Our day in Gib....

Good Morning, Friends,

Today is my last day in Spain.  In a few hours, we will leave Marbella for the airport in Malaga and once again return to Zurich.  We have spent two wonderful nights here but really not much of our days.

Yesterday, we traveled about an hour by car to Gibraltar, a British territory.  It's been on my bucket list for a while to see the Rock of Gibraltar but I honestly didn't really know much more about place. Gib, as the locals call it, is a territory that is in dispute.  The British have it but the Spanish want it. I'm told it is a place where online gaming companies and other corporations base out of for tax purposes.  That, financial services and tourism seem to make up the biggest part of their economy.

I had a very simple list of things to cross off before I got there...not a long one but still pretty ambitious.  I'm proud to say I was able to cross them all off.

First:  I wanted a stamp in the ol' (now new) passport.  We went through the border on foot this time (another first for me!) and I had read up on the best way to get a stamp.  So, I got in the line of the most agreeable looking border agent and when it came my turn I asked for one and it was given without delay....yay!    

Second: We got to cross the runway at Gibraltar's airport.  I'm told this place is one of the only, or possibly the only, runways in the world that allows constant car and foot traffic.  We walked across...really cool!  The airport there is ranked one of the more dangerous in the world because of the water on either end of the runway.  When we walked back to come home, we were just across when they stopped traffic to let a plane land.  What a cool thing to see!

Third:  I got to see Africa!  Part of our talks about this trip involved possibly taking a ferry over to Tangier, Morocco for a day - we didn't go through with that plan because we read way too many bad reviews from others who had done that same thing.  That part of my bucket list would have to wait for another trip but I was able to see the continent from Gibraltar.  What we were able to see prominently was Jebel Musa (the mountain of Moses) in Morocco.  The Rock of Gibraltar is the Northern Pillar of the Pillars of Hercules, with the other standing across the Strait of Gibraltar on the African continent.  The identity of the Southern Pillar is disputed; however, Jebel Musa is considered to be one of the most likely candidates.

Fourth:  I got to see the Barbary Macaques.  They are the only wild monkey population on the continent of Europe and they live on the Rock of Gibraltar.  These thieving little guys are EVERYWHERE up there.  As side note, the Rock of Gibraltar is much larger than I thought it would be.  I guess I thought it would be something prominent but I never imagined it would be as large as it is.  You can hike up the Rock but we didn't have time for that so we took the cable car.  Before we even made it up to the top cable car station, we saw the monkeys on the rock and hanging off the railing at the station.  When our car got close enough, they jumped on top and we were told not to feed them, not to touch them (but also not to freak out if they jumped on you - which I did see happen to several kids...), and to put away all loose items and secure your bags.

I want to share two of the sightings/events we witnessed.  One of the macaques had climbed up the railing of the cable car station to the third storey.  A lady was standing there along the walkway with some others.  She had on a backpack and had her back to the railing and before she knew what was happening the monkey had unzipped her backpack and taken out a bag of gummy bears; then the macaque proceeded to climb up on the roof of the building where he ate his newly acquired snack.  When we arrived at the top, we decided to quickly go in and get a snack and drink.  While we sat there in front of some glass windows, we saw a mother macaque walking around with a small baby holding on tightly.  About that time, a worker at the cafe came around the corner and must have startled the mother because she lunged at the lady with her teeth barred.  I had heard that they monkeys do bite if they feel threatened or if they feel their young are threatened.  Luckily, the macaque didn't bite this lady but it was interesting to watch.  Shortly thereafter a male monkey arrived with a sandwich he'd stolen off someone and they all sat there in front of us for a while.

Fifth:  My fifth goal wasn't so much for me but for Manda.  Apparently, her favorite animal is the dolphin so when we found out we could go on a dolphin tour from the port it was quickly booked.  Amanda just wanted to see one dolphin, she said.  Our dolphin cruise was 1.5 hours out in the Bay of Gibraltar with a fantastic company, Dolphin Adventure, and a wonderful crew.  They were a wealth of knowledge about these creatures and also about life in Gib.  In the end, the weather was fantastic - sunny but not too hot out on the water - and we saw so many dolphins we couldn't count them all.  I'd say over 100.  Several different types of dolphins and even some that were quite young. They were so playful and lively, it was a truly fantastic outing!

In late afternoon, we headed back to Marbella and we made a quick detour through the other side of the city.  What I didn't say about Marbella is that it's a well known destination for people to see and be seen.  We are staying in the poor (but what everyone else would consider normal) part of the city.  We were told in Nerja that even the rich feel poor in Marbella and I can believe it.  The only other place I've seen that many luxury cars (Lamborghinis, Maseratis, and Ferraris.......) on the street was in Monaco.  

Our most enjoyable part of Marbella was by far the food we had at a cute little restaurant we stumbled upon our first night there - El Interludio.  I would go back to Marbella just to eat in that restaurant.  The atmosphere was lovely, quaint, cozy; great for having dinner with friends and enjoying lots of conversation.  This place was mostly tapas - a mix of Spanish and French food -  and the owners of the restaurant really took the time to explain each dish as we were ordering.  In the end, we ordered bottles of wine and multiple tapas each to share.  We tried a good bit of the menu and everything was phenomenal!  Each night we went back to Grandma's house full and happy. :)

I guess now is the time to sign off and finish packing.  I'll check in again when we get back to Switzerland.

Until then,

LuLu

A stop in Ronda....

Good Evening, Everyone,

This morning we woke up early to make our way to Marbella, via Ronda.  We sat and had a lovely breakfast and the best coffee since we left Nerja.  After a quick stop back at the apartment to pick up our things, we were on our way out of the city and soon up to the mountains.

The way to Ronda was through a lot of small two lane roads.  Our inspiration for this out of the way stop was a picture on Pinterest - actually, our inspiration for much of this trip came from Pinterest.  I've become quite a fan.  The picture of Ronda was captivating and from the first moment I saw it I wanted to go there.  Since we were going to be so close, it became a priority to see for all of us.

 
I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know much about the city of Ronda before we visited and actually I still don't know much now.  What I do know - I saw a really cool picture of the bridge there and had to see it and also I heard the city is important to modern bullfighting in Spain.  From what I read, bullfighting on foot was made popular there. Oh, and Ernest Hemingway spent time there; part of his book For Whom The Bell Tolls describes events that took place in Ronda.

We were only there for a few hours.  Truly, long enough to have lunch, walk around a bit and get our all important picture of the famous bridge.  The bridge, called the new bridge but completed in the 1790's, links the two parts of the city which are on opposing cliffs divided by a gorge with a river running through it.  To get the best pictures, we had to make our way down toward the gorge floor on a path that was not very well kept. 

After racing around the city cameras a blazin', we made our way to the car for another few hours on our way to Marbella.  We had no idea the mountain roads we would soon be on.  They were curvy, nerve wracking, white knuckle inducing....it would have been best if I'd just slept the whole way, but I didn't.  By the time we arrived in Marbella, all our nerves were shot and we were so happy to see the straight roads running along the beautiful coastline of the Costa del Sol.

Our host here in Marbella is the most kind older man.  His son owns the flat but works in France so we were able to stay there at what we've now affectionately named Grandma's house.  It smells like your grandma's house and is decorated the way you'd think granny would.  We went down to the beach for a few moments to look around but Manda and Sara opted instead for the pool at our building and I am having a siesta in the flat.  In a little bit, we are heading out to find dinner and then off to bed early tonight because tomorrow we are checking off another bucket list item - Gibraltar! Eeeeeekkkk.....so excited about tomorrow!

Stay tuned for that post - I think you won't want to miss it!

Until then,

LuLu

Sevilla

Hello All,

It has been a few days since I last wrote to you.  Our time in Nerja was lazy and fantastic.  We spent most of the day every day at the beach, my view the same fabulous one you saw in the photo on my previous post.  Yesterday, we took a road trip inland to beautiful Sevilla where we planned to spend the next two days.

This place had been high up on my bucket list for some time now.  BP lived here for a short while in college when studying abroad.  Every picture I'd ever seen of the city seemed romantic and mesmerizing.  I was not disappointed.

Traveling by car is great for a lot of reasons and not so great for others.  Major kudos to Sara who drove us around and navigated the narrow city streets with a crazy person (me) in the passenger seat.  After many, many wrong turns, thanks to Betty Bossy - our GSP - we finally made it to our intended destination.  Since we had decided on three bases in Spain, it was my task to find us a place to stay in Sevilla.  It was my first experience using Airbnb and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I absolutely loved our apartment.  The host, Juan, met me at the flat and gave some wonderful recommendations on places to eat, things to do and then helped us find the best place nearby to park our car.  The flat itself is full of light and color and is just a block from the cathedral and other sites we had on our list.

Our first evening in Sevilla we walked around and go acquainted with our surroundings.  We were staying in an area of the city that is mostly pedestrian and touristy so we found an outdoor cafe and enjoyed some cervezas before heading over to a local, authentic flamenco show.  It was a recommendation by Juan that we see flamenco at this place and I'm so glad we did.  Most places were charging upwards of 30Euro to watch and show and more, of course, if you wanted a meal with it.  This place was free!  The show was probably not as long but I had the feeling that it was possibly more authentic than any we could have paid for.  We ordered a pitcher of beer and a cheese platter and used the time before the show started to discuss what we wanted to see the next day.  By the time the show ended and we made our way home, it was nearly 1am and we were zonked.

 

This morning we woke up super early to make sure we could fit in everything we wanted to do for the day.  We'd checked out the opening times for all the sites we wanted to see and decided to go to the Alcazar Palace first.  This place was spectacular.  If I understood correctly, it is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.  The architecture is a mix of Moorish/Islamic influence but the second floor has a more Renaissance feel.  The archways and intricate detail of the first floor made it my favorite, by far.  The palace also has extensive gardens.  To see the place properly, we could have spent all day there but we only had a few hours.
 
After the palace we made our way across to the Seville Cathedral, which is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.  Impressive doesn't even begin to describe this place.  It is massive and ornate, housing may treasure - what is said to be the largest altar piece in the world and what is believed to be the tomb of Christopher Columbus. 
We were able to climb up to the viewing area on the Giralda (bell tower) which is former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site where the cathedral now stands.  From there we could see the entire city and off in the distance we could see the countryside surrounding Sevilla.

When we left the cathedral, we went back to our apartment to observe the Spanish tradition of siesta, something we tried to do each day since we'd arrived.  I find it completely necessary to have a quick sleep during the middle of the day so I don't fall asleep in my food when we are eating at 10 or 11 pm each night. :)
  This evening, we took a stroll over to the river to see the sites near there.  We went past the bullring. I'm told that Sevilla is very important in bullfighting history and possibly the ring there is the oldest in Spain (though I'm not sure about that).  We did not have time to go in, unfortunately - maybe on my next visit.

We decided on paella for dinner and went in search of a place that looked like they cooked it fresh and not from a packet.  We ended up on the same street where we were staying and I was not disappointed.  I'm not sure how I feel about the creatures with the eyes in my paella so I opted for the mixed chicken and seafood and only had to deal with the shellfish, which I don't mind.

Now we are settling in for the evening and preparing to get up early.  Tomorrow we are heading to the coast again - this time to Marbella, Spain.  We have a long day ahead of us as we plan to detour through the mountains to go to a special town called Ronda.

Hoping to post again soon....

Until then,

LuLu

The obsession with the beach....

Hello, Dear Readers!

This morning I find myself in the beautiful beach town of Nerja, Spain. Part of the Costa del Sol, Nerja is littered with white washed buildings, narrow streets humming with motorbikes and beaches with blue green water packed with sunbathers. As I write this to you, I am currently one of those many people. 

I am not, however, a worshiper of the sun. I have rented us three chairs and a thatched umbrella for the day.  This in an effort to stay out of the sun's rays as my friends enjoy being out in them and in the water (which I'm told is actually quite chilly despite the temperature being in the mid 90s today).  For your enjoyment, here is my view for the day:

I don't completely dislike the beach; it does have its place. For example, back home, I enjoy spending a few days at the coast each year -usually in October- when I can walk down the beach in the morning and/or evening and really take in the beauty of it. I just don't get the love of the ocean like most people. I burn easily, I hate to sweat just because of being out in the sun, sand is like beach dirt and I dislike having it all over and honestly I get bored. I prefer to be exploring a city or in the mountains. Hiking isn't easy and I am known for complaining the whole way up but there is something supremely satisfying about getting to the top of a mountain and knowing you did all the hard work to get there. 

We arrived in Spain late yesterday evening. Flying into Malaga, we picked up a rental car and headed for the coast. We are being quite brave, I feel, in driving from place to place on this portion of the trip, instead of taking public transport around. It will be interesting to know my opinion of this process once it is all over. 

I guess for now I have nothing more to report other than the beach. We had a fabulous "omelette" for breakfast which was egg and whatever (in my case, cheese) on a really great piece of bread. I hope to have that same thing for the next few breakfasts :). We also tried churros and while they were ok (who doesn't like something deep fried?!?) it wasn't really my thing. 

Last night we arrived in Nerja around 10pm and headed out for dinner around 11:30. The streets were still so lively and even small children were still around. We made a quick night of it and went to bed fairly early. I suspect tonight we will be more adventurous. 

I'll check in again later....

Until then,

LuLu

Down the mountain....

The next morning we woke up early for our dash back to Zurich. We quickly packed out bags and headed to the outdoor tables for breakfast. Coffee, bread and cheese - so simple, yet so delicious!

 After that we made our way up to the cable car station. This required walking again through the cave and passing by the rock church. The views from the top were spectacular. Though it was a good day to leave as the clouds were beginning to roll in again.

The ride down was only a few minutes but I find it terrifying to come down from such a height while only suspended by cables. Still, it was cool to see from the air the full view of where we'd hiked up only days before. 

We were not alone on the ride. There was an older couple who apparently found it amusing that two of the three of us were nervous during those minutes. Also, we rode down with, what I'm assuming was, fresh cows milk. I know it was milk and I assume it was from one or more of the cows brought up to graze in the mountain pastures during the summer. As a side note, I'm convinced that the cows in Switzerland are the luckiest and perhaps happiest in the world. I know, if I were a cow, it's where I'd want to live!  Beautiful views from the alpine hillsides, entertainment from  interaction with crazy hikers...really, what more could a cow want?!

When we returned again to the valley floor, we headed straight for the train station at Wasserauen for the journey back home. We only had hours to repack for Spain and clean up after 2+ days of hiking and no showers. Another adventure awaits....

Until then,

LuLu