Saturday 28th.February.
U2=BBC
Quite by chance, at first, I read on the news pages last week about the new U2 album “ No Line On The Horizon ” but as we are here in the villa we have been able to see and hear it all live; it started with The Culture Show showing them rehearsing in their Dublin studios and I immediately loved the single track “ Get On Your Boots” especially the base line as we listened to it on the quad speaker system with a very large sub woofer!! WOW !!! On Friday morning I listened to the Jo Whiley show on BBC1 online,then later we saw the live show on the roof of the BBC Broadcasting House and lastly on Jonathan Ross.Since then I’ve discovered the red button on the TV to watch it all again!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
CASA OLIMPIA.
Saturday 28th February.
Over night the rains came ,as forecast but with no problems in the villa so far!This morning it was very overcast and damp as we let the dogs out,the three cats are no problem as they come and go as they please through a open barred window on the lower ground floor and they come running over when we go down to feed them in their own little rooms;last night Brenda brushed Millie for the first time but when the dogs came back in all the hard work had gone to waste as they were very damp and muddy;we managed to catch them at the front door and give them a good rub down with a towel! After lunch the sun came out for a short time as I took a picture of the large sofa in the corner of the main lounge,the TV room is also getting a bashing as you can see in the picture,Football,Rugby,Racing etc.as well as some of Brenda’s favorites! The picture of the miniature display in Joan’s lounge is rather special and when you look closer you can even see the knives and forks on the table!
PS; Scotland won but Liverpool have just lost!
Over night the rains came ,as forecast but with no problems in the villa so far!This morning it was very overcast and damp as we let the dogs out,the three cats are no problem as they come and go as they please through a open barred window on the lower ground floor and they come running over when we go down to feed them in their own little rooms;last night Brenda brushed Millie for the first time but when the dogs came back in all the hard work had gone to waste as they were very damp and muddy;we managed to catch them at the front door and give them a good rub down with a towel! After lunch the sun came out for a short time as I took a picture of the large sofa in the corner of the main lounge,the TV room is also getting a bashing as you can see in the picture,Football,Rugby,Racing etc.as well as some of Brenda’s favorites! The picture of the miniature display in Joan’s lounge is rather special and when you look closer you can even see the knives and forks on the table!
PS; Scotland won but Liverpool have just lost!
Friday, February 27, 2009
TARIFA.
Friday 27th February.
There is no change in the weather, grey,cold and windy and the same with rain over the weekend, it’s a shame as it is a Bank Holiday for Andalucia Day with all sorts of singing and dancing going on in all the towns and especially in Manilva! We went over to Tarifa first thing this morning and as well as going to the hypermarket,outside the town,we then went into old Tarifa to find a Chemists and a Tabac, so we took a couple of pictures of the old town entrance from the car and in the main street as well as the fishing boats in the old harbor; when we got back to the villa the dogs as usual made us very welcome as they waited for their lunch, Tonight for supper Joan is having Pan Fried Hake Fillets and we are having Salmon Fillets all with a selection of Brenda’s Famous vegetables! I've just made some crunchy Tartare Sauce for a change. We also picked up from a butchers shop in Tarifa a fresh Chicken for Sunday dinner,that had only just walked in! and some Mince for a treat for the dog’s over the weekend.
There is no change in the weather, grey,cold and windy and the same with rain over the weekend, it’s a shame as it is a Bank Holiday for Andalucia Day with all sorts of singing and dancing going on in all the towns and especially in Manilva! We went over to Tarifa first thing this morning and as well as going to the hypermarket,outside the town,we then went into old Tarifa to find a Chemists and a Tabac, so we took a couple of pictures of the old town entrance from the car and in the main street as well as the fishing boats in the old harbor; when we got back to the villa the dogs as usual made us very welcome as they waited for their lunch, Tonight for supper Joan is having Pan Fried Hake Fillets and we are having Salmon Fillets all with a selection of Brenda’s Famous vegetables! I've just made some crunchy Tartare Sauce for a change. We also picked up from a butchers shop in Tarifa a fresh Chicken for Sunday dinner,that had only just walked in! and some Mince for a treat for the dog’s over the weekend.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
CASA OLIMPIA.
Thursday 26th. February.
Well this is the morning after the night before; as we went to bed on Wednesday night,well actually early Thursday morning as we never go to bed the same day as we get up! the wind was getting up as forecast and as the night went on it got stronger and more loud,there was no rain,thunder or lightening but it soon became severe by the middle of the night.I got up to check around the villa that every where was secure as it is a large house with lots of opening windows and shutters,as I came down the stairs the electricity went off and then for the next couple of hours went off and on for longer periods.Boo the younger of the two dogs was obsessively becoming scared and was shaking and fretting in the dark,Millie was ok so I had to bring Boo up to our bedroom and let him sleep with us,he jumped on the bed and soon made himself comfortable with Brenda’s help!This morning the weather is no better and the wind is blowing up the valley straight off the Atlantic as I am typing this; the TV system has not reset and so we have pictures but very little sound coming from the floor to ceiling quad speakers and the Wi Fi is also acting up, I don’t want to mess with the systems too much as they are both very technical, especially the TV and music system in the music room off the main lounge. I am going to type up the blog page every day and save it until I am back on line, tonight we are having omelettes with frits for supper and on Friday morning we going down to Tarifa for the weekend shopping.
Well this is the morning after the night before; as we went to bed on Wednesday night,well actually early Thursday morning as we never go to bed the same day as we get up! the wind was getting up as forecast and as the night went on it got stronger and more loud,there was no rain,thunder or lightening but it soon became severe by the middle of the night.I got up to check around the villa that every where was secure as it is a large house with lots of opening windows and shutters,as I came down the stairs the electricity went off and then for the next couple of hours went off and on for longer periods.Boo the younger of the two dogs was obsessively becoming scared and was shaking and fretting in the dark,Millie was ok so I had to bring Boo up to our bedroom and let him sleep with us,he jumped on the bed and soon made himself comfortable with Brenda’s help!This morning the weather is no better and the wind is blowing up the valley straight off the Atlantic as I am typing this; the TV system has not reset and so we have pictures but very little sound coming from the floor to ceiling quad speakers and the Wi Fi is also acting up, I don’t want to mess with the systems too much as they are both very technical, especially the TV and music system in the music room off the main lounge. I am going to type up the blog page every day and save it until I am back on line, tonight we are having omelettes with frits for supper and on Friday morning we going down to Tarifa for the weekend shopping.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
CASA OLIMPIA.
Wednesday 25th February.
Today the weather has changed, as forecast it is cold,cloudy and windy and the ten day forecast is looking the same with some rain also;it seems to follow us around when we are away! In the morning we went up to the petrol station at the top of the road to pick up some basics that we have run out of and we are having a quiet day in catching up with some chores and as you can see I’ve managed to get on line with the Wi Fi system so I am able to bring the blog up to date. This evening we are having Pan Fried Flattened Breast of Chicken with a Provencal sauce and assorted vegetables “ A La Brenda ” During the day I have been showing Joan our blog and other things on the internet including Facebook which she has not seen before.
PS; What a win for Livvvvvvvvvvvvvpool !!
Today the weather has changed, as forecast it is cold,cloudy and windy and the ten day forecast is looking the same with some rain also;it seems to follow us around when we are away! In the morning we went up to the petrol station at the top of the road to pick up some basics that we have run out of and we are having a quiet day in catching up with some chores and as you can see I’ve managed to get on line with the Wi Fi system so I am able to bring the blog up to date. This evening we are having Pan Fried Flattened Breast of Chicken with a Provencal sauce and assorted vegetables “ A La Brenda ” During the day I have been showing Joan our blog and other things on the internet including Facebook which she has not seen before.
PS; What a win for Livvvvvvvvvvvvvpool !!
CASA OLIMPIA.
Tuesday 24th February.
As we got up this morning it was a warm and sunny with blue skies so we sat on the lower balcony and had our tea and toast as we planned our day.Joan received a phone call from her granddaughter Gemma,Chris’s eldest daughter,he has two,to say that she was coming over from Marbella with her two sons Massimo and Rocco and their father Lucas;she was over from England for the half term and they were going to take Joan out for lunch.Joan got her self all dressed up and Brenda did her hair as she waited for them to arrive;three hours later and after a phone call to her we discovered that Joan had got the message wrong,they were coming over after lunch to see her! When they arrived Joan was very excited as she had not seen them since before Christmas and she had a long chat with Gemma to catch up with all the news; Gemma has a thatched pub outside St.Albans that she has just acquired and Lucas,who is Argentinean has a Italian restaurant in Porta Banus,we can’t get away from it! As they were all starving we made up some sandwiches and bits and opened a bottle of Vino Blanco as we sat on the balcony in the very warm sunshine. In the evening after they had gone,Lucas had to open the restaurant,for supper we had some Pork Cutlets from Manilva which we had brought with us,the original plan was for Chris and Kerry to drive back from Portugal and have dinner with us then I would drop them off at the airport in Gibraltar on Wednesday morning as they had meetings in London;they did not arrive and we do not know where they are!In a phone call to Joan during the day,Chris had indicated to her that their plans might change! Below are some pictures of the inside of the villa with the entrance hall at the foot of the stairs,the main lounge which has the lower balcony leading off on the right and the large open plan Kitchen,with the Wurlitzer Juke Box,which is on all the time along with the two B/O music systems in the lounge and dining area! Off the lounge there is also a TV and music room with a tremendous Hi Fi system,there are seven different “ Flick A Do’s ” I’m in heaven!!
As we got up this morning it was a warm and sunny with blue skies so we sat on the lower balcony and had our tea and toast as we planned our day.Joan received a phone call from her granddaughter Gemma,Chris’s eldest daughter,he has two,to say that she was coming over from Marbella with her two sons Massimo and Rocco and their father Lucas;she was over from England for the half term and they were going to take Joan out for lunch.Joan got her self all dressed up and Brenda did her hair as she waited for them to arrive;three hours later and after a phone call to her we discovered that Joan had got the message wrong,they were coming over after lunch to see her! When they arrived Joan was very excited as she had not seen them since before Christmas and she had a long chat with Gemma to catch up with all the news; Gemma has a thatched pub outside St.Albans that she has just acquired and Lucas,who is Argentinean has a Italian restaurant in Porta Banus,we can’t get away from it! As they were all starving we made up some sandwiches and bits and opened a bottle of Vino Blanco as we sat on the balcony in the very warm sunshine. In the evening after they had gone,Lucas had to open the restaurant,for supper we had some Pork Cutlets from Manilva which we had brought with us,the original plan was for Chris and Kerry to drive back from Portugal and have dinner with us then I would drop them off at the airport in Gibraltar on Wednesday morning as they had meetings in London;they did not arrive and we do not know where they are!In a phone call to Joan during the day,Chris had indicated to her that their plans might change! Below are some pictures of the inside of the villa with the entrance hall at the foot of the stairs,the main lounge which has the lower balcony leading off on the right and the large open plan Kitchen,with the Wurlitzer Juke Box,which is on all the time along with the two B/O music systems in the lounge and dining area! Off the lounge there is also a TV and music room with a tremendous Hi Fi system,there are seven different “ Flick A Do’s ” I’m in heaven!!
TARIFA CASA OLIMPIA.
Monday 23rd February.
First thing in the morning we shot across to Casa Olimpia above Tarifa as Chris and Kerry were going to drive to Portugal as they had a meeting in Lisbon;they then got caught up with phone calls and E-mails as they also work from home and so they did not leave for Portugal until well after lunch! We then moved in and soon set up “ Home ”for the next week or so; after a quick sandwich with Joan,Chris’s mum we then went over to Tarifa to the new Mercadona Hypermarket to stock up with the essentials,they have a excellent fish counter so we picked up some fresh Salmon Fillets for dinner.The two dogs,Boo and Millie are very good and the three cats on the lower ground floor are no problem and we have settled into a routine with them for feeding and going out.In the afternoon we sit out on the balcony and watch the Eagles circling in the hills beside the villa and we also watch the ships passing through the Straits of Gibraltar on their way to the Atlantic or into the Mediterranean,the picture below shows a white passenger ship on its way from Tanger to Algeciras and a cargo ship on the way to Amsterdam! ( I checked on my latest toy) !! As the weather is so nice for the next two days Joan is coming down from her flat in the afternoon to sit in the warm sun as she is recuperating after not being too well over the New Year.In the evening we take her dinner up to her,she has a very good appetite and is enjoying our food and Brenda’s vegetables.
First thing in the morning we shot across to Casa Olimpia above Tarifa as Chris and Kerry were going to drive to Portugal as they had a meeting in Lisbon;they then got caught up with phone calls and E-mails as they also work from home and so they did not leave for Portugal until well after lunch! We then moved in and soon set up “ Home ”for the next week or so; after a quick sandwich with Joan,Chris’s mum we then went over to Tarifa to the new Mercadona Hypermarket to stock up with the essentials,they have a excellent fish counter so we picked up some fresh Salmon Fillets for dinner.The two dogs,Boo and Millie are very good and the three cats on the lower ground floor are no problem and we have settled into a routine with them for feeding and going out.In the afternoon we sit out on the balcony and watch the Eagles circling in the hills beside the villa and we also watch the ships passing through the Straits of Gibraltar on their way to the Atlantic or into the Mediterranean,the picture below shows a white passenger ship on its way from Tanger to Algeciras and a cargo ship on the way to Amsterdam! ( I checked on my latest toy) !! As the weather is so nice for the next two days Joan is coming down from her flat in the afternoon to sit in the warm sun as she is recuperating after not being too well over the New Year.In the evening we take her dinner up to her,she has a very good appetite and is enjoying our food and Brenda’s vegetables.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
MANILVA,
Sunday 22nd February.
Today is another great day,Brenda is on the roof terrace in the afternoon sun where we have just had a slice of cold Pork Pie and a sandwich with salad as tonight The Guerrero family are coming around for Sunday Roast,Chicken! with all the trimmings, after we have watched the football on the large screen in Carlos’s house; It’s Liverpool v Manchester City at Anfield so it will be rather noisy to say the least! Chris has just phoned to ask us to look after the villa in Tarifa until a week on Tuesday,so we are packing now as we will have to be there first thing in the morning again. The only little problem is that we will miss the derby match next Saturday and also the Andalucia Day celebrations outside the Town Hall on the same day! There might not be a blog update until we are back as the Wi-Fi was not working last week,so keep watching to all our readers! You know it means you!!
Today is another great day,Brenda is on the roof terrace in the afternoon sun where we have just had a slice of cold Pork Pie and a sandwich with salad as tonight The Guerrero family are coming around for Sunday Roast,Chicken! with all the trimmings, after we have watched the football on the large screen in Carlos’s house; It’s Liverpool v Manchester City at Anfield so it will be rather noisy to say the least! Chris has just phoned to ask us to look after the villa in Tarifa until a week on Tuesday,so we are packing now as we will have to be there first thing in the morning again. The only little problem is that we will miss the derby match next Saturday and also the Andalucia Day celebrations outside the Town Hall on the same day! There might not be a blog update until we are back as the Wi-Fi was not working last week,so keep watching to all our readers! You know it means you!!
MANILVA.
Saturday 21st.February.
In the morning we went for our regular walk and gossip around the village as it was a warm sunny,crisp day. The new fountain and Plaza outside the church is starting to look very good and should soon be finished,Hasta Manana! The football at the stadium was the local 7-a-side teams playing on the half pitch with all the local rivalry on show,especially when the police team is playing! At lunchtime Anna joined us for a snack lunch of left over Fish Pie which even if a do say so myself was delicious ! We then walked down to Marena and Luis’s bar next to the “Office ”where we met Mano and Mark who had been over to Tarifa for a site meeting with Chris and Kerry,Tracy,Marks wife,who is from New Zealand and who’s father was an All Black back in the 70s joined us later as it developed into a “ Helluva ”afternoon as the bar was full with a local family and they soon started singing Fandango with one of the young boys being the star of the future! We left Mano in the Antique Bar playing domino’s as we walked home and had a late supper of Steak and Frits.
In the morning we went for our regular walk and gossip around the village as it was a warm sunny,crisp day. The new fountain and Plaza outside the church is starting to look very good and should soon be finished,Hasta Manana! The football at the stadium was the local 7-a-side teams playing on the half pitch with all the local rivalry on show,especially when the police team is playing! At lunchtime Anna joined us for a snack lunch of left over Fish Pie which even if a do say so myself was delicious ! We then walked down to Marena and Luis’s bar next to the “Office ”where we met Mano and Mark who had been over to Tarifa for a site meeting with Chris and Kerry,Tracy,Marks wife,who is from New Zealand and who’s father was an All Black back in the 70s joined us later as it developed into a “ Helluva ”afternoon as the bar was full with a local family and they soon started singing Fandango with one of the young boys being the star of the future! We left Mano in the Antique Bar playing domino’s as we walked home and had a late supper of Steak and Frits.
MANILVA.
Friday 20th February.
We stocked up in the morning for the weekend and next week as we will hopefully be away in Tarifa for nine days; we called into the bank in Estepona and then came back to Sabinillas to the supermarket and the English butchers in Playa de La Duquesa before we came back up to the village and stopped at the butchers to pick up a fresh Chicken for Sunday dinner.In the afternoon I spent some time in the office as when we were over in Tarifa,Mark gave me the details of a web page that you can follow the shipping going through the Straites of Gibraltar;from the villa and the village we can see the ships all the time and now as you click on the symbols on the detailed map it gives you all the details of the ship,name,speed,destination,etc.as well as the type,passenger,cargo,tanker,hi-speed ferry or navy for example!Then you can Google and see the ship,a bit “ Nerdy ” but interesting at the same time! Meanwhile on the Skype phone I caught up with the new baby details with Carols two daughters,we are a month ahead in our thinking,they are both due at the start of March,not February as we thought! and both are OK.Watch this space! Just in passing whilst I am in the office if anybody out there can find us a wall map of Australia and send or bring it! we would be very grateful as we have had no luck finding one here and we want to ready for May when Brenda’s sister is visiting us.Later in the afternoon I made for the first time here a Fish Pie;With Brenda’s famous Mashed potatoes as the topping,it contained Hake,Cod ,Crab,Prawns and Smoked Salmon all mixed together with a White Wine reduction of diced Onions,Carrots,Celery and Mushrooms and then coated with a Béchamel Sauce made with the fish stock,as it came out of the oven our front door bell rang,it was one of our friendly neighbors,Antonia whos was asking us to a PP party meeting next week,she ended up having some pie and a glass of wine with us and also asked for the recipe! We then settled down to watch the Carnival from Las Palmas De Gran Canaria live on the TV,it was the Drag Queen night and as you can just see below,I took the pictures off our TV in the lounge,so the picures are not that good but are to be seen to be believed!
We stocked up in the morning for the weekend and next week as we will hopefully be away in Tarifa for nine days; we called into the bank in Estepona and then came back to Sabinillas to the supermarket and the English butchers in Playa de La Duquesa before we came back up to the village and stopped at the butchers to pick up a fresh Chicken for Sunday dinner.In the afternoon I spent some time in the office as when we were over in Tarifa,Mark gave me the details of a web page that you can follow the shipping going through the Straites of Gibraltar;from the villa and the village we can see the ships all the time and now as you click on the symbols on the detailed map it gives you all the details of the ship,name,speed,destination,etc.as well as the type,passenger,cargo,tanker,hi-speed ferry or navy for example!Then you can Google and see the ship,a bit “ Nerdy ” but interesting at the same time! Meanwhile on the Skype phone I caught up with the new baby details with Carols two daughters,we are a month ahead in our thinking,they are both due at the start of March,not February as we thought! and both are OK.Watch this space! Just in passing whilst I am in the office if anybody out there can find us a wall map of Australia and send or bring it! we would be very grateful as we have had no luck finding one here and we want to ready for May when Brenda’s sister is visiting us.Later in the afternoon I made for the first time here a Fish Pie;With Brenda’s famous Mashed potatoes as the topping,it contained Hake,Cod ,Crab,Prawns and Smoked Salmon all mixed together with a White Wine reduction of diced Onions,Carrots,Celery and Mushrooms and then coated with a Béchamel Sauce made with the fish stock,as it came out of the oven our front door bell rang,it was one of our friendly neighbors,Antonia whos was asking us to a PP party meeting next week,she ended up having some pie and a glass of wine with us and also asked for the recipe! We then settled down to watch the Carnival from Las Palmas De Gran Canaria live on the TV,it was the Drag Queen night and as you can just see below,I took the pictures off our TV in the lounge,so the picures are not that good but are to be seen to be believed!
Friday, February 20, 2009
MANILVA.
Thursday 19th February.
In the morning Mano picked me up as we had to go across to Tarifa to check out the villa with his partner for this job,Mark who is multi talented in all departments of the building industry and has worked for Mano as well as himself for many years.Brenda and Anna met in the village for coffee and a chat.Mano has another site meeting arranged for Saturday morning when Chris will be home and they will hopefully progress with a contract. Meanwhile we are waiting to hear from Kerry about next week and when she wants us,which means that we are at home this weekend but we have now found out that the Carnival weekend in Manilva is not until the 6/7th March! At the moment on the TV it is showing live, all the time the Carnival in Cadiz which goes on for a week and is the third biggest in the world and the biggest in Spain.The Carnival in Spain has been going on since the 17thc and is the pre-lenten “ Blow Out ”before the abstinence to Easter.In the very old opera house in Cadiz they have on each evening the various Chirigotas and Comparsas which are a cross between Barbershop quartets and Monty Python,they are satirical musical groups which have the audiences in stitches with their irreverent renditions,all very Spanish!! After a late lunch/early dinner we went down to Mano and Anna’s to watch the football with Carlos as it was Manchester City playing FC Copenhagen in the UEFA cup,it was a draw but at least City scored two away from home so they should win the second leg back in Manchester!
In the morning Mano picked me up as we had to go across to Tarifa to check out the villa with his partner for this job,Mark who is multi talented in all departments of the building industry and has worked for Mano as well as himself for many years.Brenda and Anna met in the village for coffee and a chat.Mano has another site meeting arranged for Saturday morning when Chris will be home and they will hopefully progress with a contract. Meanwhile we are waiting to hear from Kerry about next week and when she wants us,which means that we are at home this weekend but we have now found out that the Carnival weekend in Manilva is not until the 6/7th March! At the moment on the TV it is showing live, all the time the Carnival in Cadiz which goes on for a week and is the third biggest in the world and the biggest in Spain.The Carnival in Spain has been going on since the 17thc and is the pre-lenten “ Blow Out ”before the abstinence to Easter.In the very old opera house in Cadiz they have on each evening the various Chirigotas and Comparsas which are a cross between Barbershop quartets and Monty Python,they are satirical musical groups which have the audiences in stitches with their irreverent renditions,all very Spanish!! After a late lunch/early dinner we went down to Mano and Anna’s to watch the football with Carlos as it was Manchester City playing FC Copenhagen in the UEFA cup,it was a draw but at least City scored two away from home so they should win the second leg back in Manchester!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
MANILVA - TARIFA - MANILVA.
Wednesday 18th February.
The day started early as we had to be over to Casa Olimpia above Tarifa before nine o’clock to check out the villa and finalize the details with Kerry as she was on a flight from Gibraltar at lunchtime.We travelled down the coast road towards Sotogrande and saw for the first time the most spectacular sunrise on the horizon above the calm Mediterranean waters on a beautiful clear ,crisp morning ; if we had the time we would have stopped and taken some pictures as the sky was all the shades of red and the sun rose very quickly,I would have won the Sur newspaper competition with no problem and might of even got a picture on the RTVE weather programme! Something for another day!!We arrived in plenty of time and settled into the villa,Kerry got ready and packed her bags and did not seem in a rush as we set off to the airport in Gibraltar, we had to stop for petrol as the tank was low and also stop at a cash machine outside La Linea,the border town next the airport.I dropped Kerry at the border crossing just a hundred yards from the airport check in and set off back to Tarifa in the VW,w8 saloon and at the same time I was timing myself so as to plan to do the pick up run,driving down I drove in chauffeur mode and going back The VW which is a very fast car soon had me back at the bottom of the hill up towards Tarifa when my phone rang,it was Chris ringing from London to say that Kerry had missed the check in by one minute and Easy Jet would not let her board! So I had to turn around and go back to Gibraltar to pick her up sooner then we thought! Meanwhile Brenda has unpacked the Smart car and had stocked up the fridge and set up home! We arrived back and Kerry opened a bottle of chilled Cava to help us get over the surprise and to make new arrangements; we made a sandwich and sat on the balcony overlooking the Straites of Gibraltar,Joan,Chris’s mum came down and joined us later for tea and biscuits. By late afternoon it was decided that we would try again next week as Kerry could not re arrange her meetings and flight; so we packed the Smart car and set back off towards Manilva as the sun set over the mountains behind us! After getting home we rang Mano and Anna to let them know about our day and ended up going down to their house were Mano gave me a master class in making a real Spanish Omelette!!
The day started early as we had to be over to Casa Olimpia above Tarifa before nine o’clock to check out the villa and finalize the details with Kerry as she was on a flight from Gibraltar at lunchtime.We travelled down the coast road towards Sotogrande and saw for the first time the most spectacular sunrise on the horizon above the calm Mediterranean waters on a beautiful clear ,crisp morning ; if we had the time we would have stopped and taken some pictures as the sky was all the shades of red and the sun rose very quickly,I would have won the Sur newspaper competition with no problem and might of even got a picture on the RTVE weather programme! Something for another day!!We arrived in plenty of time and settled into the villa,Kerry got ready and packed her bags and did not seem in a rush as we set off to the airport in Gibraltar, we had to stop for petrol as the tank was low and also stop at a cash machine outside La Linea,the border town next the airport.I dropped Kerry at the border crossing just a hundred yards from the airport check in and set off back to Tarifa in the VW,w8 saloon and at the same time I was timing myself so as to plan to do the pick up run,driving down I drove in chauffeur mode and going back The VW which is a very fast car soon had me back at the bottom of the hill up towards Tarifa when my phone rang,it was Chris ringing from London to say that Kerry had missed the check in by one minute and Easy Jet would not let her board! So I had to turn around and go back to Gibraltar to pick her up sooner then we thought! Meanwhile Brenda has unpacked the Smart car and had stocked up the fridge and set up home! We arrived back and Kerry opened a bottle of chilled Cava to help us get over the surprise and to make new arrangements; we made a sandwich and sat on the balcony overlooking the Straites of Gibraltar,Joan,Chris’s mum came down and joined us later for tea and biscuits. By late afternoon it was decided that we would try again next week as Kerry could not re arrange her meetings and flight; so we packed the Smart car and set back off towards Manilva as the sun set over the mountains behind us! After getting home we rang Mano and Anna to let them know about our day and ended up going down to their house were Mano gave me a master class in making a real Spanish Omelette!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
MANILVA.
Tuesday 17th February.
In the morning we went across to the bank in Estepona and then called into agents to re-book our advert in the newspaper; we now have three regular clients and are looking for one more as that wiil give us enough work to fit in around our other comitments and we will then be able to select other business around the bookings and friends and family coming to stay! Please book early to avoid disapointment!! We have just given the Smart car a wash and are now starting to pack for tomorrow.Over the weekend on the local TV they showed the two main match's that we watched and reported on,the small juniors game was a delight to see and the local sports reporter, David interviewed them after the game as if they were Real Madrid players! The Manilva game in which they scored eight goals was exciting to watch and now we know all the players names it is more interesting;on the TV you could see Brenda and I sat on the open stand behind the team bench looking like Derby and Joan!
In the morning we went across to the bank in Estepona and then called into agents to re-book our advert in the newspaper; we now have three regular clients and are looking for one more as that wiil give us enough work to fit in around our other comitments and we will then be able to select other business around the bookings and friends and family coming to stay! Please book early to avoid disapointment!! We have just given the Smart car a wash and are now starting to pack for tomorrow.Over the weekend on the local TV they showed the two main match's that we watched and reported on,the small juniors game was a delight to see and the local sports reporter, David interviewed them after the game as if they were Real Madrid players! The Manilva game in which they scored eight goals was exciting to watch and now we know all the players names it is more interesting;on the TV you could see Brenda and I sat on the open stand behind the team bench looking like Derby and Joan!
Monday, February 16, 2009
MANILVA/TARIFA.
Saturday/Monday 14th/16th February.
Saturday 14th February.
After our busy day of watching the various football matches during the day we had a night at home, with Steak and Frits for supper with a nice bottle of Rioja and then settled down to a film on TV.
Sunday 15th February.
We had a lie in on Sunday morning,it must be all the fresh air! and then sorted ourselves out around the house before we went up to Bar Rojas for our lunchtime “ Taster” of Rosado and a slice of the freshly made Tortilla, by the owners wife.Mano then called in after looking after Fabio in the morning and came back to our house in the afternoon for Brunch,the full works! Later we met Carlos,after he had finished work,in the “ Office ”and we also bumped into a friend of Mano’s and Carlos,Paul with his three sons who we had met at the football on Saturday;at the same time quite a lot of the Manilva team came into the Bar so I was able to update the blog on the match with all the names and more information and give them our blog details to check it out!
Monday 16th February.
When we over in Tarifa last week to meet Kerry at Casa Olimpia at El Cuarton she mentioned that they were looking to find somebody to paint and repair the outside of the villa;so when we got back we asked Mano if he was interested in the job as he has a building business with his best friend in the village Juan and he has all the contacts.After our visit last week Kerry phoned us to book us for five/six days this week from Wednesday and so this morning, after speaking to Chris over the weekend, we had made an appointment to take Mano over to Quote for the job and at the same time make the arrangements to look after the villa with Chris and Kerry.Chris made us very welcome, as we had not met him before and Mano is putting the quote together as we speak.I took the pictures of the villa from outside in the garden to show all the windows,damp damage and iron work and have just e-mailed them to Mano.Mano dropped us back outside the butchers in the village so we are having Braised Steak and Onions for dinner,Mano is picking up Anna from the airport in Malaga this evening and we are starting to get ready to move over to Tarifa early on Wednesday morning,we will be there until Monday and I am hoping to update the blog and put some pictures on whilst we are there as the weather forecast is good. It sounds like we will get some regular bookings from Chris so we are looking forward to our stay in Casa Olimpia.Whilst we are away this weekend it is Carnival time in the village,last year we missed it as we were away on our first job above Marbella,just after we had moved in, and so we will have to catch it another year,the following weekend it is Andalucia Day and there are all sorts of things happening in the village,outside the Town Hall at the top of our street so watch out for the pictures and all the news as it is also the weekend of the Derby match!
Saturday 14th February.
After our busy day of watching the various football matches during the day we had a night at home, with Steak and Frits for supper with a nice bottle of Rioja and then settled down to a film on TV.
Sunday 15th February.
We had a lie in on Sunday morning,it must be all the fresh air! and then sorted ourselves out around the house before we went up to Bar Rojas for our lunchtime “ Taster” of Rosado and a slice of the freshly made Tortilla, by the owners wife.Mano then called in after looking after Fabio in the morning and came back to our house in the afternoon for Brunch,the full works! Later we met Carlos,after he had finished work,in the “ Office ”and we also bumped into a friend of Mano’s and Carlos,Paul with his three sons who we had met at the football on Saturday;at the same time quite a lot of the Manilva team came into the Bar so I was able to update the blog on the match with all the names and more information and give them our blog details to check it out!
Monday 16th February.
When we over in Tarifa last week to meet Kerry at Casa Olimpia at El Cuarton she mentioned that they were looking to find somebody to paint and repair the outside of the villa;so when we got back we asked Mano if he was interested in the job as he has a building business with his best friend in the village Juan and he has all the contacts.After our visit last week Kerry phoned us to book us for five/six days this week from Wednesday and so this morning, after speaking to Chris over the weekend, we had made an appointment to take Mano over to Quote for the job and at the same time make the arrangements to look after the villa with Chris and Kerry.Chris made us very welcome, as we had not met him before and Mano is putting the quote together as we speak.I took the pictures of the villa from outside in the garden to show all the windows,damp damage and iron work and have just e-mailed them to Mano.Mano dropped us back outside the butchers in the village so we are having Braised Steak and Onions for dinner,Mano is picking up Anna from the airport in Malaga this evening and we are starting to get ready to move over to Tarifa early on Wednesday morning,we will be there until Monday and I am hoping to update the blog and put some pictures on whilst we are there as the weather forecast is good. It sounds like we will get some regular bookings from Chris so we are looking forward to our stay in Casa Olimpia.Whilst we are away this weekend it is Carnival time in the village,last year we missed it as we were away on our first job above Marbella,just after we had moved in, and so we will have to catch it another year,the following weekend it is Andalucia Day and there are all sorts of things happening in the village,outside the Town Hall at the top of our street so watch out for the pictures and all the news as it is also the weekend of the Derby match!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
MANILVA PM SPORTS NEWS.
Saturday 14th February.
UNION MANILVA CF 8 CD BONELA 0
This afternoon we watched a “ Helluva ” match as you can see from the score above ! Manilva in the blue shirts over whelmed Bonela,as they started Manilva were second in the league and Bonela were a lot lower down. Bonela is a small village north of Malaga and although Manilva had home advantage, on paper it should have been a lot closer match.Manilva scored from free kicks,a headed corner kick,a penalty and rounding the keeper three times! Diego Centeno was our best player and scored a hat trick, the other goal were scored by Antinio Santos 2,Molina 1,Maxi 1 and Sebastian 1 Diego is also the leading goalscorer in the league with 15 goals so far and Ruben Luque,the son of the Chief of Police,Paco Luque was very strong in the central defense, as was our number two Antonio M.Barragan who are two to watch in the future, an all round great team performance and it keeps Manilva second in the league! The match was filmed by RTM and will be shown next week in full.Below I have listed the squad;
1 Javi Pajares. 11 Antonio Santos.
2 Antonio M. Barragan. 12 Antonio Valero.
3 Adrian Cedesma. 13 Carlos Carenote. Goalkeeper.
4 Fernando Urieta " Vito " Captain. 14 Jose Galan.
5 Ruben Luque. 15 Sebastian.
6 Diego Centeno. 16 Franciso Jimenez " Jony "
7 Molina. 17 Andres Lopez.
8 Francisco Zotano " Torero" 18 Jose Vargas.
9 Nacho Belerra. 19 Angel Rodriguez. Goalkeeper.
10 Maxi. 20 Alvaro.
Next week it is an away game and we are also away in Tarifa,house sitting so the next report will be on the home game against Casares on the 28th.February which is a local" Derby" match as Casares is the next village to us!
UNION MANILVA CF 8 CD BONELA 0
This afternoon we watched a “ Helluva ” match as you can see from the score above ! Manilva in the blue shirts over whelmed Bonela,as they started Manilva were second in the league and Bonela were a lot lower down. Bonela is a small village north of Malaga and although Manilva had home advantage, on paper it should have been a lot closer match.Manilva scored from free kicks,a headed corner kick,a penalty and rounding the keeper three times! Diego Centeno was our best player and scored a hat trick, the other goal were scored by Antinio Santos 2,Molina 1,Maxi 1 and Sebastian 1 Diego is also the leading goalscorer in the league with 15 goals so far and Ruben Luque,the son of the Chief of Police,Paco Luque was very strong in the central defense, as was our number two Antonio M.Barragan who are two to watch in the future, an all round great team performance and it keeps Manilva second in the league! The match was filmed by RTM and will be shown next week in full.Below I have listed the squad;
1 Javi Pajares. 11 Antonio Santos.
2 Antonio M. Barragan. 12 Antonio Valero.
3 Adrian Cedesma. 13 Carlos Carenote. Goalkeeper.
4 Fernando Urieta " Vito " Captain. 14 Jose Galan.
5 Ruben Luque. 15 Sebastian.
6 Diego Centeno. 16 Franciso Jimenez " Jony "
7 Molina. 17 Andres Lopez.
8 Francisco Zotano " Torero" 18 Jose Vargas.
9 Nacho Belerra. 19 Angel Rodriguez. Goalkeeper.
10 Maxi. 20 Alvaro.
Next week it is an away game and we are also away in Tarifa,house sitting so the next report will be on the home game against Casares on the 28th.February which is a local" Derby" match as Casares is the next village to us!
MANILVA AM SPORTS NEWS.
Saturday 14th February.
Today’s sport report was going to be on the Junior Female Handball match in the Las Vinas sports hall when Manilva were taking on Cadiz but Cadiz did not arrive so the match was won on forfeit;we then went to watch the junior football in the stadium, the first match between Union Manilva CF and U Estepona CF was nearly over but Manilva managed to equalize in the last minute!This took place on the full pitch as they are in the Infantil league 13-14 year olds,the next match was on a half pitch as this was a Benjamin 9-10 year olds league game between Union Manilva CF and CDF Esteponense,Manilva got of to a bad start and were 3-1 down at half time but came back in the second half and the final score was 4-3 to Esteponense.The last match was again between Manilva and CD.Cala Mijas in the Alevin league on the half pitch and Mijas went into an early lead as we were leaving.The pictures below show the three matches at various stages during the lunchtime.This afternoon we are going back to see the main match between Union Manilva CF and CD.Bonela as Mano,the ex president of Manilva CF is taking us as his guest’s! so we won’t have to pay to get in as at this mornings match’s when we did,I tried to get Brenda in for free ,as a pensioner but to no avail!!
Today’s sport report was going to be on the Junior Female Handball match in the Las Vinas sports hall when Manilva were taking on Cadiz but Cadiz did not arrive so the match was won on forfeit;we then went to watch the junior football in the stadium, the first match between Union Manilva CF and U Estepona CF was nearly over but Manilva managed to equalize in the last minute!This took place on the full pitch as they are in the Infantil league 13-14 year olds,the next match was on a half pitch as this was a Benjamin 9-10 year olds league game between Union Manilva CF and CDF Esteponense,Manilva got of to a bad start and were 3-1 down at half time but came back in the second half and the final score was 4-3 to Esteponense.The last match was again between Manilva and CD.Cala Mijas in the Alevin league on the half pitch and Mijas went into an early lead as we were leaving.The pictures below show the three matches at various stages during the lunchtime.This afternoon we are going back to see the main match between Union Manilva CF and CD.Bonela as Mano,the ex president of Manilva CF is taking us as his guest’s! so we won’t have to pay to get in as at this mornings match’s when we did,I tried to get Brenda in for free ,as a pensioner but to no avail!!
Friday, February 13, 2009
MANILVA,CALLE SAN VICENTE 1
Friday 13th February!
I have posted below a picture of the office on the first floor in full " Working " mode this afternoon as I updated the blog and also made some Skype calls on the smaller PC on the left;the second picture is for reference when we are out and about and is a basic Andalucia Map taken from todays Sur in English newspaper.All the pictures will enlarge when you click on them!!
I have posted below a picture of the office on the first floor in full " Working " mode this afternoon as I updated the blog and also made some Skype calls on the smaller PC on the left;the second picture is for reference when we are out and about and is a basic Andalucia Map taken from todays Sur in English newspaper.All the pictures will enlarge when you click on them!!
MANILVA.
Thursday 12th.February.
I got up early and shot across to the bank in Estepona to sort out a little technical problem about a standing order,Brenda had a lie in is she has not been sleeping too well as she has caught a bad cold off me after our wet trip to Guadalmina last week! When I got back we went for our morning walk and called into the butchers to pick up some Pork Cutlets for dinner,he had just made some Chicken Burgers so we bought two to try and walked down to the very small shop at the start of the village,Toto’s for the local bread like a Burger Bun but softer and white.On the way back we stopped at Bar Rojas for a glass of Faustino Rosado as it was a beautiful day with no wind,blue skies and hot sun as we sat and watched the world go by!We then had our Chicken Burgers on our roof terrace,it was so hot and sunny that we had to put the sun umbrella up;we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the quiet of the village! as you can see in the pictures below. As we spoke to Mano later to ask after Anna who is over in North Wales for a few days we invited him to join us for dinner later;Pork Cutlets in a Lemon Butter sauce,Lyonnaise Potatoes,Green Beans,Broccoli,Mushrooms and Baked Spanish Green Peppers filled with Savoury Rice,all washed down with very cold Cruzcampo!We then went out for a nightcap to a couple of Bars were Brenda and Mano had “ Carajillo’s ” small strong black coffee topped with 501 Brandy and I made sure that the Bacardi and Coke’s were all right !! Just another day in our quiet and sleepy village with the locals making us very welcome;check out the web page for Manilva at;www.turismomanilva.com
I got up early and shot across to the bank in Estepona to sort out a little technical problem about a standing order,Brenda had a lie in is she has not been sleeping too well as she has caught a bad cold off me after our wet trip to Guadalmina last week! When I got back we went for our morning walk and called into the butchers to pick up some Pork Cutlets for dinner,he had just made some Chicken Burgers so we bought two to try and walked down to the very small shop at the start of the village,Toto’s for the local bread like a Burger Bun but softer and white.On the way back we stopped at Bar Rojas for a glass of Faustino Rosado as it was a beautiful day with no wind,blue skies and hot sun as we sat and watched the world go by!We then had our Chicken Burgers on our roof terrace,it was so hot and sunny that we had to put the sun umbrella up;we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the quiet of the village! as you can see in the pictures below. As we spoke to Mano later to ask after Anna who is over in North Wales for a few days we invited him to join us for dinner later;Pork Cutlets in a Lemon Butter sauce,Lyonnaise Potatoes,Green Beans,Broccoli,Mushrooms and Baked Spanish Green Peppers filled with Savoury Rice,all washed down with very cold Cruzcampo!We then went out for a nightcap to a couple of Bars were Brenda and Mano had “ Carajillo’s ” small strong black coffee topped with 501 Brandy and I made sure that the Bacardi and Coke’s were all right !! Just another day in our quiet and sleepy village with the locals making us very welcome;check out the web page for Manilva at;www.turismomanilva.com
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
TARIFA.
Wednesday 11th February.
This morning we were up early as we had to go across to see some people about a house sitting job; we set off down the coast road towards Gibraltar and then past and around Algeciras and up the hilly mountain road by the coast and past all the wind farms towards Tarifa.Today was the best day by far ,this year,the temperature reached 22 degs.in the afternoon.We found the villa which is in a spectacular spot on the side of a hill with views to die for;its above the Straites of Gibraltar at their closet spot to Africa,8 miles as the crow flies!! You can see the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and the snow on the top of the Atlas mountains behind the coast,it’s the only place in the world were you can see one Continent from another,so I’am reliabley informed ! Kerry and Chris Derham have lived in the villa for a few years and still have business connections in the UK.They had made contact with us after seeing our advert and we arranged to go and see them this week,Kerry welcomed us and showed us around the large three story villa set in a large hillside garden with a swimming pool with a fine view down to the coast as you can see in the first few pictures.The area is called El Cuarton and is about ten klms. from Tarifa further down the coast. We met the two dogs,and three cats and had a long chat about our past life and adventures,finding that we had a lot of thing in common especially Chris’s love of music ,of all sorts as he has music systems all over the villa,a Juke Box in the Kitchen and the ground floor under the main villa is set up with a mixing table,lights and speakers as well as a bar,his own mini disco! Chris was away in England but I’ve spoken to him on the phone, his mother,Joan, who is a young 91 also lives in a flat in the villa and we are hoping to go and look after the villa next week when they have arranged the dates,watch this spot! Kerry as we were talking recommended a Beach Bar down the coast just past Tarifa at TorreDeLaPena as a good place to go for a spot of lunch;the other pictures below will give you a taste of the views and its position on the sea front overlooking the African coast,Brenda had the Lentil Stew and I had Pan fried slivers of Liver with Frits!As you can see Gissy has done another fine job on Brenda’s hair! On the way back we called into the very large Hypermarket outside Algeciras to pick up a new DVD.player with the latest Digital channels all included for 36 euros!! The next good news update should be on babies as Yola,in Switzerland and Michelle in Preston Carol two daughters, are expecting their second babies any day now,Watch this space!!
This morning we were up early as we had to go across to see some people about a house sitting job; we set off down the coast road towards Gibraltar and then past and around Algeciras and up the hilly mountain road by the coast and past all the wind farms towards Tarifa.Today was the best day by far ,this year,the temperature reached 22 degs.in the afternoon.We found the villa which is in a spectacular spot on the side of a hill with views to die for;its above the Straites of Gibraltar at their closet spot to Africa,8 miles as the crow flies!! You can see the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and the snow on the top of the Atlas mountains behind the coast,it’s the only place in the world were you can see one Continent from another,so I’am reliabley informed ! Kerry and Chris Derham have lived in the villa for a few years and still have business connections in the UK.They had made contact with us after seeing our advert and we arranged to go and see them this week,Kerry welcomed us and showed us around the large three story villa set in a large hillside garden with a swimming pool with a fine view down to the coast as you can see in the first few pictures.The area is called El Cuarton and is about ten klms. from Tarifa further down the coast. We met the two dogs,and three cats and had a long chat about our past life and adventures,finding that we had a lot of thing in common especially Chris’s love of music ,of all sorts as he has music systems all over the villa,a Juke Box in the Kitchen and the ground floor under the main villa is set up with a mixing table,lights and speakers as well as a bar,his own mini disco! Chris was away in England but I’ve spoken to him on the phone, his mother,Joan, who is a young 91 also lives in a flat in the villa and we are hoping to go and look after the villa next week when they have arranged the dates,watch this spot! Kerry as we were talking recommended a Beach Bar down the coast just past Tarifa at TorreDeLaPena as a good place to go for a spot of lunch;the other pictures below will give you a taste of the views and its position on the sea front overlooking the African coast,Brenda had the Lentil Stew and I had Pan fried slivers of Liver with Frits!As you can see Gissy has done another fine job on Brenda’s hair! On the way back we called into the very large Hypermarket outside Algeciras to pick up a new DVD.player with the latest Digital channels all included for 36 euros!! The next good news update should be on babies as Yola,in Switzerland and Michelle in Preston Carol two daughters, are expecting their second babies any day now,Watch this space!!
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