What a week!

The summer holidays are usually slow, lazy and very hot, although this year, I am working, so they haven't been as lazy as last year.

We had Etnosur during July, where we partied in the streets and the boys stayed out all night. That was fun. We've had blissful impromptu afternoons and late evenings on the beach.

And this week, we seem to have never stopped.

Glorious setting

After another glorious afternoon on the beach to see the sunset and skim stones on the sea, we finished the weekend with a concert in Consolacion, the main church of Alcala la Real - a performance of Mozart's Requiem in homage to the town's choirmaster who died earlier this year. And what a beautiful performance it was too. There were two choirs - one from Alcala and a supporting choir from Jaen, plus a small but excellent orchestra. They made a stunning sound and the soloists were also very good. I had been bowled over by the performance of my mother's choir in March and hadn't expected anything quite so good....but I think it came extremely close.

I commented on Facebook that the only problem was the noisy audience. At the time, I was quite scandalised by the 'zzzzippp...zzzzzzzipppp' as the women who - in a perfectly justifiable attempt to keep cool - loudly flicked open their fans, wafted wildly for a few seconds and then snapped them shut again. And again, and again. I think there were three rows immediately behind and in front of us, each with six women and their fans....I could hardly hear a thing at times. Also, some people didn't feel the slightest obligation to remain in their seats during the performance and wandered around, taking photos or maybe just stretching their legs. And rather too many mobile phones rang for it to be quite clear that Mozart was not held in quite the same esteem by others as he is by me....

However, a long and interesting discussion with one of my students left me in no doubt that much of this behaviour is 'cultural'. Firstly, the performance was in church, not in the theatre. And on a Sunday evening. There was a preponderance of late middle-aged and elderly women present in the audience, who, I was informed, attend anything that happens in the church and expect to behave as they always behave in church. That includes having conversations with neighbours and friends and, of course, using their fans to keep cool in the extreme heat of the summer. The performance was secondary and their knowledge of audience behaviour not required because they were not paying to see it. I did rethink my reaction as a result of the conversation but it may take me a bit longer to completely forget the sound of those fans....


And this week has been unforgettable. We'd planned to spend the afternoon with Sam and family at the nearby 'lake' or pantano. This is a reservoir which we've visited a couple of times since we've lived here - the first with Darwin when we went on a lovely long walk and the second (can't find the post) when we went to eat at the bar that is at one end. Both times, I got some beautiful photos and blogged about the experience.

It's been a very hot few weeks and so we decided to go out around 6pm when it was still hot but past the peak temperature. Probably around 33 degrees...so hot enough! When we arrived, we were initially disappointed to discover that the Centre that manages the boats, pedalos and sailing equipment looked to be not only closed but really quite abandoned, but undeterred, we crossed the chain and headed down to the lake. Prepare for some stunning shots, taken without any idea of what I was taking as the sun was so bright, I couldn't see my photo screen. However, I luckily managed to capture some of the colours and vibrancy of the scenery.

Looking out across the reservoir.

After a little while, a young man came and let us take pedalos out. 

This is quite the life.

Shades of sunny Swallows and Amazons...

And David caught a carp - he let it go again.

And as we dried off in the sunset, we thought a beer at the bar might be a good idea...

A very lovely day with good friends.

And that's not all!




Last night, it was la Noche en Blanca, which means 'sleepless night' (and in this heat, there have been a few of those) in Alcala la Real. A night of music, late-opening shops, concerts and free museum entries.

This is the view from just below La Mota of some ongoing work to create a new exhibition centre, concert hall, gardens and eventually, a restaurant, on the ruins of an old convent. They've made a great job of it. The gardens were full of vibrant geraniums in all colours but it had got a bit too dark by the time we arrived to capture them.

This is inside the also newly-refurbished Amphibian Rescue centre that we used to visit quite often when we lived in the calle Bolivia - in fact, Jaws, Mateo's pet turtle went to live there when he grew too big for his tank. We hoped he might recognise us and come up to the window so we could say hello to him...but he didn't. We were never quite sure whether he was a he or a she. I had wanted to paint his toenails red so that we could say hello when we visited but Mateo wouldn't let me. He wasn't in the same tank as the python, by the way! All the turtles were in a bigger pond - and they weren't at all photogenic.









Finally, after some tapas in a bar, we made our way up to the little park above Sam and David's house where there was some flamenco singing. It wasn't brilliant as it happens but watching the little children from the 'gitano' families, many of whom live in this area, was fascinating. Even the tiniest ones can clap in the difficult flamenco rhythm and obviously feel the music in their blood. And even when flamenco isn't at its best, there is something so incredibly different about it - it has a raw quality that is both complex and simple. Definitely make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

And then we sat on Sam and David's beautiful terrace overlooking La Mota, until 4am - with all our children together somewhere in the dark and warm night, talking and laughing and generally feeling extremely relaxed.

During the August fiestas in Alcala, a very special night of Flamenco had been proposed and FR must have been one of the first to buy tickets to listen to one of the most admired singers of the age - Jose Menese. The tickets are on our fridge door waiting for next Saturday's concert up at La Mota - very special...and then the unthinkable happened. Last Friday, poor Jose died. I have no idea what will happen for the concert but I will let you know.

Flamenco is an acquired taste and although I found it difficult to start with, I am now hooked....here's a little taster if you're feeling brave!





It has been a week of wonderful moments, when we've made many memories and spent precious time together. I really am very grateful for weeks - with friends and family - like these!

A promise fulfilled

Some time ago, although I don't actually remember when, I promised Romy that we could go to a funfair one day. For the day, not just a couple of rides when the fair comes to town. To a proper place.

The Easter holiday seemed to be the time to fulfill that promise. I have to say I am not a fan. FR is even less of a fan. Mateo has never really been a fan. But a promise is a promise.

So, yesterday, Romy, Ruy (who is quite a fan) and I set off in the morning to make the trek to the coast and Tivoli World. It's not a huge place and has no outlandish rides but it is the nearest permanent fairground to us and for fair-deprived children, like mine, it pretty much hit the spot.

Blue skies, palm trees and just the right temperature

Apart from having to submit to the incredibly inefficient ticket system, which, despite having bought our tickets online, meant we had to join three different queues and wait for a total of 45 minutes before the required wristbands were applied. These bands provided access to all but a couple of the attractions in unlimited repeated turns.

There was a little moment of being underwhelmed as we set off to explore but the park is cleverly laid out to appear much bigger than it is and many of the attractions are not immediately visible.

I won't describe all the rides...(phew, I hear you say) but despite trailing around after my children for about five hours, carrying rather more than I had intended, we had a great day and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Ruy reckons he had probably around 100e-worth of rides on the Dodgems....



Here's a selection of fairground photos - always colourful but especially nice when the sun is shining!

A nice gentle Jurassic tour to start the day...

Following a spin on the Roller Coaster.

Probably Ruy's favourite - dodgems!

Clearly here, it's called the Techno Jump..but since we've lived in Spain, we know it as 'La Rana' or the Frog. 

Not sure if I took this before or during Romy's spin on it...

A rather uninspiring photo of what was the best ride - the Aqua falls - this was just after the infamous soaking!

And yes, they went on several times! Dried off quickly in the sun though. 

And another treat - a kebab...both still soaking wet but unbothered!

And having driven all the way to the coast, we had to visit the sea. Benalmadena was too busy and difficult to stop in so we drove along the coast to Torremolinos. It's really rather a lovely place despite its reputation. I always like this long, clean beach where you can mooch along and find lovely shells.




I wasn't remotely tempted but my children did their usual strip and waded in without hesitation. They confessed it was VERY COLD!!

How Ruy is chunking out...his voice is on the verge of breaking and he spends his time shouting 'Harry!' in a brilliant copy of Ron Weasely's voice in the early Happy Potter films....(And of course, Mateo used to look exactly like Harry Potter so it makes us all laugh.)

Do you see anyone else in the water? Nope...not one. 

This was around 7pm and after stopping at Riofrio to buy fresh and still wriggling rainbow trout, we arrived home in the dark just after 9.30pm. We'd watched the full moon rising over the Sierra Nevada as we drove and noticed that the mountains already looked to have much less snow than they had earlier in the week.

Delicious fresh fish just visible on our makeshift barbecue.

I admit to feeling a rather smug good mother and wife. FR was waiting with a fire in the garden to cook the trout, the children were full of their day and I was quite knackered from all the driving, safe too in the knowledge that I've prepared a rather good set of clues for this year's Easter Treasure Hunt that my children love to do on Easter Sunday morning.  I even made some chocolates for them on Friday morning....in secret!
I went to bed feeling good.

The full moon from my garden

And just so you know, Barney is still happily sunbathing in the garden as I write ...he won't be dinner this Easter!

Happy Easter. Hope you're all having good holidays.

There and back again

Well, we're back. Back from a lovely week in England with family and friends.
I'd booked the flights in February and it wasn't until just before we were due to leave and I printed out our boarding passes that I realised we had eight days, not just a week, of holiday.  It felt fantastic!

The last time I took the children to England it was Christmas;  the weather was cold and wet; the days were short and it was dark by 4pm. This year, we were treated to eight long, glorious and sunny days; the sun didn't set until 10pm and rose again by 5am. We revelled in the rich greenery of the Cheshire and West Yorkshire countrysides. We had one short sharp thunderstorm soon after we arrived in Huddersfield which was noisy and quite spectacular and very welcome.

My sister has moved house and is now in a  beautiful old farmhouse with acres of land.. I have, in the distant past, posted about the many tractors around here, including very beautiful Lamborghini ones...and since visiting my sister, I have tractor envy. She has her own little tractor to cut the grass and of course, we had to have a go!

Here's Romy receiving instruction....

We were treated to wonderful home-cooked meals and the children and I slept in the old, almost but not quite, converted barn, all together in the same space. I fell asleep every night to the sound of laughter and silly stories and games of  'I went to market' (a memory game where each player adds something else to the list of purchases...) and just general messing around. 

We visited my parents and found them not too badly organised. Dad has just got a hoist and a new bed which helps Mum and the carer to get him in and out of bed and in and out of his chair. He looks well under the circumstances but is always anxious to speed up the time between his daily routines - often, by 3pm, he's anxious for supper and bed. 

After a couple of days relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and my sister's garden, we hired a car to visit friends in Yorkshire - sadly missing Janice by a week or so as she had returned to France, more or less with Le Tour. Check out her blog for more lovely information about this! I had arranged to meet my dear friend Karen (of Southwold Famous Five fame) in Salt's Mill in Saltaire, one of my all time favourite haunts. I'd dropped Mateo off in Huddersfield to meet some of his friends so it was just Romy, Ruy and I who went. We arrived early and I positioned myself near the entrance so that I'd see Karen when she arrived. However, there were two entrances and she managed to sneak up on me - very sneakily she did it - and caught me by surprise. We'd sort of expected a slightly tearful and emotional meeting as it's more than four years since we've seen each other, but our outburst of hysteria was unexpected! We both burst into a mixture of laughing and crying and hugging which became a mascara- and nose-dripping spectacle with my children and Karen's husband, Philip, looking on in slightly embarrassed amusement. It was perfect!

We had a lovely lunch together and lots of catching up. It's twenty five years since Salt's Mill opened and the chap in the Diner is still there, welcoming the hoards and he remembered and chatted to us as if we'd only been there last week. 

And then Karen handed me a very precious little parcel. It was Mavis - our prize pig from the Treasure Hunt we did in Southwold (see earlier link!) - who, as we were there in 1984 as I remember, is now 35 years old! 

After this lovely afternoon, we went to stay with my friend Marion, over in Huddersfield. Like everyone else we stayed with, Marion had prepared us some wonderful food. I did wonder whether it was because we had unconsciously been missing 'English' food but I suspect it was more the special care that people made on our behalf and we are most grateful - certainly one very direct way to our hearts. We stayed overnight and so the next morning, I was able to drop Ruy off at a friend's house and call in to see another before going to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park with Marion, her son, Ali and another friend, Clare. This is the place we visited most often from our home in Huddersfield and at the time, is where FR did his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees so we got to know it very well indeed. Sadly, the University of Leeds has closed the campus based here now and all the buildings that were home to FR showed great signs of decay and neglect...we couldn't get to see some of the older and more beautiful buildings as the grounds were roped off for visitors. I didn't honestly pay too much attention to the surroundings as I was busy enjoying my time talking to my friends but I think the children were glad to be back. Mateo took some photos on his phone and they're not brilliant but do capture some of the amazing trees there and some of the unexpected features!. 

 With Marion, Clare, Ali and Romy

When we returned to my sister's, she took us on a stunning walk around Marbury Country Park with Twigg, Cocoa and Fizz. And we had a pub lunch at the side of the Trent and Mersey Canal, where the Anderton Boat Lift is now operational again. It all seemed very civilised and organised and pretty. And that's not to say Spain isn't these things but my three words are not the first that come to mind when living in Andalucia...(Photos to follow - they're on my sister's phone and she's now in Belgium.)

The rest of the week was made up of more visits to Mum and Dad, a quick trip to the chiropractor, a shopping day at Cheshire Oaks - more because one of the cars was in for a service there - but we did get a few items and overdosed on the outrageous amount of choice of things for sale. A once in a lifetime visit, I suspect! And Ruy got some great archery practice and he and Romy were invited to hit a few balls on the Golf Course Driving Range just next door - which they enjoyed very much!

And suddenly it was Thursday and time to come home again. It was wonderful to spend time with my sister and to see my parents and so special to spend time with precious friends too. But we were ready to come home again. I always tend to say 'home' for England, but my children don't. They had a great time - and Ruy in particular, had a brilliant day with his friends, including catching his first fish - but Alcala is their home and they were ready to return. And that was a good feeling too.

After a goodbye and utterly indulgent meat-and-potato pie meal at my parents'.....


...we pootled back to the airport and climbed aboard our plane home with some satisfaction. 

And at the other end, FR was waiting for us with a lovely picnic and the beach bag prepared for a late night dip in the Med! Don't ask me why I didn't take any photos of my two brave children swimming in the sea at 10.30 as I have no excuse, just as I have no excuse for not having a photo of Karen and I in our emotional meeting. But these things are firmly fixed in my mind's eye and you'll just have to believe me that they are wonderful!

So, we've been there and we've come back again. Not story of Hobbits or dragons but a journey, along the way of which we all made a few discoveries, found many things to make us feel grateful and felt the pleasure of returning home again. 

And that is no bad thing. 

My delightful daughter...10 years old today

Anyone who has actually given birth - and those who have witnessed it at close quarters - can't fail to be amazed to compare the little squalling bundle that emerged then, with the latest version of now. In just over a week, my niece, the eldest of my only sister's children, will be twenty two. I remember driving over the Pennines to Macclesfield hospital to see her when she was just hours old. I remember being terribly nervous and excited and a little strange. My sister is younger than me and I'd spent my young adult life and then into my thirties saying I never wanted any children. How would I feel to see my little sister with a child of her own?

I needn't have worried - I was thrilled on her behalf but it didn't change a thing as far as I was concerned! And my niece was absolutely gorgeous. And still is, and is very nearly a qualified vet! And just under two years later, her brother was born and he will be twenty a day after my Romy is ten. And she's ten today!

When I met FR, early on in our relationship...OK probably about a week into it...I remember him standing in front of the huge stone fireplace in the flat I was renting and saying he wanted a family like Lupe, his father's friend, had. Eleven girls! Well, I remember thinking eleven sounded rather a lot but that I'd be happy to have as many of his children as I could, bearing in mind I was already almost 37 when we met...

(Turns out Lupe only had nine daughters, not eleven, and I met three of them once - they were stunningly beautiful and strong individuals. I can imagine the young FR being very overwhelmed in their presence! So much so that there seemed to more than there actually were!)

I was delighted to have Mateo and Ruy - but have to admit being deeply shocked and worried when I discovered, at 44, that I wasn't menopausal, but pregnant again. We went for a special scan at at 12 weeks where despite the nurse saying she shouldn't make any comments at all as it was only a scan, she was prepared to say 'this was a good 'un without doubt.' And a girl.

I remember we were overwhelmed as we drove back home. It still took me another eight months to come to terms with us having a third child. But goodness me! If ever a baby had every intention of making herself at home with a personality as strong on day one as it is at age ten, it was Romy.

She has turned into such a wonderful companion. We like just being together either chatting, reading or doing things. She's funny and interested and asks some great questions about life, the universe and everything - some of which I can answer and some which I can't. She wakes up happy most days, enjoys school and her after-school activities and can be counted on to do the things she should do. She says, in the nicest possible way, that she wants an organised house when she's old enough to have her own place - (unlike the disorganised one we live in.)

I am so glad she appeared so unexpectedly in our lives. So incredibly glad.

And here she is wearing the 'traditional' collar of sweets made by FR.
Happy Birthday, my darling Romy.

Put your hands together please...

to welcome our new palm tree....

Is that a beauty? We dug the hole the first month we arrived and even chose the one we wanted - but the digger at the garden centre was out of action. We ended up dithering about spending so much money on one plant and hesitated all summer...(when there was more chance for the plant to establish itself )....until last week, when FR had a brainstorm and went out and bought it. (Actually, it took several days and numerous phone calls before he could convince himself that he'd found the best deal.)

The hole we'd dug was ambitious to say the least - Ruy and Romy used it as a muddy paddling pool in the early months - but after much shovelling and balancing, we got the palm and almost all the earth back in. Then we trekked (OK, it was mainly FR) back and forth to our piece of land and made this lovely surround for it from the stones we had spent ages 'extracting' yesterday.

I absolutely adore it. I keep looking out of the window, or going out of the door sneakily - and am surprised and amazed every time to see it there. A palm tree, Phoenix Canariensis, to give it it's proper name - in my garden! Whatever next?

(Fingers crossed it survives the winter.....any tips?)

Had to happen....

Those of you who are good enough to read my blog on a regular basis - as some of you do - will know that my love of chocolate and making chocolates has been going on for quite some time. I have also shared a more recent pleasure in the art of Zentangle. I have created a separate blog for that so that this blog doesn't get taken over entirely by pictures of my doodles - you are very welcome to pop over to Annie's Tangles to see what I'm up to there.

And as the weather has changed, I'm making chocolates again - hurray! I've made some rather nice milk truffles flavoured with natural vanilla bean, dipped in dark chocolate; some milk chocolate honey and rum truffles also dipped in dark chocolate; some orange and almond milk chocolates, some dark, mint chocolate and ......


TA DAH....

Chocolate with Zentangle!!!

I piped the 'Betweed' Zentangle pattern in milk chocolate on some parchment paper then covered that with dark chocolate to get the contrast. The parchment doesn't give a good shine to the chocolate - it would have been better on some acetate...must bear that in mind for next time.
Unfortunately, I don't think anyone will want such a huge piece of chocolate, so it's been broken up and bagged....still tastes delicious!

And with the chocolate left in the piping bag, I made some 'Cruffles'...well almost...which is also a Zentangle pattern. These turned out really well and they're lovely to eat! 

Am I pleased with myself??? (Just a bit!)

And on the subject of the somehow inevitable - I'm teaching again! Not at the same academy and nowhere near the same number of hours, but it's lovely to be back in the classroom again. A new academy had opened in the town in September and they'd already asked me to work there, but the hours were awful and I had to turn it down. However, they needed someone urgently last week for their Thursday evening spot and asked me if I'd do it...which I did. And now I'm doing Thursdays every week. And very happy about it too...

It had to happen.

A perfectly lovely week

On a beautiful evening last Tuesday, I drove down to Malaga airport to collect my mum. Having been looking forward to her coming all summer and hot on the heels of Janice and Mark's visit, when she came through the gates at Arrivals, it suddenly didn't seem two minutes since she was here last time, in May. We had a lovely time then and had no intention of doing anything else this time either.

The weather, which had been miserable just a few days before, perked up beautifully. Mum enjoys gardening - she didn't always and never needed to garden when I lived at home (not because I did it!) because my grandparents lived next door and my grandpa was an avid gardener. She now does most of her own garden and it's a credit to her.

She started on mine and has done a bit almost every day, clearing weeds, pruning roses and clipping the juniper bush.


It all looks much better now and I shall have to make a concerted effort to keep up to it...

We had a little adventure on Friday, when we went to a nearby village up in the mountains - it was market day there but when we got there, the town was preparing for their fiesta and there was no market... It's an impressive village up a steep mountainside but guess who had forgotten her camera.

In lieu of my own photos, I will share this image from todopueblos.com which shows the dramatic position of the place which we drive past on our way home from Granada.








On our way back home, we stopped off for a drink and tapas. (I'm glad to say we did rather a lot of this during the week.) The intention was then to do some shopping and come home. But when we emerged from the bar, the car wouldn't start. No way, no how. I had to call FR. Who didn't believe it wasn't something I had done wrong. But who eventually had to call the insurance company, who eventually came and, finding the car wouldn't start, (see, not my fault) loaded it onto the truck and brought it and us back to Alcala to one of the mechanics there - but one that was away at lunch. Fortunately for us, we have Sergio - our magical neighbour - who solves all our problems and makes us laugh too. When the mechanic eventually had a look at the car, turns out it was the distributor belt or something like that. Something Rather Expensive. Not me. Phew!

We seem to have spent the week eating, chatting and going for little walks - often to take a coffee and a little something at a cafe - and time has flown past. We have, however, played lots of Charades...Mum does Charades!

On her last full day here, Mum said she'd like to see the sea. What a good idea, I thought! So today, we went to Salobreña and had a really glorious day out. But I forgot my camera again...these are the best my phone could do.

A sand scuplture we found along the promenade - I think from a fiesta from earlier in the month...

Enjoying a delicious lunch at a chiringuito on the beach..

My plate of incredibly fresh fish.

And today, the pleasure doesn't end when the taxi comes - with my neighbour, Bev's mum and sister, who have conveniently been visiting at the same time and have a flight just before ours from Malaga - because I am returning to Manchester with Mum! That was the big surprise and it was a question of how long I could keep it secret - would I actually get on the plane with her before she realised??? It was a possibility but in the end, because of the broken car and arrangements that had to be made, I told her - and it was a good thing to do as it delighted her and added an even better end to her holiday.

It has been a really lovely week. I shall endeavour to pack my camera when I set off. It's good timing...possibly...as my sister moves house next week so I'll get to see her old house, where we've had some great time and also to see her new place!

Oooh, can't wait!!

Friendly links

I am quite sure that almost anyone who reads my blog also reads Janice's...but just in case, I'm using this post to share a link to her blog. It documents what we were doing together (yey!0 at the end of last week. (Having a lovely time...of course!)

Shortly, I will be able to extract photos from my camera again and share an great adventure with Ruy and Romy plus there will be a post dedicated to this week, when we have my mum staying with us.

Please enjoy a few (more) photos of my beautiful adopted hometown, seen through the eyes of my friends, Janice and Mark and with the words of Janice and myself.

Visiting Annie part 1: Pasea, descubre y cuentalo.

Celia and the jellyfish

My lovely friend Celia, with whom I shared an office at work and a huge chunk of my life some years back, left me a message on Facebook after reading my Rambling post. She said how my memories had got her thinking about her own family, her childhood and her holidays in Ireland...and some of those memories came flooding out into the comments box. And they were wonderful! I dropped her a comment back saying with memories like that, she should start a blog and capture them all.

And guess what! She went straight off and began a blog of her own with one of the most wonderful blog names ever:

Avoid the jellyfish

Now, if that isn't just darn good advice, I don't know what is. And I am so pleased she's done it because it brings her closer again after all these years. We shared a lot did Celia and I - we worked together in the same team, tackling a range of challenges and sharing friendships with a very special group of people - and I knew I could always count on her support, friendship and humour as well as her incredible good sense for those times when things didn't always seem to be going right. And now we are many miles apart as she moved back to her native Scotland a few years ago and here am I in Spain.

I know I've waxed lyrical about the positives of modern communication technology but a little more won't harm, will it? What I love about Facebook is that it gratifies instantly the thoughts of one person with the reaction of another. And whilst this might not always be positive for everyone involved, in my case, it certainly has been. I so look forward to reading Celia's posts and feeling closer to her and her world as a result.

Go Celia - post, post, post!!

Walking Uphill

Alcalá la Real is a place surrounded by mountains and the town is dominated by the Fortress called ´La Mota´. Whilst walking around in the town itself is easy and flat, the moment you deviate from the main street, you are faced with old cobbled streets that seem to rise vertically in front of your eyes, making your knees shake just at the thought of walking up them.

Last week, Mateo and I summoned up the courage to walk up to La Mota and decided to go the most direct way from our apartment - which at first glance almost made Mateo change his mind - straight up!
And even when we got to the 'top', La Mota still towered above us.

Way, way above us.

It was a glorious walk, enhanced by the intense smell of rosemary that was in full bloom around us as we walked.

 Isn't rosemary the most gorgeous herb?












Today is Andalucia Day, so the children are off school - it's like a bank holiday in England - and so after lunch, Mateo and I set off again to go up the hill at the opposite side to La Mota. Just as steep, just as worth it to get to the top.





Looks like the path is relatively flat, according to this signpost - but don't you believe it! We'd already done the 'up' bit from the historical centre

I wasn't lagging behind, I was taking pictures.

Looking south across the town to La Mota from our vantage point to the north.

Lots of wonderful almond blossom out on the trees here - and all the houses had gardens. Perhaps this is where we should be looking.

And when we reached the top, the countryside became quite wild, rocky and windy and we could see where stone had been taken from an ancient quarry.

And here we have my beloved Sierra Nevada in the distance. These mountains are overwhelmingly wonderful - some days they look like candyfloss, others like pure ice and on others, they seem to be the clouds themselves. I love these mountains.

Looking a bit windblown - but feeling on top of the world

This is Safa - or La Sagrada Familia - the school Mateo attends. He was so pleased to see it from the top of the hill that I knew he was feeling happy there - and that made me happy too.

And it was lovely coming down the hill too!

What a lovely place is Alcala la Real!

How many lovely walks there are around us and what a joy it is to discover them.

Lovely.