Today we are off to visit a couple who were acquaintances of ours in Costa Rica and who now live in Altea. They were originally from Calgary and two years ago the left Atenas to live in Spain. We had a leisurely coffee with them at a beachfront cafe and made plans to meet again later in the week for dinner. In the afternoon we spent time in the pool and reading. Our acquaintance Barry mentioned that on Sunday nights at a train station near here people gather for a jam session with different instruments and it usually has some pretty good music. We decided to check it out as Barry said he'd be there playing his saxophone. The music was pretty decent.... read more

Today was hot, right from the time we woke up. The house does not have great ventilation and no screens on the windows! Europeans do not seem to believe in putting screens on their windows which is strange as there are flies and mosquitoes here. After breakfast we headed off to a small village not far from where we are staying, called Altea. The old town of Altea is on a hill and looks typically Spanish with its pretty, narrow cobbled streets with white houses leading up to a beautiful central square. Once we climbed up through the narrow streets we enjoyed magnificent sea and mountain views. We enjoyed the charm of the little village as we sipped our morning coffee but the heat of the day quickly sent us back home to enjoy our pool. ... read more

Today we are celebrating 37 wonderful years of marriage. Unfortunately, we had to start our day by returning our rental car to Alicante which is over an hour away. We decided to drive the rental and our exchange vehicle to the little train station in Albir. From there we drove to Alicante where we returned our vehicle and had a coffee and yummy pastries. Then we caught the local tram back to Albir which was a great way to see the countryside. On our return to Albir train station we picked up our car and drove into Albir and visited beautiful Playa Albir. It was busy with tourists but we bought a gelato and enjoyed a lovely stroll along the beach promenade. It is 37c today so returned to the house and cooled off in the ... read more

After a quick breakfast at a little coffee shop we gathered up our suitcases and headed downhill to the parkade. Once on the road and heading east we stopped in the town of Aranjuez for a coffee and to view the palace grounds before continuing onto Cuenca. Aranjuez is a name of a song Jim plays on his guita, so we wanted to see it. We passed through grain fields and vineyards and forests on our route. The city of Cuenca started as a fortified settlement on a steep bluff between two river canyons. Our little hotel was in the old town, high on the bluff. We checked in and then went to a very nice restaurant for lunch. In the evening we headed out to see the principal sights, the Hanging Houses and the old ... read more

After an enjoyable sleep-in we were off to Manzanares de Real to see a 15th century castle in the Elizabethan Gothic-style. The castle was initially conceived as a fortress but quickly became a residential palace. On arrival to the town we noticed there was a huge medieval fair going on. It was enjoyable to wander through the decorated streets with a large variety of vending stalls. We enjoyed a coffee with churros dipped in hot chocolate sauce before heading off to tour the castle. The castle was very impressive from the outside as it has been substantially restored both inside and out. Once inside we enjoyed wandering through different rooms, galleries with tapestries, and viewing paintings and other artworks. We especially liked visiting the ramparts and turrets where we enjoyed great views of the mountains and ... read more