MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

TUESDAY 29^th NOVEMBER 2011.

AM;

We treated ourselves to a lie in, just as we did forty years ago! For breakfast we had Scrambled Eggs with local Smoked Salmon to set us up for the day ahead; the weather here is glorious at the moment with blue skies and warm sunshine 21 degs.We then went for our morning walk with Cheta around the village, the council have now put up the new tourist signs and plaques, some of them are even in Braille – pictures to follow on another day. We ended up sat outside Bar Rojas and had a celebration drink and took in the sites and sounds of sunny Manilva – Carlos came along and joined us for one and Barbara passed on her way to pick up the kids from school; we then had a light lunch back at ‘ Mi Casa ’ of a Minute Steak smeared in Mustard and cooked ‘ Blue’ with a local Tomato salad, Brenda then retired to the roof terrace to take in the afternoon sunshine and I caught up with the Facebook messages; we had a great response to the picture from all over the world from all the family and friends – thank you ! We then had a little siesta before getting ready to go out for dinner with Mano and Anna.The pictures above show us on our way out to the restaurant.

PM;

Mano and Anna joined us in the evening and we started off with ‘ Kir Royal’s ’ made with a excellent ‘ Cordorniu Blanc de Blanc Brut Cava ’which we had bought a couple of months ago at a fine wine supplier’s shop over in Sotogrande which we use for special occasions. We used our special and very expensive French Champagne flutes that we treated our selves to back on our travels on our 35^TH wedding anniversary ! We also had some Tapas of Local Chorizo,Pata Negra Ham,Manchega Cheese and Local Smoked Salmon before we set off down to the coast.Mano had booked a table at a restaurant that we have wanted to go to for quite a while ‘ Restaurante San Rafael ’which is on the coast road going out of Sabinillas on the way to Sotogrande; he has been sending his clients there from the villa this year and he and Anna have used it for many years, it is an old established Spanish restaurant that specializes in ‘ Cordero Asdo,Cochnillo y Pescado a la Sal ’ Young Lamb, Baby Suckling Pig and fish cooked in salt ! We had a warm welcome and soon where having our aperitif drinks at the bar; the pictures below show the bar and restaurant and the food which I’ am just about going to write about; after checking out the menu Brenda and Mano decided on the Baby Suckling Pig and I chose to have the ‘ Chateaubriand ’of the house, which Anna joined with me readily. I’ve been fancying one for ages ! The head chef came out to see us and confirmed that we would have a ‘ Béarnaise sauce to remember and also some vegetables and the house special potatoes;

As we sat down at a nice large table the House Bread came along that had just come out of the oven, it has small holes in the top so as you can inject the House Garlic Olive Oil into the centre – mouth watering. We were then presented with a complementary taste starter of the day, an Oyster in a Savory Tomato sauce which had then been bread crumbed in the shell and deep fried – it was delicious, you could eat a lot more of them ! Brenda had a half bottle of Marques de Caceres,Crianza Rioja whilst Anna went on the house dry local white and Mano and I carried on with our drinks; The Suckling Pig arrived from the oven and then was broken up with a fork and presented, the Chateaubriand had been roasted wrapped in Smoked Bacon and was then carved and presented, medium rare as ordered ! The Suckling Pig was very tasty, mouth watering and the crackling was just unbelievable, it tasted wonderful and again just melts in the mouth ! The Chateaubriand was one of the best that I’ve ever had, it had been cooked perfectly and melted like butter in the mouth, the Head Chef was right about his Béarnaise sauce, it was spot on in taste and consistency and had been made with local fresh Tarragon ! It all came with a Macedoine of local vegetables including local baby Sprouts and the house Boulangere Potatoes straight from the oven ! Heaven !!

No sweets were ordered as they came along with the house chilled liquors,Herb,Apple and Berry in small bottles – with chilled shot glasses – on the house. A complimentary round of drinks arrived as Brenda and Mano went on the flaming Carajillo’s ! Whoh ! What a night to remember !!

PS; We ended up back at bar Rojas for a nightcap sat outside where we had started twelve hours ago !

Thought for the Day;

Those truly linked don’t need correspondence, when they meet again after many years apart.Their friendship is as true as ever.

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