Our European Adventure

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The publishing date has nothing to do with the date we actually went there, which was May 27th. We're just a bit behind with the travel blog.

We decided to make the journey to Gibraltar during our first week at the house, not because we had a desperate urge to hang out with English speaking people, there are already plenty of those in our village, but purely because it’s there. In the words of everyone we’ve met since then, you have to go at least once and it could be a great place, if it wasn’t for the Poms. Its location is impressive and that you have to walk across the airport runway to enter “the country” is interesting and at first alarming, until you realize it’s not a busy airport.

The Rock is amazing and its sheer eastern face is so distinctive and the view is great especially on a clear day, but after that, it’s overrated. Apparently it’s a tax-free zone, but we were a bit baffled why you would bother when cigarettes and alcohol are already so cheap in Spain. Of course, for the UK visitors it must be a bargain, as they are the ones who walk across the border, stop at the first shop, stock up on grog and smokes and then walk back out.

We took the cable car up to the top of the look-out, took lots of photos and met some of the Barbary Apes, who occupy the rock and look not in the slightest bit interested at having all these snap-happy tourists around unless someone has food or plastic bags, which they have learnt could contain food. There are warnings as you wait to go into the cable car about what to be mindful of before approaching the apes, as they are like the monkeys in Bali, they know what food is wrapped in and that pinching shiny objects from tourists gets them food.

The lunch we had in a cafe in one of the side streets was quite forgettable and memorable only for how much it cost after the cheap meals in Spain. We were happy to leave Gibraltar and see no need to go back.

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Photos

The Runway
Yes, everyone really does walk across the runway to get to the town

Gibraltar International Airport
Don't blink or you'll miss it

The View from the Top of the Rock
This is the view looking across the bay to La Linea, which is part of Spain and right on the border with Gibraltar

Barbara - camera up close
This is how Barbara often appears in photos - hard at work

Another view of the Rock
This view includes the view from the southern side of the Rock, which is why it was used as military base by the British.