A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 12^th/ SEPTEMBER 2019.

We were up early this morning and after a quick freshen up we grabbed a mug of tea and a piece of toast, we then headed down to the garage to pick up the car, ‘ Calle Mar’ was closed as the ‘ Council’ workmen had the ‘cherry-picker’ out, taking down all the ‘Vendemia decorations and at the same time, sadly, the coloured sun canopy, as I forecast a few weeks ago!

Our neighbour, Mario, the Mayor, is noticeable absent, so I’m not able to enquire about the reason why, also more information has come up on the Council ‘Web-Site’ about the closure of the underground car park, at the end of October, for repairs/painting etc, - but is not giving much information, about the re-allocation of the parking spaces?! Watch this space.

We then headed off, across to the ‘La Cañada’ shopping mall, behind Marbella,  as the sun was breaking through above the Mediterranean, along the coast road. We ‘ Hit’ first “ C & A “ – I found two shirts and packs of Boxer Shorts, meanwhile Brenda was browsing, eventually she found a blouse, two T-Shirts and a pair of slacks, we then went into the ‘ Hypermarket’ for some new Towels etc, as well a new Shower Curtain, next we went to the extensive fresh ‘Fish Counter’ and found some nice ‘ Scampi’ for tomorrow night supper ( Scampi Provencal!) - along with a ‘Ogen’ Melon for dessert!

A light breeze had cleared the clouds away and the sun was out as we passed Marbella, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 25 degs+ - tomorrow and over the weekend, as the breeze stiffens, it’s looking a little cooler, with patchy clouds and the needed ‘ Wet-Stuff’ could be hitting us, for the first time in nearly 10 months! Next week is now looking settled, warm & sunny, as the breeze drops down, by Tuesday back up to 30 degs+ - hovering in the high 20s, until the following weekend, when a new cold & windy front us due to hit us, with ‘Rain’ at times, watch this space.

Today’s ‘ Stage 18’ of the “ Vuelta d’España 19 “ goes from Colmenar Viejo to Becerrilde la Sierra, over a very mountainous route, above Madrid, over 178 kms, with four big climbs, then a fast downhill finish!

See below;

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Cold, Sliced, Smoked Ham ‘ with ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs and triple-cooked ‘ Chips’ – then on Friday evening I’m going to cook an old ‘ A La Carte Flambe ‘ classic dish “ Scampi Provencal “ – served with Brenda’s famous Basmati Rice.

After supper this evening we are going to watch a new series of the ‘ Hairy Bikers’ as the take to their bikes along and across the famous ‘ Route 66’ – when we were in America , back in the late 70s, we travelled along the classic route, as we crossed America from East to West, from Miami to Los Angeles – “ Happy Days & Memories “

" Countdown 19 Days "

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY ' CRISP' & DRY SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 14^th/ DECEMBER 2018.

I was up very early this morning after a late night getting to bed ( see below!) After a quick freshen up I shot off on my travels down to Sabinillas, as the sun was coming up over the Mediterranean, I called into ‘ itZabar’ for my usual toast & tea, before ‘ Mercadona’ opened, I then collected the local newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ before shooting to the far-end of the promenade to the local market for some wall plants, on the way back up the hill I popped into ‘ Super Sol’ for our ‘ English’ essentials, after un-loading back at the house I put the car away in the underground car park.

As I set off this morning it was very cold & ‘ crisp’ as there was a stiff breeze blowing, yesterday lunchtime it started to blow and got rid of the rain, by the time we reached Malaga, later in the afternoon we had a beautiful perfect day, with a clear blue sky, today it’s the same here, sunny Manilva at it’s best, by this afternoon it’s due to reach 15 degs+ - down to 9/10 degs at night, over the weekend it’s getting a little warmer, up to 18 degs+ - next week is at the moment looking settled with just the threat of patchy ‘ wet-stuff’ at times, partly cloudy, hovering in the mid teens, about right for the time of the year, a light breeze will keep it ‘ crisp’ for now, watch this space.

Yesterday after we caught the bus down at the main roundabout at the entrance to the village, after picking up the rest of the people, down in Sabinillas we set off along the coast road past a sparkling, calm,  Mediterranean, to Malaga, we were dropped off by the entrance to ‘ Calle Larios’  were we found seats outside the main ‘Cafe/Bar’ in the street, ordered our first glass of Cava, or two, accompanied, traditionally with a plate of local fresh ‘ Crisps’ and settled down to watch the first ‘ Light & Music’ show at 6-30 pm, sat next to us was an very nice & interesting English couple, Becky & Steve Thatcher, who were staying the night in the city, they had come up from Gibraltar, as they have a large Catamaran “ 2B3 “ berthed in the Marina, they have ‘sold-up’ and are sailing the ‘ World’ – starting around the Mediterranean. One ‘ Helluva’ Catamaran !!

See the ‘Catamaran 2B3’ below! Safe sailing !!

We then moved on down to the ‘Plaza de la Constitucion’ and sat outside the famous ‘ Cafe Central’ after ordering two Mini Bottles ( Bejamins ) of ‘Cava Freixenet’ – with more ‘ Crisps’ - as you can see below – on the way Brenda spotted the ‘Pandora ‘ shop so she has a new charm ( Family Tree) for Christmas! 

After watching the second show we then moved on and ended up at the famous ‘Cerveceria ‘ – “ Los Gatos “ where we  had a glass or two of their ‘ House Cava’ ( only 2 Euros! ) We were sat at the Bar, in front of their excellent display of ‘ Pintxos’ – special Tapas served on Bread, traditionally from Northern Spain, ie San Sebastian – so we chose one, ‘Smoked Salmon with Cheese ‘ – to find that they server it warm! ‘Delicious ‘ !!


See below;

We then had another and decided to stay, rather than carry on to a Restaurant, that we had spotted to try! The barmen gave us another glass of the Cava on the ‘house ‘ – so we sat down and Brenda had four large fresh ‘ Gambas a la Plancha ‘ & I had my favourite ‘ Entrecote Steak’ – sliced and served with ‘ Frits’ – more Cava flowed, with ‘ Crisps’ on the side, including another glass on the ‘ house’ from the waiter!

See below;

A ‘ Helluva’ Evening in Malaga, we found our way back to the coach and arrived back in sleepy Manilva at 1-30 am! ‘ Feeling no Pain’ !! 

See all the pictures above of the ' Xmas Light & Music' show and ' Los Gatos ' 

This evening for our supper we are having our ‘Posh Fish n’Chips’ with Mushy Peas and of course twice-cooked ‘ Chips –  the ‘ Goujons of Hake ‘ coated in ‘ Cruzcampo Beer Batter’ – back to reality!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA AND PUERTO BANUS ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 16^th/ OCTOBER 2018.

No lie in this morning as we had to be up & ready to go down to meet the folks at their apartment, down in Sabinillas. After freshening up we had a quick toast & tea, before setting off in their car to ‘Puerto Banus’ - on a beautiful sunny day, with clear a blue sky and just a slight breeze, a perfect start to a ‘ Helluva’ Day!

The weather today is another bonus, as all over Spain they have storms etc, tomorrow it’s going to be the same, hovering on the 25 degs+ mark, then sadly the wet-stuff’ is now forecast to hit us, from Thursday, it looks like it’s in for the weekend, at least, so our plans we will be disrupted to say the least, down in the low 20s, at times, we will check the forecasts on Spanish TV, day by day, as next week is not looking much better, watch this space.

We parked in the underground car park in the main square behind ‘Puerto Banus’ and walked into the centre of the Marina, for a morning coffee, see the pictures below.

We then took in the sights of the marina, including all the shops & restaurants, as well as the various super yachts & cars! The last very large yacht belongs to the ‘Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’

See below;

I was then time to come back across the square to ‘El Corte Ingles ‘ ( The Harrods of Spain!) where Brenda headed to the ‘ Pandora Jewelry Counter ‘ to buy Sandra a new piece for her charm bracelet, as it’s her birthday at the end of next week. Sandra has given Brenda a new charm for her bracelet, that she gave her last year.

We then headed upstairs to the ‘Gourmet Champagne Bar ‘ and I ordered four glasses of the finest ‘Moet & Chandon Brut Rose Imperial ‘ – which came chilled to perfection, and was superb to drink, another little pre-birthday celebration!

See below;

We then jumped into a taxi and went up to the celebrity Restaurant ‘La Sala’ and sat outside on the patio, again taking in the sights & sounds of Puerto Banus, as it passed us by! We started with a bottle of their excellent ‘ House Cava Rosdao ‘ as we ordered our lunch, Sandra chose from the two-course Menu, to start she has a large salad of Diced Chorizo & Chick Peas, followed by the ‘Poached Hake with Clams’ in a Parsley sauce, Bill had the large marinated Ribs, which he declared were ‘ Succulent & very Tasty, Brenda had the ‘Thai Stir-Fried Beef Wraps’ and had my favourite, very large ‘ Club Sandwich ‘ with the House Fries!

See below; 

Sat next to us were three ‘ Ladies that Lunch’ – who turned out to be ‘Three Merry Widows’ from the Wirral & Liverpool, we exchanged many happy memories of the good old days, back in the early 60s!

PS; There are some more pictures to come on the Blog, when Sandra posts them to me, watch this space.

NB, While we were out & about on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ the Producer from “ A Place in The Sun”  called to ask if it was possible to bring my appearance forward to 9-00 am tomorrow morning, as the filming schedule has changed! No problem!!  Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA & MARBELLA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 29^th/ AUGUST 2018.

We were up early this morning and after freshening up we shot off, along the coast road, past a sparking Mediterranean, across to the ‘La Cañanda ‘ shopping mall behind Marbella, where we had to start glasses of cool, fresh, Orange Juice & Croissants, before we hit the shops!  

Brenda headed for ‘ C & A ‘ and I hit ‘ Marks & Spencer’ Brenda found a pair of Pink Slacks and various tops/jumpers, including the ‘ Bargain of the Day’ a Black Tee-Shirt for 2 Euros! She also spotted a nice ‘Poncho’ top, she then joined me in ‘ Marks & Spencer’ where I found a pair of White Cotton slacks and Brenda spotted another nice top and a pair of White Slacks!

We then decided, on the way back, to call into the celebrity restaurant, above ‘Puerto Banus’-“ La Sala “ for a lunch, with the ‘ stars’ - it’s recently been refurbished, the cool drinks were much appreciated. Brenda chose from the two-course Lunch Menu, she had to start the ‘ Tomato & Mozzarella Crostini ‘ followed by a large plate of fried ‘Calamari ‘ – plain, not in batter, just with Lemon Juice  and I had an old favourite ‘classic ‘ a “ Club Sandwich “ – three layers of toast with Chicken, Bacon, Cheese, Egg, Tomato & Lettuce, with a dish’s of Mayonnaise & Coleslaw, not forgetting some excellent French Fries. As usual, everything was just right, the service was spot-on and I renewed my ‘Sala Rewards Card ‘!

See above/below the pictures taken with my Mobile Phone, outside was one of the Owners ‘ McLaren F2 ‘ and later another owners ‘ Ferrari ‘!!  

As we set off the sun had broken through early and the sky was bright blue, by the time we arrived in Marbella it was very hot & sunny, at lunchtime reaching 34/35 degs+ tomorrow and over the weekend it’s thankfully going a little cooler as there is a light breeze bringing in some cooler air, next week is now looking warm & sunny, with a few clouds at times, but the ‘ wet-stuff’ has disappeared, for now, watch this space.

See below, ‘Red Hot Spain Today’

This afternoon the ‘La Vuelta 2018’ goes from Granada to Roquetas de Mar, over 188 kms, through the mountains and down to a flat/sprint finish.

See below;

Last night we went up to the top of our street to meet the people coming to see us with their dog ‘Lucy’ – sadly they had not given us the dates and it was for this weekend and into next week, when we already have little princess ‘ Reina’ & Percy with us, so we had to say sorry ‘ No can do’!

As it was a nice evening we decided to have a nice cool drink at ‘ Cafeteria Nacho’ for a change ,then James & Michala came along with their two boys and joined us, James was on holiday, from his job in Gibraltar, he has just been ‘ Head-Hunted’ for a highly paid job in Dubai, which he’s considering, then to our surprise Mick & Lllone came along, they are next door neighbours, but without their children, who were back at home with the babysitter.  

So the drinks flowed ,again, in large glass’s, with large measures, and we all had something to eat of ‘Nacho’s’ new Menu, Brenda has his classic ‘ Gambas Pil Pil ‘ and I had an excellent and large ‘ Combo Platter’ of ‘ Chicken Breast a la Plancha, Huevo Frito & Patatas Fritas’ ( Chicken, Egg & Chips!)  A nice surprise ‘ Chef’s & Staff ‘ night-off!

During the evening as the street light came on, the designer of the new Canopies, told us that the coloured light system, under and along the Canopies was due to be tested, it came on and has added to an already spectacular new ‘ Calle Mar’ – watch this space for a picture.

This evening we are taking things very easy, after a rather exciting day by our standards, we will have a light supper later and catch up with the news and then find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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