ramblas. This is the major street to the water and a “ must do “ for tourists. It is a busy commercial street with a wide, heavily treed boulevard down the middle. Very busy and prime hunting ground for pickpockets. We took a short detour into the Bari Gotic. This is part of the original city with very narrow, twisty streets and remnants of the city walls.

    Then back to the hotel before heading out to return to the Sagrada Familia for an audio tour.    Read more

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    To the boat!

    February 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    Sunday was another beautiful sunny day in Barcelona. Tory and Roger got up and had walked 2 hours by the time the bus left for the ship. Brian and I slept in (hopefully the end of the jet lag). Our plans to go to the Picasso Museum went awry.

    It was a short bus trip to the ship and a longish wait in line to be processed. The Norwegian Spirit is a larger ship than Brian and I are used to. Our room has lots of storage and wonders of wonders, a shower door instead of a flimsy curtain. By the time we got on board and settled, it was mid-afternoon so we spent the rest of the day exploring the ship and unpacking.

    Only the large Windows restaurant was open for dinner and it was busy. We started working our way through the “wines by the glass” list as we have the beverage package. We drank a very nice Tempanrillo. Dinner was very nice. Brian and I had beef medallions.

    The opening night entertainment was a fairly painful introduction of the ships officers, the program staff and a snippet of 3 upcoming acts. We were glad to head off to bed.    Read more

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    Our first sea day

    February 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    Our first sea day was a mixed bag of activities. Roger and Tory got a lumpy bed and spent some time getting that resolved. Brian and I did a little dancing and we all did too much drinking!

    It looks like this will be a good cruise for dancing and music. There is a Latin band that plays regularly and the dance floor is a pretty good size. This is also a younger crowd and so there is lots of pop music too.

    The passengers are a mix of European (the majority?), North Americans, and Middle Eastern. The age range is Baby to frail seniors so quite the mix. We hear lots of languages every day.

    Our major feat of the day was winning the trivia contest, paired up with two young men from the Okinawa Valley. The questions focussed on the ‘80s so we were glad to have them on our team. As Tory pointed out, we were too busy raising kids and working to notice what colour Mrs. Pac-Man was.

    In the evening we attended “A Salute to Motown” by the Soul Sensations. They made up in style and enthusiasm what they lacked in voice and were quite entertaining.    Read more

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    Casablanca

    February 27, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    When we woke up, I could not figure out why it was so dark. Later in the day, we realized it was probably heavy smog which blew in and out all day.

    Casablanca is a busy port city. We decided not to do a ship excursion so we walked off, through the port and got a taxi into the centre of town (or so we thought). Our driver got to a Medina (market), showed us the correct direction to walk to get to the mosque and said it was about four blocks. NCL does not provide any maps for passengers (a serious mark against them) so we headed off with very little idea of where we were going. Tory and Roger had been here once which helped.

    We walked through the edges of the market area. Our impressions were that there were lots of men of all ages standing around; we saw very few women and they mostly wore hijabs, long sleeves and pants; there was lots of garbage on the streets and the strawberries were enormous!

    This part of the city was predominately browns and greys (walls, sidewalks, clothes) with an occasional vivid splash of colour: a wall mural, or the carts of fruit. We walked through this area, dodging cars, bikes and handcarts to reach the large square in front of the mosque.

    Tory tells us that this is the second largest mosque in the world. It sparkled white and turquoise against the blue sky. We had all been in large mosques before so we decided not to pay for the tour.

    Shortly after, a large bank of smog blew in and as we were all starting to feel if (stinging eyes, sore throats, coughing) we grabbed a taxi and headed back to the ship. In retrospect, we agreed that we should have paid for an organized tour...oh well, lesson learned. We later heard that a sandstorm had blown in from the desert. Smog? Storm? Hard to differentiate.    Read more

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    Arrecife, Canary Islands

    February 28, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Yesterday was a sea day with little to report (other than victory at Trivia). Today we were in the lovely little city of Arrecife. This is the oldest of the Canary Islands and is volcanic. Tory and Roger went on a bus tour to the UNESCO designated park. They learned a great deal about the Islands.

    Brian and I walked into town. The route is clearly marked and an easy walk. The cruise terminal facilities look brand new and are white, like all the other buildings in the town. We walked to the old fortress which is now a museum. Unfortunately all the information is in Spanish so it had limited educational value for us. We walked the Main Street and bought some Aloe products (aloe is grown here). There are bike and scooter rentals on the street but we just wandered around. Lunch was tapas and wine beside the water then back to the ship. All in all, a delightful day.    Read more

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    Grand Canaria, Las Palmas

    March 1, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    This island is bigger and a bit greener than Lanzarote. It was discovered in 1478 by European explorers, much to the detriment of the Canarios. It is a dry island with only about 25 days of rain each year. Water is desalinated for non-consumption but otherwise, water is purchased from the reservoir. Las Palmas looks like a financial and commercial centre.

    Brian and I took a ship excursions to Finca LaJaja (finca means plantation) in the Agaete Valley (pronounced Ah-Rah-Tey). Much like the plantations of the south, it grows coffee and sugar cane and produces wine to sell on the island but it also is self-sufficient for vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy. But today, its main income was from tourists. It is very well organized to manage large groups of tourists to learn about and taste coffee (from Arabica beans), wine and local fruits like oranges, avocados, limes and bananas. The island is heavily terraced for agriculture. On this finca, no chemicals are used on the plants.

    The town of Agaete is quite pretty with all houses painted white (by law) . We also visited Puerto Agaete, a tiny fishing village -very picturesque.    Read more

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    Santa Cruz, Tenerife

    March 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands with 1 million people. It was conquered by the Spanish in 1493 after welcoming Portuguese and Italian traders for centuries. Santa Cruz is a bustling city in the midst of a month long carnival, so this morning when we met our guide, Andreas, the streets were pretty quiet as the party goers were still in bed.

    Tennerife was the site of one of the biggest aviation disasters in history. In the early 70’s two 747s collided . Clearly this is a part of their history they would prefer not to focus on.

    The island is crowned with Eo Teide, a volcano that is dormant. It has a profile reminiscent of Mount Fuji...a perfect cone with a smattering of snow on top.

    Andreas from Lanzoratte Experiences took us to 2 smaller cities...La Orotava and La Luguna. La Orotava is a town renowned for its houses with balconies jutting out from the top floors of the houses. Many of these houses date from the 1600’s and have been re-purposed as government buildings. They are built in the Spanish style of a central, internal courtyard, with open air corridors. The street facades of the houses tend to be quite plain, with ornate, wooden shutters. This is a pedestrian friendly city with wide roads and sidewalks but quite hilly. Once a year for a holy day (sometime after Easter), the town creates a sand carpet, a very ornate picture created by different colours of sand. It takes a month to create. They also cover a short stretch of the Main Street with a carpet of flowers which, of course get trampled by the procession. The city has a botanical garden including a 300 year old dragon tree which traditionally was used for medicinal purposes. It’s sap is red, like blood.

    La Laguna (the lake) no longer has a lake. It is one of the larger towns on the island and is less interesting than La Oratavo. We visited the central market and had a delicious coffee called a Barrique (this is my guess on the spelling). It has expresso, sweetened condensed milk, cinammon, a small shot of liquor and, oddly, a piece of lime peel! Delicious. We added a glazed donut with a sweet potato filling for our morning snack. The Spanish laid out the town on a grid system so the roads are wide and straight. We visited the Church of San Fransica Real Sancitraviso Del Santerno Cristo (quite a mouthful). It has a silver gilded altar and a Black Jesus who, once he was cleaned of his oil and soot coating, turned out not to be black. Over 600 of the buildings here have a historical designation.

    We thought both of these towns were fascinating and would warrant a multi-day visit.    Read more

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    Funchal, Madeira

    March 4, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -8 °C

    Though we had done the research, we weren’t sure what was open, as it was a Sunday. Wishing to avoid the cruise crowds, we grabbed a cab to the cable car and arrived just as it was about to open at 10. A guide stopped us and proceeded to tell us why we should hire him. He was very persuasive and we ended up with what turned out to be a much better itinerary.

    Instead of taking the gondola up the mountain, then walking partway back down to the sledge ride, he drove us directly there. As a result, we were 3rd in line and coasted down the mountain on this strange toboggan manned by 2 drivers. Fun! Our driver met us at the bottom and then drove us to our second stop, the Botanical Garden. We agreed on a 90 minute visit where upon he would meet us at the exit. Again, we missed the crowds and had a leisurely stroll though a wide variety of plants, flowers, trees etc. Lovely.

    Our final stop was a drive to the top, where the cable car took us down. We walked right on, again ahead of the hordes. It was a pleasant, scenic trip to the bottom, where we saw dozens of tourist waiting in line. It would take them all day to do what we had accomplished in 2.5 hours.

    We took our guides advice and walked around the old town with its many unique artistic
    doors. Meandering back, we took in a 30 minute film on the history of the Canary Islands.
    The couples parted way, then, with Tory and Roger returning to the ship and Brian and Christine lunching at a restaurant they had spied earlier, advertising Cataplana, a delicious fish stew they had enjoyed in Portugal.    Read more

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    Brian goes solo

    March 5, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Not able to convince anyone to go to Gibraltar when we vacationed in Portugal, Brian was determined not to miss it a second time. Up early to catch the 7 a.m. bus he travelled 2 hours through rolling farmlands, passing many small, picturesque towns and through 7 tunnels to his destination. Once through customs, he transferred to a smaller bus to ride up the narrow winding roads.

    The driver was a font of information, telling us the history of th e Rock (regarded as one of the pillars of Hercules). It was settled by the Moors in 711. Then in 1475 the Spanish took over. In 1704 the British moved in and despite 14 attempts to retake the land they never succeeded.

    The Rock is 10 km. around but is honey combed with 50 km. of tunnels. It is 426 m high. It is made of Jurassic limestone and was created when the African techtonic plate collided with Europe about 55 million years ago. The wall around its base was built by prisoners who were shipped to Australia upon its completion. There are approximately 300 monkeys (macaques) living happily there and not shy about posing with the tourists.

    We made 3 stops on this tour. A newly built lookout where you can see North Africa 14 km. away and a beautiful mosque built in 1997. A very large cavern with stalactites, a small concert hall and colourful lights. A second lookout overlooking the bay and the city below. The very top can only be reached by walking (not happening), a special taxi (very expensive) or gondola. The tour ended with the mandatory time for shopping in the town. I wondered the pedestrian mall to the square where I enjoyed an English lunch of Pastie (a meat turnover originally developed for miners), , listening to British accents and watching a “Bobbie” patrol the area.

    .    Read more

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    Alicante, Spain

    March 6, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    After our less than terrific experience with the Hop On, Hop Off bus in Malaga, we boarded the HOHO in Alicante with some trepidation. But it was short and cheap and the day was cool and overcast so we road it around for one circuit.

    On the HOHO, Alicante was unimpressive. But when we started walking, we enjoyed it much more. Alicante is a seaside town that is heavily dependent on tourism. Like all of our stops, it featured a fortress on a high point and a huge cathedral. We started with a coffee at a marina cafe and then walked through some of the shopping district and old town. Christine went into a festival museum. The festival is called Las Fuegres which roughly translates into “take over the streets”. Once a year, the town parades floats with whimsical tableaux, crowns a queen and puts on a huge fireworks display.

    The shore day was a short one so by 2:00 p.m. we were back on board for one last game of Trivia. Tory cashed in her participation points for an NCL water bottle. Tory and Christine toasted our last day on board with a lovely concoction called a Rum Cake (two actually).    Read more

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    Delta Hotel, Deltebre spain

    March 7, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today was the end of our cruise. We had a quick breakfast and were off the boat and on our way to the airport by 9:00 a.m. At the airport, we picked up our car (a Ford van) and headed out to our first stop in Deltebre.

    Our start was a bit rough. We ended up on the toll highway and every few kilometres (or so it seemed), ended up having to put our credit card into a toll booth machine. We will find out what that cost us when we get home! Fortunately the traffic was light and the drive was fairly easy.

    Our destination, Deltebre is small resort town on the Declarant formed by the Elba River flowing into the Mediterranean. It is completely flat. This area is heavily agricultural. The main crop is rice. We drove out to the coast and walked along the river, in a protected area. The delta is home to over 600 species of birds, many kinds of fish, eels and amphibians. Although it is quiet now, one can imagine how busy it would be in the summer. We stopped at the beach to put our hands in the Mediteranian, pretty cold.

    Despite vows by all parties to start drinking less, we stopped at a restaurant on the river to sit in the sun and drink Sangria. It is another lovely day.

    Our hotel is proudly organic and environmentally responsible. The hotel food is made with organic produce, rice and wine. Supper was a huge paella shared by 3.

    Tomorrow we head to Lorca.    Read more

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    The drive to La Santa

    March 8, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Oh what a drive! We left our charming Delta Hotel after a lovely breakfast of Iberian ham, cheeses, fruit, yogurt and delicious bread. As with last night, we had the dining room to ourselves and they turned on the English adult pop when we walked in! Another cloudless day, about 17 C; a good day to drive.

    Our 5 hour drive to Tortana was pretty uneventful. Good roads, only one toll for a tunnel, through rugged, rolling hills. The main agricultural products seemed to be oranges and fruit trees, just starting to bloom. Our first sign of trouble was that the GPS did not recognize the address we had, the name of the hotel, or any other information that we had. The tourist office in Tortana closed just before we got there so our only option was to ask various residents for directions to La Jardine De la Santa. No one spoke much English but we all used hand-signals. We did finally find the hotel after asking a woman walking on the street, a bar tender and a patron in a bar, a group of 10 high school students, and a man cleaning the tombs in a cemetery!

    The hotel, a renovated nunnery was very high on a hill near a town called Aledo. Tortana was only the mailing address (like trying to find Streetsville with only Mississauga as the location). We finally found it by trying every choice on the last traffic circle.

    But it was worth it! The convent is a beautiful old building set in a garden in a valley. Tory and I walked 1 km uphill to see a statue of Jesus and a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. The path was lined with the stations of the cross and the bells in the tower rang at regular intervals. Just lovely.

    Tomorrow, we do our final leg of driving to get to our timeshare on the Costa Del Sol.    Read more

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    The Costa Del Sol

    March 9, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We started out a bit worried as, once again, the GPS did not recognize any of the information that we had on the timeshare resort. We drove through an ever changing landscape; fruit trees in rocky fields, dry river beds, several tunnels through the mountains, fertile valleys and even glimpses of the Sierra Nevadas with snowy peaks.

    Trying to learn from yesterday, we stopped at a big hotel in Mijas to get directions. The woman in reception was very helpful and drew us a map of where to go. The communities on the Costa Del Sol are very dense with lots of small roads to endless condo buildings. But with only one additional stop for directions we got to the Club Calahondo.

    We have 2 two-bedroom units. Tory’s brother, Charles, is joining us for a few days so they will make good use of the second bedroom. The units are smallish but clean and well appointed. A trip to the Mercado (and 77 Euros later), we were too pooped to go back out. Dinner of wine and pizza was just perfect.    Read more

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    Mijas

    March 11, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After another twisty drive up a mountain, we got to the lovely village of Mijas, famous for its donkey wagons. We parked the van and wandered the picturesque town. The photos say it all.
    Dinner was another adventure. Tory and Christine had spotted a restaurant on the water they wanted to try. We set out in the van and after many wrong turns parked in a MacDonalds over flow lot near where they thought the restaurant to be. We walked about a kilometre along the boardwalk in the dark and came to the place they thought might be our destination. Not about to explore any further, the men decided to stop and eat. Two days later, we walked the boardwalk only to discover the same restaurant was right below our hotel!Read more

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    Ronda

    March 12, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We thought yesterday’s drive was a challenge but we were wrong. Today had more twisty mountain roads coupled with a harrowing trip through the town up a narrow cobblestone road that was almost vertical! Thankfully we found a good parking lot near the “I” and set out to explore a unique city divided in two by a very deep gorge.

    The bridge area was crowded with picture takers but the rest of the walk was fairly quiet. This city is known for its location on cliffs and also for its history of cave dwellings. A few of them have been preserved and we stuck our heads in for a look. Christine’s and Charles’s lunch of lentil stew at an out of the way little restaurant was a highlight. Upon our return, Charles used the Internet to find a lovely restaurant (La Taverna) for our dinner. The waiter couldn’t be more helpful or gracious and the Tapas were the best we had had. The evening finished with all of us singing with the local guitarist......too much wine at dinner?    Read more

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    Torremolinos, Spain

    March 13, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    For a welcome change, Brian and Christine made the short drive to Torremolinos. Roger, Tory and Charles went off Nerja to see caves and Frigiliana to see friends.

    Torremolinos has a VERY long boardwalk, lined with restaurants and shops. We walked about an hour and then stopped for lunch. Christine had anchovies “cooked” in lemon juice. Delicious! She had not had them since Italy. Brian had a huge salad and gazpacho. The presentation was interesting. First he got a bowl of puréed tomato soup then they brought a tray of chopped tomatoes, chopped green peppers, croutons, chopped celery so you can customize your soup.

    Christine's watch died shortly after we got here so she bought a 9 Euro replacement and a summer clutch. We have not done much shopping but there is still time.

    We tried to visit the Old Town but our GPS had other ideas and took us home!

    There were a number of intricate sand sculptures on the beach. The only pictures we took!    Read more

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    Different Paths

    March 14, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today the group went in different directions.
    Tory, Roger and Charles drove to Gibraltar and the Delaney’s walked the boardwalk for a few kilometres. We regrouped in the evening to share stories then went to dinner.

    Their trip to The Rock was a big success. They left their car at the border and hired a cab to take them to the top, the caves, the monkey spa and the tunnels. They enjoyed it just as much as Brian had the week before.

    Our walk was quite pleasant but not half as exciting. The boardwalk extends as far as the eye can see in both directions.

    Dinner at Bogarts was a lovely experience. Within walking distance, the only problem we experienced was trying to find the front door! Fortunately our gracious waitress saw us out the window and came to our aid. Waiting for the paella to cook, we shared tapas and wine.....yummy. Coincidentally, the guitar player we met on our previous outing appeared to serenade us again.    Read more

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    Slow Day

    March 15, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Everyone had a late breakfast (too much wine last night) then Charles left for Portugal today. In the afternoon, Brian volunteered to drive Tory and Christine to a large department store, El Corte Ingles that they had been lusting to visit. Our finicky GPS surprised us and we arrived in good time. Brian suggested we meet in 1.5 hours and Christine reluctantly agreed. The timing worked out but the store was a bit of a disappointment; too pricey. Tory did buy some clothes for the grandkids in a discount section.
    Dinner was leftovers and anything left in the fridge, as we leave tomorrow.
    The pictures were taken from our balcony.    Read more

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    Driving Day

    March 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The day got off to a shakey start as there was no running water when we awoke. A call to the front desk informed us they were aware of the problem and working on it. Unable to wash or shave, we brushed our teeth with soda water and packed up the van. We stopped at a rest area for a much needed coffee but the cafeteria was crowded and understaffed. One man was making the coffee and serving the tables. On top of that, his cash register was not working. This seemed to be a local Sun. morning coffee and breakfast stop with the counter seats full. In any case, we did get coffee. Christine bought a box of cookies but they were pretty dry.

    The drive was easy and scenic and we made good time.

    The town of El Albir was easy to find and armed with a map the resort had provided we felt confident we could make it before their office closed. Unfortunately, many streets are not marked and of course our finicky GPS would not recognize the address nor the name of our resort. To make matters worse, the resort is halfway up a mountain, many of the streets are one way and the Tourist Information kiosk was closed. After 20 minutes cruising the hills we finally spotted a sign and Brian ran to the office to catch the receptionist before it closed. Once settled we drove into town (very carefully watching for landmarks so we could find our way back in the dark) and had a wonderful dinner at Lings.

    That night we received an email from the last resort asking for a €28 fee for “utilities”. We replied asking for some consideration re: the water problems mentioned above and they kindly waived the fee. Yea.    Read more

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    Around Town

    March 17, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The resort is located very near a Nature Reserve with 5 different walks. Tory and Christine set out in the late morning to explore while the boys volunteered to grocery shop.
    Who worked the hardest?
    Brian and Roger discovered, the hard way that most stores are closed on Sunday in Spain.
    Despite having researched on the internet the nearest store to us and its hours, we were thwarted. Our store had gone out of business and we were left at the mercy of our troublesome GPS. To its credit, it did locate all the grocery stores in the area and dutifully directed us correctly. Unfortunately all were closed. Somewhat daunted, but refusing to give up (we had seen people walking and appeared to be carrying grocery bags) we accosted 4 women for information. Two recommended we might buy some bread in the restaurant they had just left and the other two waved in a general directions we might try.
    Our luck finally changed and we stumbled upon an open store. Of course there was no parking so Roger parked illegally and Brian ran to shop. Success and ninety minutes later we were home, having put about 100 kilometres on the van.

    For dinner, we parked in town and walked around, checking out posted menus. We settled on a Mediterranean/Italian restaurant which was fine. Afterwards, we tried to walk a little but it was turning quite cool so we drove home.    Read more

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    Weather Change

    March 18, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Our luck with the weather finally ran out as we awoke to cloudy skies and a high of 14 C.
    It was decided that we would drive to the next larger city and explore. Benidorm was easy to get to but except for some very tall buildings was unimpressive. We took the scenic way back to town (okay, we missed a road sign) and parked near a super Mercado. After picking up a few items our little local grocery didn’t carry we lunched in a nearby Greek restaurant. Afterwards, Tory and Christine decided to walk home and Brian did a laundry.
    Dinner was leftovers.....everyday can’t be spectacular.    Read more

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    Slow Start

    March 19, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The cool weather is supposed to improve slightly in the afternoon so we spent the morning reading. After lunch we dropped off Tory and Christine to walk the boardwalk and then tried to go shopping. Once again the men were cursed as all the grocery stores were closed for Father’s Day. We eventually found a bakery and bought some delicious looking bread. The highlight of our walk was a celebration of someone’s 50th wedding anniversary complete with very loud fire works on the sidewalk of the busy street!

    That evening, a restaurant rated #2 on Trip Advisor was our destination. We were not disappointed. Hungry, we were at their door the minute they opened and were met by the owner who doubled as our waitress. She was lovely; advising us on the food, the wine, showing us pictures of her dog, talking about running the business, her trip next year to New York and bringing us free after dinner drinks. A wonderful experience!    Read more

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    One Down, Three to Go

    March 20, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We awoke to cool cloudy weather and a light rain. Unfortunately, Christine was a little under the weather too.....we diagnosed too many spicy peppers. A quiet morning didn’t improve her health but she insisted the rest of us should continue as planned: a visit to the nearby “most visited” town in the province, Guadalest. It was about a 35 minute drive, mostly up the surrounding mountains. Once out of town there was virtually no traffic and we were able to stop frequently for pictures of the stunning countryside. We parked in the town and wended our way up a wide, well worn stone path to Casa Orduna. The grand house was built after the earthquake of 1644 which devastated the region. The house was burnt down in 1708 and rebuilt years later. It’s 4 levels are well preserved and now are a museum that reflect the “aesthetic taste of the bourgeoisie of the 19th century”.
    Above the house, steps lead to the Castle of San Jose. The two old men dutifully (and slowly) followed Tory to the very top of the ramparts where we were met with spectacular views only marred by the recurrence of wind and rain. We bade a hasty retreat to the first restaurant we encountered and warmed and rewarded ourselves with coffee and dessert.    Read more

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