Down Time and Downtown

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Geo: 36.5099, -4.88635

Down time and downtown
DAY NINE
Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Today is a day of leisure and relaxation. Nothing on the agenda from Tauck and only breakfast included.

Friends who know me well know I don't do relaxation well. I am an obsessive compulsive doer so this isn't my best day on the tour. But my traveling companions are delighted, included my roommate.

I have been getting very little sleep, averaging 4-5 hours between traveling all day and blogging and editing photos at night. I rarely go to bed before 2 am. Which was true again last night but this morning I didn't have to set an alarm. Patrick woke me up at 9:40 so I guess I needed to catch up on the Z's.

I thought I had a manicure at 10 am, according to our tour guide. But the salon didn't open until 10:25 (this Spanish time is loose and confusing) and then there was only a hairdresser. She asked me to come back at noon, so I did. We enjoyed breakfast ... then I returned for a lovely period of relaxation (See! I can do it!) and some very pretty nails painted azure blue to match the Mediterranean.

Patrick hasn't been feeling well the last 24-hours. Crippling knee pain. Then near migraine headache. And now rumbling tummy. He was delighted it was a day off, so he decided to stick around the hotel.

However, we did go out for an afternoon walk around the property and along the boardwalk that parallels the beach behind the resorts. There were sellers pushing "authentic" Michael Kors purses and evidence of nude sunbathing.

Late in the afternoon, Anne, Barcy and I headed to Old Town (Casco Antigua), a lovely area of winding walled pathways filled with shops, cafes and squares. We were in search of shoes (Anne bought the only pair), purses, shawls and other Spanish items. We stopped at the 15th-century Iglesia de la Encarnacion, which is an elaborate and very pretty church.

We dined at Tempora, a Mediterranean restaurant that Joe recommended. What a deal – we had a three-course dinner for 25 Euros each. Appetizers were pretty to look out and pretty to taste; entrees were lamb, coconut salmon and duck. Yum. We all ordered mousse – passion fruit with chocolate sauce for them and vanilla with candied pear for me. They each came in a jar with a lid – interesting delivery.

We cabbed it back to the hotel where the shops were still open so we checked them out but came away empty. With so many cities ahead of us (Rondo, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo, Madrid and Barcelona), surely we will find something to suit our needs.

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Photos

Gran Melia Don Pepe hotel lobby
I keep expecting to hear a Bosa Nova.

Comments

[annxstitch]

I am truly enjoying your blog. You are allowed to skip a blog day as I know how much time and effort it entails. I got thru with a week and then just enjoyed our Asia trip. Your descriptions and photos are great too. Thank you

[Wainio, Monica]

Beautiful. Enjoy the days!!

[spoonball]

Thanks for your comments. Delighted you're journeying along. May I ask if I know you? I don't the moniker annxstitch.Tommye FlemingSent from my iPad