Adios, Espana

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.