Well, this is our last full day in Spain. Tomorrow we leave for Brighton, England. This has been a glorious day. The sun is so bright you must wear sun glasses or you can't see a thing. The Mediterranean Sea is magnificient, with huge breakers and rollers and lots of sailboats taking advantage of the gentle winds. It is Sunday and everyone is out on the Promenade, strolling, running, skating, bicycling, shmoozing and generally having a wonderful day. The Spaniards are doing the meet and greet, finding all their friends and stopping to talk with all of them. All the dogs are out walking as well; all different shapes, sizes and breeds. Some brave souls are either swimming or taking advantage of the great waves and are surfing (in wet suits, of course). This has been the nicest day in almost three weeks here, although I have nothing to complain about during this whole portion of the trip. We took our three-mile walk this morning, stopping along the way the browse in the little shops along the Paseo Maritimo. I bought a lovely scarf (it matches Jerry's eyes) and yes, I finally found the perfect pair of shoes, exactly what I was looking for, and only 10 Euro, which was the best part. Those of you who know me really well knew that I wouldn't leave Spain without a pair of shoes. Remember Argentina last year!
Anyway, I think we are ready to leave this area. Next time we will concentrate on Northern Spain and the Basque Country, where we think it will be more representative of the Spanish culture and people won't speak to us in English or French. We do love the Spanish culture and did speak Spanish to everyone we could who would understand us. We have enjoyed ourselves, but are ready for the next part of the trip.
One last word about Torremolinos. The French Canadians are here in the thousands. They come over from Quebec by the plane load and just take over everywhere they go. The are rude, obnoxious, get drunk every night, and do not speak a word of English. Amazing, since they are Canadian citizens. I will be very happy to be rid of them.
After spending the day in Brighton, we will train it to Southampton to pick up the ship, the Jewel of the Seas, where we will take a leisurely 12-day cruise across the pond. We stop in Le Havre, where we will be taking an excursion to the beaches of Normandy, visiting some WWII sites, and then spending the rest of the day in Honfleur, where my favorite painter, Monet, painted beautiful seascapes. The next stop will be northern Spain, La Coruna, where we will explore the area and compare it to the south. Then it's on to Portugal, Madiera to be exact. I think that's all, but there might be one other stop. Then we go down to the southern Atlantic for the crossing. I hope it's not too rough for Jerry's sake. I don't get seasick, but he has been known to turn a lovely shade of green on occasion.
I am looking forward to a relaxing time on the ship. We have been communicating with other passengers through Cruise Critic and we have bonded so far with a large group of them. It should be one hell of a good time. Actually, we might not get that much rest judging by some of the emails.
We will send some more photos as soon as we can. We hope that everyone reading this is well and we especially hope that our loved ones in California are coping as best they can. They all know that our home is always open to them for as long as they wish.
Till next time, we send a very fond Adios from Torremolinos, Spain. It's on to freezing, rainy Great Britian. I have to go back to the apartment and do the dreaded packing thing, which I am fiercely dreading. And I was just thinking about how I will miss that beautiful view of the Med from our sixth-floor balcony. Oh well, I guess it's time to plan the next trip. Anyone want to join us?
Love from Spain.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Rain in Spain
Today it is cold and rainy here. It's not true that the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. It rains on the coast as well. We are here till Monday the 29th when we fly to London, spend the night in Brighton, and catch the ship in Southampton for the crossing.
A few random thoughts as I sit here in the hotel lobby and think about our trip so far.
It's not very Spanish here in Torremolinos. It's mostly British, French, Scandanavians, with a smattering of Americans thrown in. You have to get away to the bigger cities or the smaller towns to find Spain.
The food is really good. We had paella last night and it was outstanding. Haven't had a bad meal yet.
Malaga has a beautiful Roman theater which was accidentally found during construction. It is worth seeing because it is in such wonderful shape.
The ferias and festivals here are ubiquitous. Everyday is another one, not to mention religious processions where the penitents carry floats weighing thousands of pounds on their backs to make up for all their sins during the rest of the year.
There are cats all over the place...no mice. There are attack flies all over the place. They don't leave you alone, so we bought insect repellant and got some relief.
The train and bus systems are fabulous...clean, on time, reliable, and they play classical music on the trains.
The groups that we see from Grand Circle are all old enough to be our parents.
The audiences at the shows at our hotel are the rudest people on earth, most being French Canadian. They never shut up and are all drunk.
The entertainment at our hotel is so funny that you have to see the movies to appreciate it. These people would never make it in the Catskills. They would throw tomatoes at them.
More to come tomorrow.
A few random thoughts as I sit here in the hotel lobby and think about our trip so far.
It's not very Spanish here in Torremolinos. It's mostly British, French, Scandanavians, with a smattering of Americans thrown in. You have to get away to the bigger cities or the smaller towns to find Spain.
The food is really good. We had paella last night and it was outstanding. Haven't had a bad meal yet.
Malaga has a beautiful Roman theater which was accidentally found during construction. It is worth seeing because it is in such wonderful shape.
The ferias and festivals here are ubiquitous. Everyday is another one, not to mention religious processions where the penitents carry floats weighing thousands of pounds on their backs to make up for all their sins during the rest of the year.
There are cats all over the place...no mice. There are attack flies all over the place. They don't leave you alone, so we bought insect repellant and got some relief.
The train and bus systems are fabulous...clean, on time, reliable, and they play classical music on the trains.
The groups that we see from Grand Circle are all old enough to be our parents.
The audiences at the shows at our hotel are the rudest people on earth, most being French Canadian. They never shut up and are all drunk.
The entertainment at our hotel is so funny that you have to see the movies to appreciate it. These people would never make it in the Catskills. They would throw tomatoes at them.
More to come tomorrow.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Hola!
Hello again from sunny Spain. The wi-fi connections here are sporatic so I haven't been able to say as much as I would like to. The other day we went back to Malaga and to our surprise there were Rodin statues all over the main street. We found out that they were the real things, on loan from the French government, on a travelling exhibition throughout Europe. It is just amazing how they were left out there in the middle of the street. I am sure there were low-key guards watching, but it was not obvious. We went to the central food market, which has been located in a very old Arab boatyard for the past several hundred years, and sampled various fruits, cheeses and vegetables grown in this area. The olives were delicious, including those stuffed with anchovies. We also had pickled garlic (which doesn't taste like pickles or garlic), wine from a bota, and fresh goat cheese. All yummy stuff. We finished it off with chocolate and churros. The chocolate was as thick as chocolate pudding and very hot and the churros were gigantic and hot out of the fryer. Talk about being a pig! In fact, if we didn't do as much walking as we are doing we would weigh 500 pounds!
The other day we visited a factory where they produce olive oil and learned the entire process from beating the trees with a stick to make the olives fall down to the end result of bottling (dark bottles have the best olive oil). We also learned what is hype about olive oil marketing which I might share with you all if you are nice.
We then proceeded to the best part of our time in Spain so far, which was a home visit with a Spanish family where we were served enough food to choke a horse. The family lives in a small village called Salinas, which is about one hour from Torremolinos and therefore completely away from all tourists except us. Nobody in the village spoke a word of English. Anyway, back to Dora's meal. First of all, the house was very lovely and pretty large. They had a beautiful pergola in the yard and seemed to have a nice piece of property. The lunch began with wine and bread, soup (like chicken soup), salad with very fresh veggies. The main course consisted of pork fillet, fish, potatoes and more veggies. Then she brought out flan and brandies and coffee for dessert. This feast lasted for two and a half hours and we rolled out of there. After that we visited the home of a Gypsy family which was also in the same town. We practiced a little flamenco dancing with them and after they laughed themselves sick at our efforts we left for the hotel. This village is pretty isolated and has only six hundred residents but our program director is from there and that's how we were able to do all this. Oh yes, we also visited his parents who still live in the village and have been there all their lives. I got a big kiss on each cheek from the dad. He was so cute for an 82 year-old man.
Oh yes, did I tell you that I actually dragged Jerry into the Picasso Museum? It was under duress, of course, and he hated every minute of it. He said that any kindergarten class could scribble the same with some crayons and a piece of paper.
The main thing that strikes me about this visit to Spain and the last is the growing prosperity of the general public. Everyone seems to live quite well and the country is prospering with the Euro. They seem to lack for nothing, although I do still notice clothes lines, which means they like to dry their clothes outdoors or have no clothes dryers. There are still many people who smoke, especially young men and women, which is disturbing. They are very friendly and helpful and are surprised and delighted when we speak Spanish to them. They have a different dialect down here and they speak very fast and don't sound like the people from Madrid or Miami at all.
Yesterday it rained but we took a two-hour train ride to the city of Cordoba anyway. Unfortunately, when we arrived we discovered that there was a local holiday and almost everything was closed. We did get to see the old part of the city, the Juderia, which means Jewish Quarter. This is the area where the Jews lived before Ferdinand and Isabel kicked them out in 1492. The streets are extremely narrow, some as narrow as my arms' length, and the entire area is surround by a huge wall, I guess to keep the Jews in. This area also contains La Mezquita, a large mosque which was later converted to a church, and the cathedral. Lots of tapas bars, gift shops and the usual tourist items for purchase. We did, of course, buy matching Cordoba hats. When in Rome........
Well I think it's time for the daily walk up the hill into town. Too cold for the beach. We send love and kisses to all and our thoughts and prayers are with those we love in San Diego.
The other day we visited a factory where they produce olive oil and learned the entire process from beating the trees with a stick to make the olives fall down to the end result of bottling (dark bottles have the best olive oil). We also learned what is hype about olive oil marketing which I might share with you all if you are nice.
We then proceeded to the best part of our time in Spain so far, which was a home visit with a Spanish family where we were served enough food to choke a horse. The family lives in a small village called Salinas, which is about one hour from Torremolinos and therefore completely away from all tourists except us. Nobody in the village spoke a word of English. Anyway, back to Dora's meal. First of all, the house was very lovely and pretty large. They had a beautiful pergola in the yard and seemed to have a nice piece of property. The lunch began with wine and bread, soup (like chicken soup), salad with very fresh veggies. The main course consisted of pork fillet, fish, potatoes and more veggies. Then she brought out flan and brandies and coffee for dessert. This feast lasted for two and a half hours and we rolled out of there. After that we visited the home of a Gypsy family which was also in the same town. We practiced a little flamenco dancing with them and after they laughed themselves sick at our efforts we left for the hotel. This village is pretty isolated and has only six hundred residents but our program director is from there and that's how we were able to do all this. Oh yes, we also visited his parents who still live in the village and have been there all their lives. I got a big kiss on each cheek from the dad. He was so cute for an 82 year-old man.
Oh yes, did I tell you that I actually dragged Jerry into the Picasso Museum? It was under duress, of course, and he hated every minute of it. He said that any kindergarten class could scribble the same with some crayons and a piece of paper.
The main thing that strikes me about this visit to Spain and the last is the growing prosperity of the general public. Everyone seems to live quite well and the country is prospering with the Euro. They seem to lack for nothing, although I do still notice clothes lines, which means they like to dry their clothes outdoors or have no clothes dryers. There are still many people who smoke, especially young men and women, which is disturbing. They are very friendly and helpful and are surprised and delighted when we speak Spanish to them. They have a different dialect down here and they speak very fast and don't sound like the people from Madrid or Miami at all.
Yesterday it rained but we took a two-hour train ride to the city of Cordoba anyway. Unfortunately, when we arrived we discovered that there was a local holiday and almost everything was closed. We did get to see the old part of the city, the Juderia, which means Jewish Quarter. This is the area where the Jews lived before Ferdinand and Isabel kicked them out in 1492. The streets are extremely narrow, some as narrow as my arms' length, and the entire area is surround by a huge wall, I guess to keep the Jews in. This area also contains La Mezquita, a large mosque which was later converted to a church, and the cathedral. Lots of tapas bars, gift shops and the usual tourist items for purchase. We did, of course, buy matching Cordoba hats. When in Rome........
Well I think it's time for the daily walk up the hill into town. Too cold for the beach. We send love and kisses to all and our thoughts and prayers are with those we love in San Diego.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday at the Beach
It is truly the day of rest here in Torremolinos as well as in all of Spain. Here in Torremolinos there is a beautiful promenade, Paseo Maritimo, which goes along the water for miles and miles. There are spectacular views, seaside cafes and loads of tiny shops selling everything one can imagine. You can walk all day if you want to. Everyone is out...families (and I mean the WHOLE family), grandparents to tiny babies, joggers, tourists, lover, dogs and cats. We just stroll along with the rest of the folks enjoying the beautiful, sunny day. Afterwards, we went up to the apartment and did our wash in the bathtub. Can't find a laundromat anywhere. Jerry filled up the tub with soapy water (shampoo), imitated a washing machine by agitating the water with both hands and let it soak some more. Then he emptied the tub, filled it with clean water, added conditioner for fabric softener, agitated some more, then I put clean water in, rinsed and hung the whole lot out to dry all over the balcony. My underwear has a great view of the Mediterranean!
Yesterday we went to Malaga and really explored that lovely city on our own. It was very easy and we did what the locals did...strolled and ate ice cream and strolled down by the Rio Guadalquivir, the only navigable river in all of Spain. It was another magnificent day here in southern Spain.
The other night at dinner we met a British couple sitting at the next table who invited us over to their house up in the mountains for next Friday. We are thinking about it. The problem is that their accents are so strong that we can hardly understand them! It would be interesting, but who the heck knows anything about them and they want to pick us up and drive us there. Maybe they are weird. Who knows?
Olive trees everywhere. That's the thing about southern Spain. There are olive trees everywhere you look. One must love olives to live here. I do. Jerry doesn't. I eat his.
Seville, where we went the other day, was so different than I remember. Last time we were there was in 1992 for the World Expo, when everything looked old. Now, except for the old section, everything looked new. The people are pretty well off compared to we poor Americans. Our country is going to the dogs while the Europeans are living very well and the Euro is worth so much more. It's all Bush's fault and everyone here hates him, with good reason.
In any case, Seville is the heart of Andalusia and it still is the heart of old Spain, with strong influences of Catholic, Jewish and Arabic influences. The gypsy influence is very strong as well. It's the real melting pot. They have an open door policy and let anyone emigrate. They don't know what they are in for! We decided they should import people from Mexico. At least they won't have a language problem and want to work and they need manual workers here. It's the perfect solution!
Last night we saw a very lovely flamenco show. Tonight will be another one. I am learning the flamenco so hold on to your wood floors. There will be no stopping me.
Adios for now.
Yesterday we went to Malaga and really explored that lovely city on our own. It was very easy and we did what the locals did...strolled and ate ice cream and strolled down by the Rio Guadalquivir, the only navigable river in all of Spain. It was another magnificent day here in southern Spain.
The other night at dinner we met a British couple sitting at the next table who invited us over to their house up in the mountains for next Friday. We are thinking about it. The problem is that their accents are so strong that we can hardly understand them! It would be interesting, but who the heck knows anything about them and they want to pick us up and drive us there. Maybe they are weird. Who knows?
Olive trees everywhere. That's the thing about southern Spain. There are olive trees everywhere you look. One must love olives to live here. I do. Jerry doesn't. I eat his.
Seville, where we went the other day, was so different than I remember. Last time we were there was in 1992 for the World Expo, when everything looked old. Now, except for the old section, everything looked new. The people are pretty well off compared to we poor Americans. Our country is going to the dogs while the Europeans are living very well and the Euro is worth so much more. It's all Bush's fault and everyone here hates him, with good reason.
In any case, Seville is the heart of Andalusia and it still is the heart of old Spain, with strong influences of Catholic, Jewish and Arabic influences. The gypsy influence is very strong as well. It's the real melting pot. They have an open door policy and let anyone emigrate. They don't know what they are in for! We decided they should import people from Mexico. At least they won't have a language problem and want to work and they need manual workers here. It's the perfect solution!
Last night we saw a very lovely flamenco show. Tonight will be another one. I am learning the flamenco so hold on to your wood floors. There will be no stopping me.
Adios for now.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
