Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 14

While other cities have art interwoven throughout them, Barcelona is truly in a class of its own with artistic elements to be found throughout nearly every street you find. This morning started with a lovely local breakfast of mushrooms, avocado, eggs, and chorizo. It was likely the best omelette I have ever had. Then on to getting a small tattoo souvenir before visiting Gaudi’s Park Guell. Originally designed as a housing complex, the park has become a municipal garden and tourist Mecca. The viaducts throughout are visually interesting and you’ll see in my pictures the lovely lizard at the entrance! You could spend a couple hours at the park - definitely get your tickets beforehand. Heading back, I ran into a large farmer‘s market that appeared to only consist of various honeys, teas, and herbs. After ... read more

The island of Tenerife is the last port (except Southampton obviously) on this trip. Apparently the word Tenerife in the original inhabitants language, meant White Mountain, which is where we are going. The Mount Teide National Park. The mountain is a volcano, the third biggest in the World and the highest mountain in Spain at 3,715m. Big though it is, Mount Teide is in fact actually growing inside the remains of a much bigger volcano that collapsed into the sea 170,000 years ago and must have created the mother of all tsunamis. We are driven through Santa Cruz, the capital of the islands, and a place where architects seem in thrall to Lego. It is the only explanation as to why all the buildings are simply square / oblong shapes with nothing of any real interest. ... read more

March 6th 2023 – 28thMarch 2023 We arrived back to a rainy Alhaurin about 11.00pm when Howard & Karen came to greet us, and then we had use of their car. Howard drove back to his place and we eventually reached the house about midnight to find that the kitchen (and we found out later – the shower room!) had flooded! So there we were at 00.30am mopping floors and clearing out drains! We think the problem has been caused by next doors untrimmed tree, shedding its leaves. Problemo!! We did see the gecko in the patio though ( he has also been seen in the drainpipe, since!!) so don’t know if he has been washed down from the porch!! Anyway, apart from that drama it has been the usual round of walking, Menu del dias, ... read more

It’s very possible to write several weighty tomes about Cadiz and still fall short of nailing its incredible essence. The city is generally considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe, founded and called Gadir by the Phoenicians around 1100 BC. Now well into its fourth millennium the ancient center, surrounded almost entirely by water, is a romantic jumble of sinuous streets where Atlantic waves crash against eroded sea walls, cheerful taverns fry up fresh fish and salty beaches teem with sun worshipping tourists and locals alike. Spain's first liberal constitution (La Pepa) was signed here in 1812, while the city's distinctive urban model provided an identikit for fortified Spanish colonial cities in the Americas of the New World. Enamored return visitors talk fondly of Cádiz' seafood, sands and intriguing monuments and museums. More ... read more

Day 9 - La Palma Have not visited this island before, one of the youngest Canary Islands. Our tour today took us from the one side of the island to the other passing through mountain roads, & banana plantations. We arrived at a pretty town, El Paso, where we visited a unique silk museum. La Palma has produced silk since the 16th century. We saw a demonstration showing all 14 silk production stages. Very interesting to silk being weaved by hand following the traditional methods. This is the only place in Europe where this method is still used. We stopped at Parque Antonio Gomez Felipe - a pretty park in the middle of Los Llanos de Aridane town. Beautiful metal work on gates, stairs and fences. Mosaic flooring as well as the entry guarding lizards, a ... read more