Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Snow, frost, low cloud, high and freezing temperatures - we get it all!
PHOTOS:
views from the roof terrace ~ bell tower; Sierra Nevada in the distance; the ruin;
and .......... the cloud rolls in
views from the roof terrace ~ bell tower; Sierra Nevada in the distance; the ruin;
and .......... the cloud rolls in
This is a country of contrasts and the weather is no exception! The previous Saturday we set off for the coast for our weekly Spanish lesson and drove through a silver wonderland of frost glistening silver under the sun - a frost so heavy, the like of which I've rarely seen back home! On the coast, it was beautifully warm and sunny! (And Michael came out here to escape the cold winters back home?!) On our return we decided to treat ourselves to supper out that evening, so washed and brushed up we opened our front door - it took my brain a moment or two to catch up with what my eyes were seeing on the street outside - 8" of snow and it was still tumbling in large flakes from the night sky! Well, that put paid to dining out - no driving on those high, steep sided, windy roads - not on your life! We settled in front of the TV with supper! We were concerned though that if the snow continued to fall this little village would be completely marooned from the outside world by the morning! We needn't have worried - Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. The village was enveloped in white - a real pueblo blanco in every sense of the word - but the sun so warm and melting from the streets. M swept the snow to one side on the terrace to make a seating area where we had breakfast, followed by morning coffee and later, lunch - by which time M was stripped to the waist and I had a little summer top on - and still we were surrounded by snow covered olive groves! A very strange experience. We finally retired indoors late afternoon when it grew cooler. What an amazing day with lots of photo opportunities. It was a couple of days before all traces of the snow disappeared.
We've had low cloud enveloping the village - having woken to a fine day we could see low cloud hanging over Iznajar in the distance - as we watched cloud roll out over the hills and valley before us like a thick white blanket of cotton wool and by the time we'd had breakfast and back to check developments from the roof terrace visibility was virtually nil - we couldn't see the house across the street and could have been the only people on the planet totally enveloped as we were by this white stuff!
We've had sunny days just like mid summer back home and today it plumetted to 7 degrees and we had a fantastic storm of enormous hailstones!
At least we know that however black the skies one day and cold the temperatures, the warm sunshine will return in a day or two!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
We arrive in El Higueral
PHOTOS: Views from our roof terrace and 'party time'!Tuesday 6 Jan
We've had the time of our lives since our arrival in El Higueral 3 days ago - was it really only 3 days ago?
Our planned departure from Mijas Costa hung in the balance at the prospect of transferring so much 'stuff' from apartment to car in such torrential rain. However, Saturday morning the rain had stopped. We developed a very efficient removals system: I filled the lift on top floor, sent it down to Michael on ground floor to empty and send back. This resulted in virtually filling the entrance to the apartment block by the time the last load was down - much to the amusement of folks going in and out - I guess the apartments are either occupied by residents or holiday makers who just travel with a suitcase or two! Weather again deteriorated and much of our journey was through heavy rain with the prospect of unloading the other end and everything getting very soggy (actually it kindly stopped whilst we unloaded). The road from Iznajar to the village proved an interesting drive! The torrential rain of the last few days had resulted in water pouring off the hillsides bringing mud and stones/rocks down onto the road resulting in a few worrying moments when Michael had to pick his way through - there was only one ominous clonk underneath the car but no harm done.
Our excitement waned a little as reality dawned - external blinds combined with internal shutters and curtains made the house very dark (actually no way of discerning night and day whatsoever) and having been empty for a few weeks in temperatures somewhat lower than the coast, the house was very cold! We soon discovered out of the 3 gas heaters we expected to find, one was unusable, another was out of gas, which left just one which we decided to place in the lounge so at least one room was warm! Michael did manage to get the gas fired water heater going so at least we had the promise of a hot shower! So, having donned a few more layers, we set about familiarising ourselves with all the rooms since our bedroom and lounge were the only ones revealed to us as B&B guests last year (though we have since had a brief tour of the entire property). The house is on 3 storeys plus a further set of stairs leading to the roof terrace - with outdoor kitchen/laundry facilities. Ground floor has lounge/diner and kitchen; first and second floors look identical with their 4 rooms either side of the landings. 1st floor: bathroom and 3 guest rooms (2 en suite), 2nd floor: 3 bedrooms and study - quite a challenge to heat!
We decided on one of the bedrooms on the top floor which offered the maximum wardrobe space - which meant Michael hauling the 2 large and very heavy suitcases up 3 flights of stairs! We had left a little electric heater on in the bedroom for a while to warm the room before I returned to unpack - sadly the heater had made virtually no impact on the chill! With no natural light (on the advice that the external blinds remain through the winter months as is the custom in these village houses) I soon became frustrated locating light switches and which lights lit which floor! How amazingly quickly irritation levels mount with even the simplest task of finding a light switch - you're cold (and thinking back to the warmer temperatures and ease of life just an hour and a half back down the road), forever going up or coming down stairs shifting gear, trying to decide where on earth is the most appropriate place for everything in a house so unfamiliar!! However, irritation soon gave way to giggles as we learnt more about this dear house that is to be our home for the next few months. The study proved an interesting room with its one single electric point sited alongside the light switch just inside the door. Plugging my laptop into the extension lead under the desk I realised that not only would the extension plug lead trail right across the doorway, but worse, because of the close proximity of socket and light switch the plug top pushed on the light switch and - off went the lights! Fine, if you don't mind fumbling around at your desk in the dark!! I found a tiny desk lamp which overcame that problem but it was so very cold. Solution: set up the spare oil filled electric heater - great! Ah, that's just too much I'm afraid - it blew the lot!! So, it's down to the lounge with my laptop and forget the study - at least until warmer weather when we need no heat and take the blinds down and use the daylight! Then there was the confusion as to which floor I was actually on when trying to open the bathroom door and finding it locked and getting no reply from Michael inside the bathroom, then realising I was on the wrong floor and trying to get into the bedroom directly above the bathroom (being used as store room by owners and locked!) - oh what a silly fool I felt - but giggly!
In the midst of all this, a couple who own a house in the village, whom we had previously met up with back home and were over with some friends for a few days, rang to suggest we all met in the local bar - that seemed the best idea of the day - we were off. Few chaps sitting quietly over their beers when we arrived but place soon filled up and I became aware of something else going on around us - bingo!! Yep - Spanish bingo - little well worn cards, sunflower seeds as counters and 1 euro a line to play! Well, we'd all downed a drink or two by then and feeling pretty happy (and warm!) felt up to the challenge - we had 2 cards between the 6 of us to give ourselves a chance of translating the numbers and placing our little sunflower seeds in the limited time allowed between calls - we won 2 games, 60 euros and a bottle of wine - not bad going considering the most we paid out was 12 euros!! We had such fun particularly as the locals seemed much entertained by these 6 English folks joining them in their bingo - which only goes on during the Christmas period up to 6th Jan - so no chance of becoming a hardened gambler there! It was a great night and our first opportunity to be introduced to some of our Spanish neighbours.
Sunday morning - difficult to see what the weather is doing through the blinds so it was up to the roof terrace to check out the weather - cold and very poor visibility but eerily beautiful and so peaceful - low cloud hung over the ridges of the hills of olive groves and the mist crept down to the village - the hush only broken by a crowing cockerel and a dog barking in the distance - at that moment I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. And though we may have had cause to question the sense of moving up to the village at the beginning of January (folks on the coast thought we were crackers!) it was certainly well chosen in respect of an important date in the Spanish calendar of fiestas - as we were to discover! 6th Jan is the Feast of the Epiphany when the 3 kings arrived in Bethlehem. In Spain, this is a celebration day known as Los Reyes Magos and a very important date in the Spanish diary - particularly for children as this is the day when they receive most of their presents! On the evening of 5th January the Kings parade on huge, decorated floats throwing sweets for all the children waiting excitedly and it all ends with much partying. We had noticed too that the shops and supermarkets were full of the huge donut-shaped cream filled cakes known as Rosco de Reyes - how we wished the bakers produced small versions just for 2 - not the enormous family sized beautifully decorated versions we found!
We ventured to the one of the 2 little local shops for some fresh bread for breakfast - another opportunity to exchange a few words with the owner who was most patient with us and encouraging in our language attempts. On our way back to the house we noticed a chap who appeared to be checking our car over so we thought we should introduce ourselves as the owners. He didn't speak a word of English and seemed totally oblivious to our extreme limitations with the Spanish language. He was very keen to know how much we'd paid for the car, how old it was etc etc - eventually M decided to politely withdraw suddenly aware that in ignorance of much of what this chap was saying he might find he'd sold him our car!
We set off Monday morning in search of a garage in Rute where we'd been advised we'd be able to purchase gas cylinders. We fell in love with this area when we first visited last year - such a dramatic panorama of undulating hills of olive groves - resembling sleeping giants all around us covered in bobbly green blankets (no apologies for my rather childlike imagination!) - then the dramatic mountain ranges beyond. However, we had missed the treat of the run through from the village to Rute where the road goes up higher and higher presenting even more breathtakingly beautiful views. Incredible to think we have all this on 'our' back doorstep! We failed to get the gas - all closed for the holidays until Wednesday! Ah well, at least we did a big shop in the large Mercadona supermarket so we have a full fridge and larder - we can eat to keep warm! No sooner were we back and we were off round to Jane's who was going to introduce us to her neighbour Maria and her husband Isidra. Jane was very keen we met Maria, a very kindly lady who has helped her so much with her Spanish - though Maria has no English! Sitting there in Maria's lovely home attempting conversation in Spanish supported very much by her encouragement and patience (and I must admit to feeling quite surprised and rather pleased as to the progress we have obviously made so far) it struck me that this was it - what has been awaiting us - a glimpse and taste of the ordinary day to day life in a little Spanish village. We left with an open invitation to visit whenever and as often as we wished. Early evening this little village held their procession - 3 local children appropriately dressed in their finery and towed through the main street on a decorated float up to the village hall at the top of the street. Later that evening, we headed up to the village hall to the '5th Night 'party - what a party it was! 2 brilliant musicians plus singer belting out all the best Spanish music for dancing - and how wonderfully refreshing to dance to real music with the tempo such that you just can't sit down! We discovered some real fun group dances - including something akin to the Conga (years since we've done that one - the younger readers of this blog may not have the remotest idea of what I'm talking about - you missed out guys - believe me!). Everyone was up dancing - little children through to the grannies and grandads - it was pure joy to see families having such fun together. How I admire the way the Spanish still celebrate Christmas in much the same way as generations before them, maintaining traditions and not fretting about perfect recipes, colour co-ordinated decorations and dashing madly around the shops! Some of these fiestas are known to go onto until breakfast time but by 2.30 folks were beginning to drift away and the music came to a close.
Tuesday morning our dear friends Jane and Paul were returning to the UK but not before dropping by with one of their gas heaters so we could have 2 heaters! Just as well, since our one and only had just run out of gas! First thing tomorrow we shall be off to get some gas!
Postscript:
Wednesday: we now have 3 gas heaters on the go which have definitely made the house more comfortable and to completely make the day we enjoyed blue skies all day and were able to sit on the terrace and enjoy the sunshine this afternoon! By around 4 o'c it does get very cold again but what joy to enjoy that sunshine!!
Then we received some really exciting news this evening: Sam and Sarah have booked their flights to visit on 22nd Jan and we can't wait to see them!! It will be such fun sharing our new life here with them for a few days.
Our planned departure from Mijas Costa hung in the balance at the prospect of transferring so much 'stuff' from apartment to car in such torrential rain. However, Saturday morning the rain had stopped. We developed a very efficient removals system: I filled the lift on top floor, sent it down to Michael on ground floor to empty and send back. This resulted in virtually filling the entrance to the apartment block by the time the last load was down - much to the amusement of folks going in and out - I guess the apartments are either occupied by residents or holiday makers who just travel with a suitcase or two! Weather again deteriorated and much of our journey was through heavy rain with the prospect of unloading the other end and everything getting very soggy (actually it kindly stopped whilst we unloaded). The road from Iznajar to the village proved an interesting drive! The torrential rain of the last few days had resulted in water pouring off the hillsides bringing mud and stones/rocks down onto the road resulting in a few worrying moments when Michael had to pick his way through - there was only one ominous clonk underneath the car but no harm done.
Our excitement waned a little as reality dawned - external blinds combined with internal shutters and curtains made the house very dark (actually no way of discerning night and day whatsoever) and having been empty for a few weeks in temperatures somewhat lower than the coast, the house was very cold! We soon discovered out of the 3 gas heaters we expected to find, one was unusable, another was out of gas, which left just one which we decided to place in the lounge so at least one room was warm! Michael did manage to get the gas fired water heater going so at least we had the promise of a hot shower! So, having donned a few more layers, we set about familiarising ourselves with all the rooms since our bedroom and lounge were the only ones revealed to us as B&B guests last year (though we have since had a brief tour of the entire property). The house is on 3 storeys plus a further set of stairs leading to the roof terrace - with outdoor kitchen/laundry facilities. Ground floor has lounge/diner and kitchen; first and second floors look identical with their 4 rooms either side of the landings. 1st floor: bathroom and 3 guest rooms (2 en suite), 2nd floor: 3 bedrooms and study - quite a challenge to heat!
We decided on one of the bedrooms on the top floor which offered the maximum wardrobe space - which meant Michael hauling the 2 large and very heavy suitcases up 3 flights of stairs! We had left a little electric heater on in the bedroom for a while to warm the room before I returned to unpack - sadly the heater had made virtually no impact on the chill! With no natural light (on the advice that the external blinds remain through the winter months as is the custom in these village houses) I soon became frustrated locating light switches and which lights lit which floor! How amazingly quickly irritation levels mount with even the simplest task of finding a light switch - you're cold (and thinking back to the warmer temperatures and ease of life just an hour and a half back down the road), forever going up or coming down stairs shifting gear, trying to decide where on earth is the most appropriate place for everything in a house so unfamiliar!! However, irritation soon gave way to giggles as we learnt more about this dear house that is to be our home for the next few months. The study proved an interesting room with its one single electric point sited alongside the light switch just inside the door. Plugging my laptop into the extension lead under the desk I realised that not only would the extension plug lead trail right across the doorway, but worse, because of the close proximity of socket and light switch the plug top pushed on the light switch and - off went the lights! Fine, if you don't mind fumbling around at your desk in the dark!! I found a tiny desk lamp which overcame that problem but it was so very cold. Solution: set up the spare oil filled electric heater - great! Ah, that's just too much I'm afraid - it blew the lot!! So, it's down to the lounge with my laptop and forget the study - at least until warmer weather when we need no heat and take the blinds down and use the daylight! Then there was the confusion as to which floor I was actually on when trying to open the bathroom door and finding it locked and getting no reply from Michael inside the bathroom, then realising I was on the wrong floor and trying to get into the bedroom directly above the bathroom (being used as store room by owners and locked!) - oh what a silly fool I felt - but giggly!
In the midst of all this, a couple who own a house in the village, whom we had previously met up with back home and were over with some friends for a few days, rang to suggest we all met in the local bar - that seemed the best idea of the day - we were off. Few chaps sitting quietly over their beers when we arrived but place soon filled up and I became aware of something else going on around us - bingo!! Yep - Spanish bingo - little well worn cards, sunflower seeds as counters and 1 euro a line to play! Well, we'd all downed a drink or two by then and feeling pretty happy (and warm!) felt up to the challenge - we had 2 cards between the 6 of us to give ourselves a chance of translating the numbers and placing our little sunflower seeds in the limited time allowed between calls - we won 2 games, 60 euros and a bottle of wine - not bad going considering the most we paid out was 12 euros!! We had such fun particularly as the locals seemed much entertained by these 6 English folks joining them in their bingo - which only goes on during the Christmas period up to 6th Jan - so no chance of becoming a hardened gambler there! It was a great night and our first opportunity to be introduced to some of our Spanish neighbours.
Sunday morning - difficult to see what the weather is doing through the blinds so it was up to the roof terrace to check out the weather - cold and very poor visibility but eerily beautiful and so peaceful - low cloud hung over the ridges of the hills of olive groves and the mist crept down to the village - the hush only broken by a crowing cockerel and a dog barking in the distance - at that moment I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. And though we may have had cause to question the sense of moving up to the village at the beginning of January (folks on the coast thought we were crackers!) it was certainly well chosen in respect of an important date in the Spanish calendar of fiestas - as we were to discover! 6th Jan is the Feast of the Epiphany when the 3 kings arrived in Bethlehem. In Spain, this is a celebration day known as Los Reyes Magos and a very important date in the Spanish diary - particularly for children as this is the day when they receive most of their presents! On the evening of 5th January the Kings parade on huge, decorated floats throwing sweets for all the children waiting excitedly and it all ends with much partying. We had noticed too that the shops and supermarkets were full of the huge donut-shaped cream filled cakes known as Rosco de Reyes - how we wished the bakers produced small versions just for 2 - not the enormous family sized beautifully decorated versions we found!
We ventured to the one of the 2 little local shops for some fresh bread for breakfast - another opportunity to exchange a few words with the owner who was most patient with us and encouraging in our language attempts. On our way back to the house we noticed a chap who appeared to be checking our car over so we thought we should introduce ourselves as the owners. He didn't speak a word of English and seemed totally oblivious to our extreme limitations with the Spanish language. He was very keen to know how much we'd paid for the car, how old it was etc etc - eventually M decided to politely withdraw suddenly aware that in ignorance of much of what this chap was saying he might find he'd sold him our car!
We set off Monday morning in search of a garage in Rute where we'd been advised we'd be able to purchase gas cylinders. We fell in love with this area when we first visited last year - such a dramatic panorama of undulating hills of olive groves - resembling sleeping giants all around us covered in bobbly green blankets (no apologies for my rather childlike imagination!) - then the dramatic mountain ranges beyond. However, we had missed the treat of the run through from the village to Rute where the road goes up higher and higher presenting even more breathtakingly beautiful views. Incredible to think we have all this on 'our' back doorstep! We failed to get the gas - all closed for the holidays until Wednesday! Ah well, at least we did a big shop in the large Mercadona supermarket so we have a full fridge and larder - we can eat to keep warm! No sooner were we back and we were off round to Jane's who was going to introduce us to her neighbour Maria and her husband Isidra. Jane was very keen we met Maria, a very kindly lady who has helped her so much with her Spanish - though Maria has no English! Sitting there in Maria's lovely home attempting conversation in Spanish supported very much by her encouragement and patience (and I must admit to feeling quite surprised and rather pleased as to the progress we have obviously made so far) it struck me that this was it - what has been awaiting us - a glimpse and taste of the ordinary day to day life in a little Spanish village. We left with an open invitation to visit whenever and as often as we wished. Early evening this little village held their procession - 3 local children appropriately dressed in their finery and towed through the main street on a decorated float up to the village hall at the top of the street. Later that evening, we headed up to the village hall to the '5th Night 'party - what a party it was! 2 brilliant musicians plus singer belting out all the best Spanish music for dancing - and how wonderfully refreshing to dance to real music with the tempo such that you just can't sit down! We discovered some real fun group dances - including something akin to the Conga (years since we've done that one - the younger readers of this blog may not have the remotest idea of what I'm talking about - you missed out guys - believe me!). Everyone was up dancing - little children through to the grannies and grandads - it was pure joy to see families having such fun together. How I admire the way the Spanish still celebrate Christmas in much the same way as generations before them, maintaining traditions and not fretting about perfect recipes, colour co-ordinated decorations and dashing madly around the shops! Some of these fiestas are known to go onto until breakfast time but by 2.30 folks were beginning to drift away and the music came to a close.
Tuesday morning our dear friends Jane and Paul were returning to the UK but not before dropping by with one of their gas heaters so we could have 2 heaters! Just as well, since our one and only had just run out of gas! First thing tomorrow we shall be off to get some gas!
Postscript:
Wednesday: we now have 3 gas heaters on the go which have definitely made the house more comfortable and to completely make the day we enjoyed blue skies all day and were able to sit on the terrace and enjoy the sunshine this afternoon! By around 4 o'c it does get very cold again but what joy to enjoy that sunshine!!
Then we received some really exciting news this evening: Sam and Sarah have booked their flights to visit on 22nd Jan and we can't wait to see them!! It will be such fun sharing our new life here with them for a few days.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Visit to Marbella Old Town - El Casco Antiguo
I got it into my head that we should visit the Old Town, particularly around Christmas time which was why we found ourselves heading off on the afternoon of 30 December. We weren't disappointed - the old town, partly surrounded by ruins of the old Arab wall, is charming. Narrow, cobbled little streets, whitewashed houses, bougainvillea and geraniums still tumbling from the balconies. A very typical sight around Christmas time in Spain are the little Santas climbing up the balconies! As we entered the heart of the old town we found little boutiques (though closed for the afternoon) and attractive little plazas offering plenty of bars and cafes still with outdoor seating - end of December! The main plaza was full of orange trees heavy with big, juicy oranges - aptly named the Orange Plaza! Behind here we found the church. I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of the interiors of Spanish churches but for Christmas (like all others in the country I guess) this was full of the heavy perfume of fresh flowers that filled the church. The Spanish take the nativity scenes very seriously - just inside the church was a model of the entire town of Bethlehem showing folks going about their business, a little river and bridge, animals and there in the corner was the nativity scene. The main altar was beautifully decorated with an abundance of poinsettias. Silent Night was playing and as we sat there in the peace and tranquility listening to the beautiful singing of one of my all-time favourite carols, I felt totally enveloped in the true meaning of Christmas - it was very hard to tear ourselves away. We finally made our way down to the seafront where we enjoyed a walk along the marina to 'our' little cafe and to our delight the homemade choc brownie was still on the menu! We stayed until the sun was going down and as we made to leave we were invited to join them for a small intimate New Year gathering! We were very tempted but had already committed to joining our Spanish teacher back 'home'. It was lovely to be invited however and we couldn't help wondering if one would ever receive such an invitation back home from virtually complete strangers! As daylight made way for dusk we wandered back up to the Old Town. Where earlier we had found it to be fairly quiet with only a handful of folks around, it was now transformed into a lively place full of people out and about enjoying the atmosphere; Christmas lights hung over virtually every little street in the heart of the town; the shops and boutiques were open. Then we found the Toy Shop! The whole set up, from the life size wooden toy soldier standing to attention by the door to the amazing toys filling the window and the enchanting mechanical music we could hear within, drew us inside. It was the sort of toy shop one dreamt of as a child - but never quite found - where you could almost believe they would all come alive! The most incredible were the perfectly made lifelike miniature working models of various old fashioned fairground rides: dodgems (no bigger than life size ladybirds) helta skelta, roller coaster and the most eye catching: the musical carousel with beautifully decorated little horses going around and around, up and down carrying smiling children on their backs and lit by the tiniest miniature lights all the way around under the colourful canopy - all so amazingly lifelike. Then we discovered the Nutcracker Ballet - no description would do it justice but I'll try. It was housed in an exquisitely carved wooden box. When wound up, the little doors at the front opened to reveal the most perfectly fashioned tiny ballet dancers dancing to the music of the Nutcracker Suite, then the doors would close and reopen to reveal the next scene with all the changes of music, stage backdrops and dancers! As we stood completely mesmerised (I don't know what the shop owner made of such a silly old couple!) we realised it was the entire Nutcracker Suite ballet - obviously a much condensed version, bit it was all there - every scene, and the sugar plum fairy was quite unbelievable!! I left the shop feeling as excited and delighted as any little girl would be!
The quiet little plaza where we had earlier enjoyed our glass of wine was now bustling with people and in the centre the most beautifully decorated reindeers pulling Santa's sleigh filled with children laughing and squealing with delight as it wound its way round and around the track - and many more children waiting their turn in excited anticipation. There were children's entertainers on the stage. A constant line of visitors passing by yet another nativity scene which must have exceeded 10 metres in length. This one extended beyond the town of Bethlehem to the outlying hills and countryside1 An incredible amount of work and detail - even the little 'dwellings' were illuminated inside showing the day to day goings on of the folks inside and there were even little moving models: the carpenter sawing, the building hammering, folks tending their cooking pots suspended over glowing coals....
We eventually decided it was time to head for home but reluctant to leave, we first stopped to enjoy a glass of wine, sitting outside a little bar, underneath the orange trees watching everything going on around us. It seemed we had stepped back to Christmas past leaving all the modern day trimmings and glitz behind. It was simply enchanting and we shall long have memories of such a beautiful evening.
Christmas and New Year 2008
We had a different style Christmas tree this year - I carried out my threat to put some tinsel on the palm tree in our lounge!!
Plans changed at the last minute and in place of a bottle of bubbly on the beach with a Christmas picnic we decided on enjoying a traditional roast turkey dinner at the local country club. Pre-lunch drinks in front of a lovely coal fire, delicious roast turkey lunch (Spanish style!) followed by chocolate log. Very much a party atmosphere - we even had a party bag each with silly hats, hooters, balloons, streamers - we all had fun with those! We were entertained by a singer/comedian then it was onto the dance floor! We finally arrived back home mid evening. A thoroughly enjoyable time and certainly a very different Christmas day to our usual family time. Boxing Day dawned beautifully sunny and warm so we blew away the cobwebs with a long walk along the sandy beach.
We joined our Spanish teacher, Meshe, her partner Mike and some friends at the local driving range club house to celebrate the New Year. There were double celebrations as we celebrated at midnight Spanish time then an hour later midnight British time - so a double serving of bubbly! We followed the 'Doce Uves' Spanish custom: before midnight each person is given12 grapes. As the clock strikes midnight you start eating the grapes - each grape eaten is believed to give you a month of good luck in the new year so the aim is to have eaten all the grapes by the 12th chime of the clock! However, ours were the large, tough skinned seeded version so the more we stuffed into our mouths the funnier it got which didn't leave us any chance of finishing the 12!! I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever managed to achieve this!! It was a fun night and certainly different!
4 a.m. before we finally fell into bed so a very lazy start to 2009!!
1st Jan dawned bright, sunny and warm so when we did emerge we only had to shift from horizontal in bed to horizontal on the sun beds on the terrace!! Packing tomorrow for the move to the house in El Higueral.....
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