CASA OLIMPIA.

Monday 20th July 2009.

First thing in the morning Mano and Anna arrived and we shot off to the house in Manilva to pick up the mail and then down to the bank in Estepona before we went across to Casa Abuelo; we took Clive and Carolyn to the rail station in Malaga as they were going on the new fast train to Madrid,2hrs40mins later you are in the heart of the city! The villa, much to our surprise is still a work site with painters, solar engineers, electrian,joiners, all working flat out to get the job finished,the windows and glass where going in as we arrived and the new bottom kitchen was nearly ready but the gas hob in the top kitchen had still not been installed. We slept in the old part of the house which is finished but it was in a mess as the rest of the furnishings are in there from the rest of the villa! The two dogs Bruno and Abbie have their own home and large pen in the grounds and where delighted to see us, the two cats also came to us and the fish in the pond nearly jumped out of it when I went to feed them! The bonus was that the pool which is in the sun all day was all ready for us to jump in as the workmen left and the sun moves behind the trees, heaven is the only word to describe it !! In the evening I went out for an Indian take a way as we had no electric or gas to cook on!

Tuesday 21st. July. 2009.

In the morning we went down to the local hypermarket to stock up with some essentials, ice being the main one for the drinks by the pool! We stopped in Guadalmina at a very nice Tapas bar and had some excellent, different ones for a change. The villa was a hive of activity with the new en suite bathroom and Jacuzzi being installed during the day, in the evening we christened the new bottom kitchen as the electricity was now on, steak and salad with a nice chilled Rosado after our dip in the pool ended the day.

Wednesday 22nd.July 2009.

After seeing all the workmen in we went across to the large shopping centre above Marbella as we needed to stock up with some cosmetics, as we passed C&As of all things they had a sale on, only this time it was me that bought the bargains, a white pair of Bermuda shorts with a white cotton tea shirt ! I had bought Brenda, luckily a new purple top in the Mango sale just a few minutes before! On the way home we called into the shops and quite by chance I spotted a beautiful pair of white soft leather slip on moccasin’s that have ended up as my birthday present, for September!! In the evening, after another swim in the pool we decided to treat our selves to a night out and went down to Restaurante Victor,it is rather special, we ate there last time we were at Casa Abuelo and we were not to be disappointed, the house Prawn Beignets to start just melts in your mouth, Brenda had the whole Sea Bass baked in the oven and then brought to the table and filleted, served with very fine Green Beans tossed in garlic, whilst I had the most succulent large Sirloin steak, cooked medium rare and served with very fine frits, it cut like butter and tasted out of this world! The restaurant is very calm and cool and the staff is very attentive as the owner and his father watch over the running of the restaurant, inside and on the outside tables. Brenda had an excellent glass of cool Rioja with her fish and the whole evening was so relaxed and friendly,Oh of course I was in my new, all white, outfit- Brenda said that I looked like King Faruke!!

Thursday 23rd.July 2009.

The villa was again a hive of activity and during the morning the new gas hob was installed, we had a light sandwich lunch and after checking all the animals I set off to the Bus station in Marbella as Carolyn had caught the shuttle bus from the train station in Malaga after returning from Madrid. Malaga is a major city and the traffic is unbelievable, at the same time they are putting in a new underground Metro so the streets are rather mad! After handing over we shot back across to Tarifa and let Mano and Anna get away back to Manilva as they had a busy weekend of dining and partying for Mano’s birthday.Mano’s workmen have started on the garden and pool and it is already starting to take shape, we should be swimming in the pool by next Friday! They are refencing the side walls and also planting the drive with over 70 new trees before they start on installing the new top terrace floor and making good all the exterior waterproofing before the whole outside is painted white! Joan was fine and Boo and Millie raced out to welcome us home!Egg and chips for dinner after a busy day on the very hot and sunny Costa del Sol and Tarifa finished the day off.