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Gibraltar flag, Union Jack and the EU flag
Gibraltar is a so called British Oversees Territory. Most likely the EU flag will disappear as soon as Brexit is finalized. But the Gibraltar flag and the Union Jack will be hanging in Gibraltar for many years yet Monkeys, Fish and Chips or limestone caves. Gibraltar has it all and more
Ake has for many years been thinking about visiting Gibraltar. Emma however is less keen on visiting the British little chunk of territory in the southeast corner of the Iberian Peninsula. This year we weren't able to coordinate our plans for Easter because our respective schedules mismatched. So Emma went one way and Ake went to Gibraltar and some other places nearby. Here comes the first blog entry from Ake's trip.
Gibraltar is a so called British Oversees Territory, which basically means that its British but it is nowhere near Britain. Gibraltar borders to Spain in the north and with the Mediterranean Sea surrounding all other sides. With this location you don't need to know much about international relations to realize that Spain isn't too happy about this situation. They wouldn't mind taking control over Gibraltar and send the Britons back to UK. The British on the other hand probably love the fact that have their own little back door into Spain.
So where do the Gibraltarians stand? They could hardly be more British. The telephone booths are more
Red telephone booths
The Gibraltarians could hardly be more British. The telephone booths are more red than in London red than in London, there are more pubs per capita than in Manchester, and they sell more beer too, and the Fish and Chips is easier to find and is crispier than in Brighton or Blackpool. The Gibraltarians go all in on the British-ness. I won't hold it against them. If things were the other way around, that Spain had a piece of land in Essex, the Spaniards would make sure to build two bull fighting arenas there, they would have tapas restaurants in every block and the Spanish government would make sure that this imaginary Spanish exclave just south of Ipswich would continuously have a football team in La Liga and they would make sure that this team each year qualifies for Champions League so they get to play some English teams just to spite them.
There is more to see in Gibraltar than UK on Steroids. Here follows a short summery of what I saw.
The macaques: Most famous of all the things a visitor in Gibraltar is likely to see is probably the macaques, the monkeys that inhabit the Gibraltar Rock. They are very much a symbol of Gibraltar and legend
British pub in Gibraltar
There are more pubs per capita in Gibraltar than in Manchester and they sell more beer too. The Gibraltarians go all in on the British-ness has it that Britain will loose control of Gibraltar the day the monkeys disappear. It you are Spanish and read this and think about poisoning the monkeys or get rid of them in some other way, I recommend that you don't. No way that Spain is going to get rid of the British that easily. The Brits are having way too much fun as the situation is right now.
St Michael's Cave: A limestone cave in Gibraltar Rock. The cave has been fitted with a stage and a stand and is occasionally used for concerts or theatre. It might sound like they have totally destroyed the cave by carving away rock and replacing it by concrete but it isn't so. Much of the cave still looks like a proper cave and they have also lit up several sections of it in different colours which creates an interesting effect.
The defence tunnels: Gibraltar has several times in history been attacked by foreign military forces. At times of unrest they had tunnels built through the Gibraltar Rock to serve as fortress, storage and whatever else the military needs to defend the territory.
The Fish and Chips
The Fish and Chips is easier to find and is crispier than in Brighton or Blackpool airport: It's not very often that an airport is labelled as "something worth seeing", but this one really is. Gibraltar is small and it can't have been an easy thing to squeeze in an international airport there. Well, they did manage to find a strip of land lining the border with Spain which, possibly with the assistance of some landfill, was large enough to accommodate a terminal and a runway. The tight fit made it necessary for the Gibraltarians to make the runway go across the only road to Spain. So whenever a plane is about to land or take off they have to close the road and all traffic has to wait. To the best of my knowledge it is the only road in the world which crosses an international airport and also unique as there is a traffic light monitoring private cars on a regular road to make they don't collide with Airbus and Boeing planes.
I guess I might be excused if I take this opportunity to mention a blog we published a year ago or so. It is called "
Little Green Men" and features photos of traffic lights for pedestrians in various countries. Because of
Fish and Chips
Just had to have a Fish and Chips because I love it! its uniqueness the "Green Man" at Gibraltar International Airport was a very good contribution to that blog entry.
If there are Spanish people reading this and who are angered by the fact that I write about Gibraltar. Relax, the next two blog entries will be about Andalucia.
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Me too! My fav place uses a beer batter.