Thursday, September 08, 2011
MANILVA START OF THE WEEK.
MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY 5th/6th/7th/8th/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
We were up bright and early on Monday morning to drop David and Jane off at the border to catch their flight back home from
On Tuesday afternoon I picked the folks up from Andy’s and shot across to the airport in
All part of the service and no charge from the hire people in
Wednesday and Thursday we have taken things easy at home.
Thought for the Day;
When you make a mistake, admit it, if you don’t, you will only make matters worse.
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MANILVA VENDIMIA 2011.
SUNDAY 4th/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
We all had a good lie on Sunday morning after our adventures on Saturday; for breakfast we had a full on Brunch to set us up for the day ahead, Eggs, Smoked crispy Bacon,Chorizo,Mushrooms,Tomatoes, Small Lamb Cutlets, Homemade Pork and Cumberland Sausages, Baked Beans and Sauté Potatoes with lots of toast, tea and coffee ! The village fills up very quickly and the band on the main stage outside the Town Hall at the top of our street starts at 2-00pm.On the other stage at the top of Calle Mar a different band plays when the other one is not, we secured a table in the shade opposite Bar Rojas which was our base for the day and started on two bottles of Barbadillo and a Rioja for David, I was on the ‘ Cuba Libre ’which I had in my large glass from home as all the drinks, by law, are served in plastic cups ! The atmosphere soon builds up as the crowds dance and sing along with the music, ‘ Volare ’ ( To Fly ) which is also known as ‘ Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu ’ ( In the Blue Painted Blue ) is our favourite which we sing very loud !! As the band plays they throw the Vendimia 2011 hats to the throngs as well as Manilva Fans, both of which are most prized! During the afternoon Lumy’s large Paella is served along with their own sliced ham and cheese, more wine and Bacardi kept appearing as the day went on! At about 5-00pm the parade of ‘ Andalusian ’ horses takes place along Calle Mar through the crowds, they are also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE ( Pura Raza Espanola ) and it is a breed of horse developed on the
VENDIMIA 2011 GRAPE CRUSHING;
As the excitement builds up I slipped home to change into my traditional outfit; my ‘ Fajina Rojo ’ was spot on as Brenda tied and pinned around my waist; all the locals, the Mayor, Antonia and the councilors as well as friends said how good it looked ! The grapes are emptied onto the top of the press at 7-00pm and the two local ‘ Senor’s ’who have been chosen start the crushing and are then joined by the ‘ Star ’of the show to a very loud cheer and lots of clapping – the first English Pensioner Grape Crusher in the history of Manilva !! The pictures below speak for themselves.
Later we retired to our house for a Chicken curry supper as the music stops at 11-00pm by law on a Sunday, happily tomorrow is a local Bank Holiday so it gives you a chance to get back into the land of the living !
Thought for the Day;
Truth has no special time of It’s own, It’s hour is now – always.
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Wednesday, September 07, 2011
ESTEPONA AND PUERTO BANUS
SATURDAY 3rd/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
After a lie in on Saturday morning we had a nice easy breakfast of sliced Melon, Necterines, local York Ham and Chorizo, Toast, Tea and Coffee with local Oranges freshly squeezed to start; David and Jane chose to go back to Estepona as they fell in love with it last time when we showed them around the old part of the town; on the way we called into the fishing port next to the marina which has the largest fishing fleet along the coast. With time on our hands we then shot along to Puerto Banus as they had not seen it; we took in the sights, boats, cars and restaurants on the front line as we sat and had our first bottle of FaustinoVII Rosado of the day! We then made our way back to Estepona for lunch; fish or meat was the decision to be made – we all chose meat – so we headed off to the oldest and original “ La Casa del Abuela Argentino ” More Cordiniu Cava Rose arrived as we ordered, Brenda had the ‘ Small ’Entrecote-Rare, which was in fact a huge cut of 20oz,which she then demolished ! Jane and I had the house special – ‘ Grandmother’s Plank Steak ’ Med Rare which comes on a special oval platter and David had the Argentino Gaucho Platter – Rare. They all come with the house sausage on the side along with a large tin-foil wrapped baked potato, frits for me, and a Garlic and Herb butter sauce !! We all cleared our plates and then made room for the freshly made Crêpe’s for dessert. The pictures below give you a short idea of the coast but not the ‘ Taste ’ of the finest Argentinean Steaks !
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MANILVA SATURDAY EVENING.VENDIMA
SATURDAY 3rd/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
After a little siesta we had a bottle of Faustino Rosado before we made our way up to Bar Rojas for the ‘ Vendima ’ parade; we met Brian,Lilli and Carlos and I ran our Red carpet out along Calle Mar to take the pictures below ! After the church blessing and mass the Tableau of the Virgin makes it way up to the village led by the Town Band with Fernando in charge. The council with the Mayor, Antonia, follows the procession through the large crowds along with the ‘ Feria ’Queens carrying their offerings of the grapes for the crushing on Sunday; by now it is starting to get very busy as the two bands on the stages in front of the old and new Town Halls kick off until 4-ooam in the morning ! The pictures below show the procession in Calle Mar.We then danced the night away and crashed into our beds after a “ Helluva “ day down here on the
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Tuesday, September 06, 2011
NEWSFLASH FROM ENGLAND.
TUESDAY 6th/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
Great news from England; Carol’s son,Ben and his wife Andrea have just announced the birth of their second daughter this morning at 5-01,weighing in at a chunky7lb-12oz at the Royal Preston Hospital, Amelia Carol Mellor is bonding nicely with her mother while dad has gone off to count the number of bones crushed in his hands ! Congratulations to you both and thanks for the text message early this morning. The picture below shows Freya holding her new baby sister this evening.
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MANILVA AND VENTA GARCIA.
FRIDAY 2nd/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
We were up bright and early to go over to Gibraltar to pick David and Jane up from the old airport, still no sign of the new one opening; Brenda went across the short walk over the border to greet them and then she rings me and I pick them up as they come across. As we arrived back in the village and parked in the underground car park it was starting to rain! It was forecast, it was the tail-end of Hurricane Irene! The girls had the umbrella and David and I played the hard men, we got soaked as the heavens opened! Welcome to Sunny Manilva!!
The forecast for the rest of Friday and over the weekend into next week is hot and sunny – and it was. We then caught up with all their news, married a month ago, opening ‘ The Lord Binning Pub and Kitchen ’in Kelsall outside
VENTA GARCIA.
We had booked a table at the Venta after asking David and Jane where they would like to go; they immediately said Venta Garcia after a rather special lunch last time when they stayed with us in May. We headed up the Casares road for a pre-dinner bottle at our next favourite spot “Hotel Hermitage and Celima Restaurant ”in the mountains over looking the coast and the Mediterranean, a bottle of ‘ Jane Austere ’Pino Noir Sparkling Rose started the evening off in the right fashion. We then dropped back down to ‘ Venta Garcia ’lower down the road; as we arrived it was just dusk on a balmy evening and we had our breaths taken away, when we were last there it was a building site, now three months later the outside patio, bar and new entrance and restaurant has opened and it has been done with spectacular style and comfort with attention to detail that is out of this world. The pictures below give you only a taste of the conversion, you have got to visit to get the full effect ! The food and the restaurant are also mind blowing at the same time; we ordered two bottles of Codorniu Cava Rose Brut to toast David and Jane as you can also see in the pictures. To start with we ordered two dishes as the first course’s are large, the house Chicken Croquettes deep fried in breadcrumbs and a Wild Mushroom Risotto perfectly cooked and presented, I can still taste them both now ! David choose a very fine Rioja ( Detail to follow) which was superb, full bodied, rich aroma and bouquet to match, served in the finest wine glasses. For our main course David had the Baby Suckling Pig, succulent and very rich, falling off the bone, Jane had the small fillets of Baby Lamb,Pink,Brenda chose the Fillet of Halibut house special which had a strong meaty taste and I had, guess what, a large Entrecote steak, cooked medium rare with Rock salt and accompanied with fresh Patatas Fritas and a Blackpepper Creamy sauce on the side !The steak was mouth watering, melted in the mouth and tasted so good, everybody had a slice to confirm as I went into raptures ! To finish Jane and I had the Crème Caramel and David had the Apple Fritters with Brenda, coffee’s and the complementary round of drinks, Jane had Limoncello,Brenda had a fine Armagnac and I had a very potent ‘ Caiprinha ’finished off a memorable evening and dinner down here in Sunny Manilva with our dear friends. When we got back to the village the Flamenco concert in Calle Mar had been sadly called of due to the earlier threat of rain !
Thought for the Day;
A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
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Monday, September 05, 2011
MANILVA THURSDAY EVENING.
THURSDAY 1st/ SEPTEMBER 2011.
We spent the day at home getting ready for our guests and the weekend ahead; In the morning I made a large pan of Chicken Curry to put away and Brenda finished the guest bedroom and dressing room for David and Jane. In the evening I drove across to Marbella Bus station to pick up the folks from
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Thursday, September 01, 2011
MANILVA THIS WEEK.
MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY 29th/30th/31st/ AUGUST 2011.
On Monday we had an at home day getting ready for the weekend; the weather forecast is good for this week and hot and sunny over the ‘ Vendimia ’weekend ! In the evening we had Steak a la Plancha with salad and baked potato for supper.
First thing on Tuesday morning the car hire man,Roberto,from
We were up bright and early on Wednesday morning as we had decided to go to the Estepona market; Ana joined us, she likes shopping,it was not too hot and there is shade under the stalls; I soon found a suitable Fajina but by then Brenda and her personal shopper, Ana, had found and hit the cloths stalls ! Brenda came back with four new tops, a pair of flat sandals and a pair of White trousers- all for 32 euros !! At a vegetable stall we got some Jumbo Asparagus and white baby new potatoes for over the weekend. We then headed into the center of Estepona and called at our bank to top up the cash and had coffee and doughnuts on the front, the sea at this time of the year is Emerald Green. On the way back we called into the supermarket in Sabinillas to get our weekend shopping in, I spotted the Argentinean Red Prawns and so picked the largest ones out. After unloading at the house I made contact with Brian in Finland, on the Skype Video, and made the arrangements to pick them up,today,from the bus station in Marbella in the early evening- Lilli’s dad and his best friend are also coming so Brenda won’t be able to come in the car to greet them !Meanwhile in the village the council have finished the Wine Press and are putting up the decorations. On Thursday morning I’ am making a large pan of Chicken Curry for over the weekend to keep us going as well as lots of other goodies and nibbles. Later in the afternoon we went down to our neighbour,Ana Mari’s, campo down in the valley below the village which is in the center of the wine groves for coffee and cake and their own med/sweet wine – we came back with a large box of freshly picked grapes ! Isobel had made an appointment, at 5-00pm, at the vets in Calle Mar and asked Brenda if she would take her for a shampoo and trim; the pictures below show them both after they had had their hair done ! In the evening for supper we had Braised Steak with new potatoes and vegetables- it was last weeks, from the freezer.
PS; Bradley Wiggins has just taken over the Red jersey in the Vuelta a Espana and leads from his team mate Chris Froome- two Englishmen at the front in the Tour of Spain !!
Thought for the Day;
Knowledge tells us that a Tomato is a fruit; wisdom prevents us from putting it into a fruit salad.
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