Debra and Dana

A pleasant surprise at Portrush! The weather cleared and we woke up to a warm, sunny day. Unplanned, we drove over to the Royal Portrush Golf Club, (home of the 2019 Open Championship and Rory McIlroy’s former home course) thinking we might get a last minute tee time. Lo and behold, the only time was with another twosome. Incredibly it was Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. What a golf game!! Both Debra and I had record scores, I shot a 74 and Debra finished with 85. I had a “hole in one” on the 155 yard hole #3, par 3 and on the 510 yard par 5, hole #12, I actually drove the ball off the tee within 30 yards of Rory’s drive. It was an incredible day topped off by having a beer with Rory ... read more

We said farewell to Malaga/Estepona on a warm, bright sunny morning and took a 2 1/2 hour flight to Dublin where we were greeted with a windy, coolish day but some sunshine. With our car rental, it was a smooth exit from the airport for the 2 hour drive to Belfast along the M1 highway. A quick Hotel check in and a Steak and Guinness pie dinner capped off a long day. Our hotel didn’t have a restaurant, however around the corner, we found a Tim Hortons and had an Egg McMuffin, hash brown and Coffee. In addition to breakfast, I negotiated with my dietician a donut but discovered the cost was equivalent to $3.50 CDN versus about $1.20 at home, so no treat. The “black cab’ tour of Belfast covered mostly the divided neighbourhoods of ... read more

On our return visit to Ronda, we took a tour of the bull fighting ring, one of only a few operating in Spain. Bull fighting is still legal in many regions although its popularity has been diminishing. In the early days, bull fighting was forbidden by the church as it was a sin to put your life (soul) in danger. Originally bull fighting was done on horses but transitioned to the matador on foot which is today’s practice. Debra refused to attend a performance and I’m less enthusiastic about a sport where the winner is pre-determined! The tour of the Ronda bull ring was interesting as it’s one of the oldest in Spain (built in 1785) and still in operation holding appx 5000 people. There is also an information/museum section that provides a good background on ... read more

On our first visit to Marbella, we were unable to include the old town so a return trip was in order. It was on Saturday and in the main square a pipe band was performing with other groups, all in dress uniforms, waiting in the wings. The square was typical with a small church surrounded by tourist shops, restaurants and narrow streets branching off from the centre. A few blocks away is bucolic style park with a passage leading down to the beach. In the middle of the passage, there were a number of Salvador Dali sculptures that are quite unusual to say the least!! With a few “days off” from golf, we headed to Granada for a couple of days and a hike planned on the way back. Granada is appx. 2 1/2 hour drive ... read more

We have arrived in Estepona which is about an hours drive from Malaga on the “Costa de Sol” (Sunshine Coast). Our Villa is only a few steps from the beach with easy access to a long, well maintained stone walkway that hugs the coast for miles. So far the weather has been comfortable with daytime highs around 18-22 C and the abundance of sunshine makes outdoor activity very pleasant. The Villa is somewhat compact, particularly in the kitchen, however, with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, it provides adequate space and is complimented with large back and front patios that includes a hot tub, barbecue and numerous pieces of outdoor furniture. Within a few minutes drive, there are a good selection of grocery stores, golf courses and restaurants etc. Of course, as with many places now, the ... read more

Our final winter destination for 2024 is the Malaga area of Spain with a side trip to Ireland. We spent 4 days in Dublin on the way to Spain and will return for 12 more days in April, doing a self drive tour of the Island. The over night flight Toronto to Dublin with AC was actually quite enjoyable. We departed on time, was hosted by friendly staff and arrived on schedule. There may be hope yet for our national airline?? With an overnight flight, it’s always a struggle to stay awake until normal bed time in order to adjust to local time zone as quickly as possible. After arriving around 7:00 am, we took the “hop on hop off” bus. It was much better than in other cities as the driver provided some interesting comments ... read more