Europe Tour with A and M

The day started out with us being stuck in the car park of the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel in Ronda the car was parked for us so we didn't know what to expect when getting the car out. This was the tightest car park we have ever seen and getting out was proving very difficult. Along came an angel in a bikkie disguise and he eventually got it out for us. That was the first hiccup.     Road to Malaga was very, very windy and lots of wind today.    Acres and acres of olive trees everywhere.    Lots of small isolated white towns. Second hiccup about to descend upon us. After a not so comfortable drive we got to Malaga only to drive around and around for 45 minutes with the gps sending us into streets that are pedestrian access only. We knew where we roughly had to go but couldn't get there and there was no where to pull over to park. Just about to give up and park outside the city we decided to follow a taxi into what we thought was a restricted access ...

Picking up a car for hire is not a two minute transaction in Spain more like two hours. We arrived at Avis near the main train station in Servilla and waited and waited and then when we finally were told where to find the car it wasn't there. With very little assistance we had to go along pressing the unlock button on the remote until one opened. Then the car( a Citroen) was sooooo different to anything we know we had to find out numerous things before we could even leave the area.  Off on our journey to Ronda. Ronda is a mountain top city in Spain's Malaga province.     Beautiful countryside along the way, with the roads not too busy which is good for us. Strange country, wrong side of the road driving and mountain climbing windy roads.    Lots of olive groves, orange orchards and fields and fields of sunflowers all sunning themselves in the heat.    And of course the many small castles dotting the landscape.    View coming up to Ronda. We f...

Walked over to the other side of the Rio Guadalquivir to the Triana District. It was suggested that this is a good area to have great tapas as it is less touristy. It is an area where the gypsies settled many moons ago.     There are lots of bridges of Servilla and we crossed the bridge of Isabel II also known as the Triana bridge. It is the most emblematic bridge in the city, the first metal bridge also , built in 1852.    First stop the local markets just on the other side of the river. Very similar to the ones in Narbonnes but on a much smaller scale.     Iberian ham is everywhere here. It is very much like prosciutto.    We walked around for quite some time but not much was open. Lots of restaurants and bars but not much else. Being Saturday must be the reason, maybe their day off? Will have to investigate that before next Saturday, wherever we will be. Nothing much else to do but have a cold beer next to the river looking back over the c...

Off to do our electric bike tour of the city. You really don't need an electric bike around Servilla as it is rather flat but they are an easy and safe means of seeing the city in a short time. There would have only been four of us doing the tour but while we were waiting for the bike shop to open up a mother and older daughter were there to rent a bike and we talked them into the tour. They loved it. And they were from Sydney of all places. We don't meet too many Aussies over here.  Maree our tour guide was a great source of information explaining the history and settlement of the whole area. One of the good things with these tours is that you can pick where you would like to visit in depth later. After the tour we headed back to The Cathedral. Took lots of pics but again having trouble with my iPad and lost them. I was most disappointed in losing The Cathedral pics so I went back queued in line in the hot hot sun and took some more the next day.    The entrance to The C...

Left Albufeira in a black Mercedes transfer with a suited chauffeur, 'living it up'! No, it was the cheapest and easiest option to get from Portugal to Spain. We arrived into Servilla just before lunch to another well located hotel. We were located in the middle of squares, restaurants, shops and near The Cathedral.    Doesn't look the best location but hot hot day and it's midday and people are in airconed shops or in bars and restaurants. The Cathedral is just at the end of this street a short walk.     Plaza Del Salvador is just around the corner. Room 202 in Hotel Las Casas de Los Mercaderes. So far except for one room, which was the apartment in Albufeira, we have been in palindromic numbered rooms, 505, 313 and 202.  We have been very impressed with Iber Tours and the rooms that they have secured for us so far. First real tapas of the trip at an unbelieveabily busy bar, restaurant in the square literally right next door. It's Thursday at midday and this pl...

Getting a little used to waking up about 8 as you tend to go to bed later as everything is still buzzing till very late. Another quick walk to the marina area as we wanted to get back and get sorted to see if we could find somewhere that would put the State of Origin game on for us.     Coffee and juice right on the marina. After a few no shows we came across a really helpful lady at DC's Club Bar that hunted through literally  hundreds of channels and found it. She was soooooo helpful.     TV at the bar with state of origin. Pictures of famous singers adorn the walls of this club. Thought Tina Turner could have been a good omen for NSW but not to be this time. Very exciting at first but unfortunately NSW let themselves down in the end and lost by 2, bummer. Back down to the beach for the rest of the arvo. Last time to soak up the southern Portuguese sun, listening to the many hawkers selling everything from handbags to cold drinks, donuts etc. typical sound - '...

Took the car back today and walked from an area still in the Albufeira district called Aveiros.  Passed lots of smaller beaches and many restaurants and bars. A bit more of a windy day today so after getting back and having brekkie on the balcony we decided to look around the busier part of town and the shops.  But before we left I was looking down towards the beach and saw small red flags spaced out and the lifeguard blowing his whistle at people. Couldn't at first make out what was happening and then it dawned on us that the beach was closed. OMG it was a bit windy and there was a swell of about 6 inches. We couldn't believe it nor could the people being told to get out of the water.  UNBELIEVABLE.   This is the closed beach, can you believe it! No rip, no swell, no waves?  Not too much bought at the shops just a few pressies for the granddaughters.  Back to the late afternoon balcony spot for a cheese and biscuit dinner( very naughty but nice).

Another big walk this morning around the area. We found a lovely lady selling the sweetest tasting strawberries and cherries and had a lovely brekkie on our balcony.     There are phone booths all around and here you have one with the best view in the area. Portimao here we come. Packed up the car with towels, beach umbrellas, hats and cossies and headed to Portimao and Praia da Vau(Vau Beach). Trip took about 45 minutes along mostly freeway roads, I'm sure there would have been a coastal road but we are happy to stick to the main roads as many coastal roads are so narrow its very difficult to pass. Just getting out of our small area in Albufeira we had to negotiate roads that are really the narrowest of laneways, edging our way past parked cars and front door steps of homes. Not many cars around without scratches along the sides. Trip well worth seeing and swimming in this beautiful beach.    View back towards a small section of the city of Portimao.    Th...