A week in Southern Spain

This has been one incredibly beautiful week. We were in for a real treat with clear blue skies throughout the week and beautiful scenery (unforgettable white villages, ancient ruins and the snow peaked mountains of the Sierra Nevada in the far background).

Our adventure started by taking the train to the Gatwick Airport the night before our flight. With our flight departing early morning there was really no point of staying overnight in our ‘flat’. Yes, my usual high standards are a thing of the past! It made for one funny evening. We arrived at Gatwick Airport close to midnight. Our first priority was to find a quiet corner to close our eyes – at least for a few hours. My high standard kicked in geared as I kept thinking that we could find a quieter corner inside the Airport. As the minutes were going by less and less seats remained available. Yes, there is quite a night life at the Airport (that is, even if everything is closed and that there are no flights leaving at night). That’s when Greg says: “Annick, this is like getting married… you can’t wait for too long or you won’t find anything!”. Not too sure what to think of his comment – I couldn’t help but to laugh hysterically. Here we were in the middle of the night looking for a bench to sleep on. So, we finally settled for three seats available (with armrest in the middle) overlooking the Arcade and facing the escalators. Yes, it was noisy but I was prepared. I took out earplugs and a pillow from my bag and I was now ready for the night. I did manage to make myself comfortable on these two seats with the armrest in the middle – while holding my luggage with one hand - there were some sketchy characters walking around! Believe it or not I did manage to sleep a good 7 hours without getting up. Greg had to shake me in the morning to wake me up! Who knows without him I would have probably missed the flight! Greg qualifies the evening as being the worst evening of his life! He did not close an eye the entire evening and couldn’t help but laugh at me sound asleep in the crazy loud Airport!

Greg had hoped to get a few hours of sleep on the plane but to no avail as the stewardess kept offering products to buy! It was like being at an auction in the Air. It sounded like this: “Sir, would you like to switch seat for 15 pounds? Would you like to buy a lunch for 3 pounds? Sir, would you like to buy passport cases or perfume? Sir, we have nice in-flight souvenirs, would you like to see our brochure?” It was so funny! We did travel with a discount airline after all! We arrived to Spain in great spirits and happy to have finally found out how discounted airlines make their money!

We arrived in Malaga where Joelle and Dom picked us at the Airport. We spent the day checking out our digs! Now, we were back on track – staying at the Miraflores Beach and Country Club. The beds were definitely better than the Airport benches!

We spend the week visiting small villages in the province of Andalusia. We spent a fabulous day in Granada where we visited the Alhambra. No wonder it’s been referred to as a world wonder! It was absolutely incredible! That’s where I found my deep down obsession with gardens and fountains but mostly fountains! I may have taken one too many pictures but it was so beautiful… who could resist? We also visited the Cathedral which turned out to be the most spectacular Cathedral I have ever set foot in. The entire interior was entirely white which large columns and the detail in gold. It was just breathtaking.

We also visited the city of Malaga (hometown of Picasso) and hiked up the mountain of overlooking the city. We though it was a fabulous idea until we read in the traveling book in big capital letter that tourist should not be hiking the mountain as it is not safe to do so! The risk was worth it! The views were splendid! We then spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the ancient streets and lovely villas and took a stroll along the seafront.

The old village of Marbella was absolutely stunning. It was an exact reflection of what I expected Spain to be like with the beautiful courtyards, the balconies with flowers, the small alleys of whitewashed houses and the orange trees! It was incredible!

We also visited the beautiful white city of Mijas. In Mijas, it is possible to hire a burro taxi (guided donkey) to explore the village! To my great excitement, we did see donkeys on the street but did not hire one! We also enjoyed a beautiful afternoon by the beach in Fuegirola where we had a delicious ice cream.

Before talking about Ronda we need to talk about the drive to Ronda. Well, the views along the way were absolutely magnificent according to the other passengers in the car. We had to drive through winding mountain road. I had no idea that I could be afraid of heights inside a car! Once we got to Ronda it was all worth it! Good job on the driving Dom! Ronda was absolutely stunning! Especially the 360ft deep ravine! Once again, I may have gone overboard with the pictures!

There was only one pitfall to the entire trip and we like to refer to it as the “Baggy Trousers” incident. On a night out we ended up by accident in an English bar only to hear on the karaoke a song by the name of “Baggy Trousers”. Really, nothing says Spain like baggy trousers! It ended up being just fine - by that time the Jerez Brandy had taken effect and it turned out to be a funny evening!

Overall, it was an incredible trip. We were all amazed at the history of every village. The Muslim influence over the architecture was absolutely stunning. Most importantly, it was really nice to spend the week with Joelle and Dom! Below are a few pictures of our trip.

The night life at Gatwick Airport....

A day in Granada...

The Cathedral in Granada...

The incredible view of Malaga...

While in Marbella...

Magnificient view of El Tajo in Ronda...

Click here to see additional pictures.