Spain

Saturday

We arrived in Spain via Malaga Airport on Saturday. Picked up a car at a rental place (left hand drive and manual to boot). Fortunately, i ordered a GPS and ever since then Wendy has been bossing me around. She nags like no one i know and she has tried to make me take the odd wrong direction (i refuse to turn up one way streets the wrong way) and when i dont follow her straight away she shouts at me. However, without her we would have really struggled so i forgive her.

We had a quiet day on Saturday, just found the aparment and then went to a restaurant nearby. the food was ok but not great.

Sunday

We went to Malaga after going into Fuengirola. Fuengirola was a bit like a spanish Gold Coast (photos to follow). We had breakfast there and then went to Malaga. This was interesting as a driving experience but finally we found a carpark. then we went looking for Picasso's museum. Walked around a bit, no map, but in the end we found a couple of sites out of the fifty or so in the town. Cant say i am a fan but it was ok.


Monday

Today, it was pouring rain. We got in the car and drove to Granada. This was about a hour and half away. Again when we got there it was an interesting drive. Wendy took me up a bus/taxi only lane but again we managed to find our way into a carpark. we spent the afternoon walking around the La Alhambra (an old fort) - this is just one fantastic site and well worth the 13 euro entry fee (again photos to follow).







Driving back in the dark was a challenge - even the trucks were flashing us and driving past. No one seems to worry about speed signs here. In the end we made it back to the apartment, via a supermarket.

Tuesday

Got up late and had some breakfast in the apartment. In the afternoon Sue, Cam and I went to play golf at the Mijas course (played Los Olivas). Ash came along and drove the buggy. the game cost an arm and a leg (the sunscreen was a scam) but the course, although quite wet due to all the rain, was one of the most picturesque i have ever played on. Cam won the day with 101 (a great score really). Dinner was a high class meal of nachos (as good as any restaurant) with some red wine. Plan for tomorrow is to go down to gibraltar.



Wednesday

Got up late jumped into the car to head down to Gibraltar. we stopped in Marbella to have a look around. walked along the sea front and grabbed some breakfast in a cafe. Marbella, like fierengola is a bit gold coast like. lots of high rise down on the beachfront.

left Marbella and drove down the freeway to Gibraltar. paid about £10 in tolls along the way but worth it. Great road.

Gibraltar is stunning.









Thursday

Went into Malaga again and visited the castille and the Alamhambar. Some of these buildings are amazing. It is difficult to envisage how much effort was required to build and maintain these stunning buildings.

Friday

Dropped Ash and Cam in Malaga and then Sue and I headed off to Bavaria golf course for another game of golf. the day was cold and it rained a bit. the golf course was lovely, but the golf we played was crap and in the end with a biting wind blowing off the snow capped mountains and at the end driving rain we abandoned our game on the last hole. We grabbed a cup of coffee in the clubhouse and then went back into Malaga to pick the kids up.

Saturday

Dropped Ash and Cam at the railway in Malaga, they were heading off to San Sebastian to begin their own european trip for 4-5 weeks. Sue and I went to Benalmedena which is actually really lovely. Had a coffee on the beachfront and then drove back along the coast. Missed the exit for the airport and did another lap through Malaga before heading back to the airport. Our flight was delayed about an hour, but we did get home. Arranged a car to pick us up which was a good thing because the UK had had quite a bit of snow and it made it easy to get home. Had a bit of indian for dinner and fell into bed to get ready for the next few months as work before our next trip.

Restaurant Review - Fire and Stone (Covent Garden)

the family went to this restaurant last night. we went early 5.30pm and though we didnt have a booking we got a seat quite easily. the front of house was really pleasant and efficient. the table we got was good for the five of us but from there the experience went down dramatically.

the service was crap. Everyone in our section experienced the same. there were not enough people serving and you had to specifically ask someone or catch someone's eye to get any kind of service. the drink service was slow (they could have sold twice as many drinks if they were more efficient). the food service was slow, but the food when delivered at the table was tasty (4 out of 5 meals) and the serve sizes though not large were ok for 1 person.

in the end it cost us 60 pounds for 5 people but i did not pay the service fee (no service - no pay). I filled in the customer feedback form - not that i expect that will make any difference. I saw one of the service people look at one and bin it.

If you want a reasonably tasty pizza (and that is all they serve) at about 8 - 10 pounds a piece but crap service this might be the restaurant for you. but we wont be back.

the overall score - 4 out of 10

Christmas - London 2009

Xmas has come and gone. Everyone got some lovely presents and we all enjoyed some great food and some wine and beer. overall it was a fantastic day which i am sure will be remembered for a long time. It was lovely to share a wine and some cheese with Ron B and his friend Cathy who i am sure wondered where she had come to.

here are a couple of photos from the day:

merry xmas and happy new year

Greetings of the season to all who come to visit. May santa be good to each and everyone of you.

there is not much snow where we are living but there have been some pretty good falls across the UK. I took these photos in Reading on Tuesday this week.

5 days to Xmas

time is now closing fast. spent yesterday with Sue and Ash looking for some presents. specifically a present for Sue. Shopped down New and Old Bond Street - well worth a visit.

Had a lovely lunch in Zizzi's (Covent Garden) with Kathy and Mal. great food, good company and some fine wine.

Went to visit Georgia at Snow and Rock, bought some gloves - hands are getting cold, now the weather has gotten to around zero.

Today Sue and I went to Tottenham Court Road and then to the Borough Markets. Successful day, new TV and Blue Ray DVD player (tottenham court road) and we got a "stuffed turkey" (turkey duck and pheasant) along with some other bits and pieces.

I was trying to declutter my (our) lives but its interesting as i keep finding new stuff to acquire. i (we) need a much smaller space or a much smaller budget.

I still havent sorted the main Xmas present though so the clock is running down.

an update

again apologies to anyone who comes here looking for pearls of wisdom (or anything in fact) as i have been busy.

given that is my world i intend to a quick romp through the last few weeks:

• work - bloody busy
• home life - interesting (surrounded by women) and also quite busy
• Xmas - its coming and i am not ready
• Travel - everyday. now spend about 2 hours a day commuting, up from 30 mins total in Perth (its not all bad)
• food - variable. some of the restaurants and pubs are crap and relatively expensive. BUT we have a couple of favourites in Balham (indian room, Gurkhas). outside of Balham we have had pretty good food in Zizzi's and another Italian restaurant on Strand (name to come)
• weather - it is what it is. we have had the first real cold day since we arrived here and it actually snowed today (it was a pretty poor first effort but it was a reminder of what might be coming)
• attitude - it varies. you have to find your own because things go wrong
• recreation - not much except walking to and from station is about the sum of it

ok so now some insights:

London is a wonderful city - everywhere you turn it has something to offer. it is so alive all the time. the choices are immense, the options endless.

the underground - never let anyone ever tell something is full ever again. I got into a full train the other day and felt like a sardine. at the next stop 4 people got in behind me (if you want to go somewhere you PUSH) and then at the next stop the same happened again (oh, and some people still had room to read a paper). i stood looking around the carriage looking for where the airspace was and then trying to work out how you could fit another 20 people into the carriage (its possible if you get horizontal above everyone's head).

the underground stations - some are a pleasure and some are a real pain.

walking on the footpath - there is no rule. you must take a position and hold it. you must be prepared to BUMP here as everyone else seems to be prepared to bump you.

Money - you need to stop converting. it also helps if you come with a shit-load so it is not a daily problem (if you can)

Bristol

Last weekend we went to Bristol - Sue had an event on the Sunday, but we went down on the train on Saturday had a bit of a walk around town. We watched some football in a Pub to get out of the rain and then went bact to the hotel to watch Australia get beat by Scotland in the rugby

Later in the evening we went into town and had the world's worst pub meal. If you ever get the chance to go to the pub in Bristol where Louis Stevenson is reputed to have written Treasure Island for a meal dont bother. This was the mixed platter (sorry Fran - i remember suggesting you get this)

After our dinner we walked around town a bit - there are some interesting sights and sites. Some of the young girls were very under-dressed for the weather.

Bristol is an interesting town and we will probably go back for a good look around. On the Sunday i borrowed a bike from the Hotel while Sue did her event and rode around for a couple of hours. My first ride in 6 months. The bike was a small mountain bike - the handle bars were loose, the bike was not set up right and they gave me a helmet which would only have fitted on my small head, so i left that behind. Riding on UK roads is a very interesting experience.

Some of the architecture is fantastic but some parts of the town are, like everywhere in the world (think Northbridge 0r Balga in Perth), a bit ordinary. The work that has been done around the Harbour is modern and people told me an improvement on what preceded it.

One of the more interesting sights is the open air loo in the middle of the city centre. I thought this was unique (and i would love to see a woman use it) but actually when you start to look around you see them in other places too (like just outside the embankment station). It is a great solution to stop pissed people peeing in the street or in shop fronts (yet it happens).

Overall it was a nice weekend - i am looking forward to the next trip (next year now).