Good Morning Canyelles Cove!

I love to wake up to the sound of the ocean. The last couple of days here, the sea has been quite rough, so the sound of the waves is stronger than ever.
The weather forecast is rain, but it looks beautiful at the moment.
I can see birds circling up high over the cove.
It's a gorgeous morning.
Albert has just left for work. He's going to take the train to Barcelona. It's a famous train line along the coast, one neither of us have taken before. It's suppose to be beautiful.
Good morning everyone!

Gorgeous Sunday

Today was a perfect April Sunday.
The waves are quite rough though.
The xiringuito is up already.
A lovely day reading our books and soaking up the sun.

Rough Seas in Canyelles

Sea Side Walk to St Martí d'Empuries

Now we're in L'Escala and we'll take the beautiful seaside walk to St Martí. Happy day!

Mosaics from the Ruins at Empuries

Today we're visiting the Greek and Roman ruins in Empuries.
This is one of the prettiest and well kept of the mosaics.

Beautiful Flowers!

Wow!
What a lovely surprise from my dear friend Kate.
I never buy flowers like this, and they are truly a delight to have in the house!
Thank you so much for such a sweet gift and for being such a good friend.

Watching the Barça Chelsea Semi Final

Sant Jordi Presents 2012

Happy Sant Jordi 2012

Everyone is out buying roses and books. Have a lovely day everyone!

Good Morning Granollers!

First Picnic in April 2012

Vichy Catalan

My new favourite drink.

Any Day in a Village

Old friends can meet casually. They can exchange a few words with a smile and share part of their walk.
Children play on the church steps.
Sun lovers gather to catch what rays they can.
Birds search for food.
There is the intermittent sound of construction.
Both frumpy and show pony cross the square.
It's a lovely day.

My Hallway Buddha

Carried all the way from Thailand and burnt all the way in Granollers.

The Last 100 meters is a Crawl

Funny? Well...
We have stopped dead with 100 meters to go.

Waiting for the 10 K to begin

Only 64 000 people today.

Corte Ingles 10 k fun run 2012

Look! People from Granollers ready at 8.30! And so are we!

Mexican Style Hats in Spain

To the tourist: Please, please, please don't buy or God forbid, wear a Mexican hat here in Spain!
To Shop Keepers: Please, please, please, don't sell Mexican hats!

Sherry from Jerez!

Yes! Finally we have a bottle of sherry.
It's Solera 1847, Oloroso Dulce.
Tastes like sherry. The famous drink in all kitchens way back when.

Today

Late breakfast at Ferrer with my two boys. Jett's reading the Inheritance Cycle. He's just about to finish the second book.
Albert's reading the local paper and playing with shazam, an application he has on his phone to identify songs.
A wedding party is just walking past from the town hall.
It's 17 degrees and partly sunny.
We're about to go for lunch at Albert's parents. Barça plays at 10 this eve.

El Vegetariano de la Alcazabilla, Malaga

Oh My Goodness!
What a lovely place. 50 meters from the Roman amphitheater. Fruity sangria. Delicious paté. A great menu for 7.75. Love it.

Breakfast in Lapanto, Malaga

We're so impressed with charming Malaga! Wide open streets, lots of shops, snazzy dressers, light coloured buildings and streets and an abundance of cafes and bars. Lovely!
We go home today. 

The Cave Houses of Guadix

We've just stopped by Guadix on our way to Malaga. Pretty big village with an alcazar and a Cathedral. But we popped by to see the cave dwellers. :D they say about 3 000 people live in houses built into the clay. Some are really darling and cute, and others are ramshackle with an old curtain for a door. The chimneys or air vents pop out of the ground just behind the entrance. Really charming.

Cows!

:D just outside of Guadix, famous for their cave houses.

The Hollywood Hills for Westerns

We're running a little late for time, so we're not popping into the studios. But it's beautiful out here! Albert keeps making horse noises.
Albert says it's tacky but if I had the right boots, I think I could make it work.

Sea of Plastic in Andalucia

I didn't know that there was such a huge industry of green house vegetables here in Almeria. There are white plastic farms everywhere.

Eucalyptus Trees in Andalucia

One of the strange things for me traveling around the world is the sudden appearance of a eucalypt. It's linked so inextricablly to Australia in my mind that spotting one, or a small forrest of them, confuses me.
I guess they are strong and used to dry and hot conditions. They help to keep the soil in tact in places that have been ravaged by development. But they also poison everything. There is a reason koalas sleep 16 hours a day.

Pirates on the Mediterranean

We're leaving Cabo de Gata today. We've stopped by a few coves and we've spotted lots of towers and fortifications. Against the pirates!
There are small descriptive plaques explaining the seige of pirates in the area in the 15th and 16th centuries. Even stealing people as would be slaves.
Today is cloudy and windy. We were seriously lucky with the weather yesterday!
We're off to the wild west soon.

Las Negras, Cabo de Gata

This is the view from our hotel. We have a direct view of the sunrise. Very lucky.
Today we ate a huge buffet breakfast and walked to the nudist colony of Sant Pedro. It's an hour away across the rocks. The weather was perfect for spring.
We swam in emerald waters, sun bathed and had a gorgeous beach day.
We headed home at about 4, took a cool drink by our bay here in Las Negras, and came home early.
I was up at 6.45 this morning watching the sunrise, and I am pretty tired now. I can feel the sun in my skin.
Tomorrow we leave this paradise for Malaga. On the way home we'll stop by one of the famous western studios and admire the landscape.  Cacti and desert.
Jett was picked up today at the airport by albert's parents. He'll stay with them until we are home on Wednesday. All well there.

Our View in Cabo de Gata

Sunrise at about 7.20 today. But look at that view! Someone is truly blessed. Though it is a little chilly in my nightie!

From Moya to Cabo de Gata

We were lucky enough to have friends to visit in Periana yesterday. We ate wonderfully, had entertaining company and petted horses!
This afternoon we've stopped by another declared 'balcony of Europe' (isn't there another in Tarragona?) In Nerja. It's gorgeous. The weather is back to brilliant. Above I am staning with Alfonso XXII.
After our icecream we'll be on our way the the natural park of Cabo de Gata where we'll be stationed for the next two days.

Chocolate Heaven

Soft chocolate brownie. Two orange crescents dipped in dark chocolate. A cup of chocolate. Real chocolate. There is nothing more to say.

From Arcos to Ronda

Right now we're in Grazalema, a white mountain village. It just started raining. There are tourists everywhere! No carpark! Amazing.
It's very pretty area.
We're heading to Ronda, the most famous of the mountain villages, and then we'll be staying with a family we met in Bihar, India, 4 years ago. wish us better weather!

Goodbye Cadiz, Hello Jerez de la Frontera

We're leaving our Pension España in Cadiz for the sherry hub of Jerez.
Last night it was raining and cold so we opted to stay cosy in bed and watch a horrifying tale of heroin addiction. In retrospect I think I'd have preferred the rain and sad music.
It's a gloriously sunny day. The ocean is sparkling.
We'll be sleeping in Arcos de la Frontera to participate in the Easter processions there. They go all night.
Today we're aiming to visit Tio Pepe and one of the arab bathhouses.

The White Village of Vejer

Last night we were in the crush of people watching the spectacle of part of the Easter processions.
This morning we walked the coastal walk of Cadiz and ate tapas for lunch. An artichoke with soft cheese and rice was worth mentioning.
After siesta we went for a drive to Trafalga and further along to Vejer. A charming white village.
We even found a street called Jones Villa.
The only problem is that we're now stuck in a bar while the afternoon shower passes through.

Marbella and Porto Banus

We've just stopped for coffee in a small house set on the beach. The owner is chipping golf balls into the sand.
We've had a wallk around the main centre of Marbella and enjoyed our first Andalucian tapa. Goat's cheese and honey toast!
Then we stopped to parade along Porto Banus. Hmm. Ferarri here, Rolls Royce there. Nuff said.
Now we're heading to our destination. Cadiz.

Off to the Airport!

Hi! We're off to the airport. It's pouring wwith rain. Lucky for my excellent jacket.
Today we fly to Malaga. We'll pick up a small hire car and take off to Cadiz.

Altafulla

A stop by Altafulla outside of Tarragona after a gorgeous day at a new beach.