Spring in Spain

After the excitement of Altea it was back to Casas Nuevas.

On my drive back I popped into IKEA on my way past and bought a small patio set for the front garden. When we are here in the winter it is only possible to sit out for food or a drink in the daytime, the sun is on the front from about 10 till 3pm. The back of the house gets limited sun and once it goes down about 6-7pm sitting outside is not possible.  IKEA in Murcia is like a training exercise for a long distance walk, it takes forever before you get to the bit where you can pick up the things you want, unless there is a shortcut that I haven’t found.  Two folding wooden chairs and table purchased.  Chris had warned me that the weather was a bit wild and it was a windy drive back. There had been power cuts in Pliego and our internet was off, Chris had been to the shop and they said they would ring to arrange to sort it out. I got back about 3pm and Chris had the house all clean and tidy and we had a lovely steak meal together.

Friday and Chris was up and out early driving to San Javier airport to pick up his friend Alan who fancied a bit of winter sun and to photograph the almond blossom.  I rang the office about the internet and got the whole story about the problems with the power etc.We had a tapas lunch in Bar Teresa and good catch up with Alan. He and his wife Linda had just returned from a month long cruise from South Africa to Singapore which included a safari, so lots of good wildlife shots. It is six nations time and one of the joys of having free view is that I can watch the rugby. The England game was a tale of two halves and Alan watched the first half and then couldn’t believe that England had won, SWING LOW!! 

Saturday and I went into Mula to the market but it was freezing cold, about 6 degrees and as I came out of Aldi there was a flurry of snow. Chris and Alan had gone walking and they had encountered a real snow shower. The almond blossom weren’t too keen on the cold either so photo opportunities were limited. With the log burner going it was nice and cosy for the other two rugby games.

Sunday morning it was bright and warmer and no sign of snow. We needed more wood and Paco said he would deliver a tonne of very dry wood at 10am. He dumped it straight onto the road and Chris and Alan spent several hours moving it inside. Alan is an engineer and we have named the wood pile “the Barton” such is the magnificence of the design.

The "Barton"

 Meanwhile I was sorting out stuff in the kitchen and making vegetarian lasagne for Monday. The new table and chairs were put to good use for a couple of well deserved beers. We decided to eat in the salon (the Spanish for a celebration eatery) and had a delicious meal.

For starter we had embutido (a delicious plate of cold meats), mussels and cod croquetas; which were so nice we had to have a second helping. The salad was very simple but good, quartered gem lettuces with delicious anchovies on top.  For main course we had succulent goat, served with potatoes and little fried green peppers. Dessert was flan de cafe and cold rice pudding followed by coffee. We managed to drink 3 bottles of wine, 2 of which are a delicious wine from Jumilla called Juan Gill. By local standards it is expensive, 12 Euros a bottle, but it is so smooth. It is 10.40 to buy at the vineyard so the mark up is not great. After hard work, food and wine a siesta was in order after which the boys went for a chat in the bar.

Monday Chris and Alan went up into the Sierra Espuna park to see the ice houses, they were well wrapped up when they left the house and there was snow on the ground where they walked. I took the van into Mula and went again to the internet shop and it was as if I was telling her the problems for the very first time. She said she would ring the technicians but she also gave me their number. About an hour after I got home they were at the house, and fixed the problem in no time. The antenna in Mula had snapped due to the very high winds. 

Tuesday we had plans, I was going to Mula for my hair appointment and the boys were going to walk the waterway and I would pick them up in Pliego on my way home. The rain didn’t look very inviting so plan B, after my hair cut, let’s go to Cehegin. It has a lovely old town with narrow streets winding up to a square at the top but it looks less good when it is raining. We planned lunch but Tuesday was not a good day to find food in Cehegin. 

Lunching ay Casa Paca

We went to Casa Paca near Mula; always a good bet and had menu del dia for 30 Euros for the three of us. I had soup, fish and rice pudding but the boys had a big plate of paella for starter followed by meat and a very rich pudding called “tocino del cielo” which translates to bacon of the sky. It is from Jerez where they make sherry and used to use egg whites to clear the sherry and therefore had loads of egg yolks and not wanting to waste them they went into a very rich dessert.

Wednesday and Alan was back off to the UK without much sun and probably two weeks too early for good photos of the almond blossom.  Chris came back from the airport looking pretty rough and went to bed for a few hours. He had a dose of cold/flu with a thick head and sinus pain, so the magic flu powder was administered!! I got up to date with some stuff in the house and started thinking about what to do in Paris in September. Chris continued to feel rough on Thursday but we had a very lazy day in the house as it poured with rain all day. I got a bit of Paris planning done and Chris booked a flight to Porto, in Portugal, for September as he is planning to walk the Camino Portuguesa from Porto to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Friday we went to the market in Pliego and Chris managed eventually to get his haircut in Mula, the guy in Pliego was doing appointments only!! After I dropped him off I got stuck in traffic, it was the children’s Carnival parade. The volume was so loud from the speakers it was vibrating the car. My plans to go to the other side of town were thwarted so I had a beer and tapa in the main square and watched the parade. 

If you want loud music you need big speakers!!

Look Alan almond blossom!!

Chris was still feeling ropey on Saturday and I was worried that our night away might be in jeopardy. After several hours sleep and more flu medicine he rallied round. We stayed at La Mariposa, in Gebas, which is a hotel that does adventure activities. It is run by an English family and they do music nights. So for 100 Euros we had dinner, a Rod Stewart tribute act, overnight stay, breakfast and then Sunday lunch. There were only 14 people but it was a good night and the weather was grand so we walked up the valley behind the hotel for a couple of hours before lunch on Sunday. All in all a grand time and my legs were a bit stiff with all of the dancing!!

Birthday with the girls

Birthday celebrations begin !!

Sunday 1^st February to Thursday 5^th February

Due to very strong winds in the UK the girls arrived early but we met up in Alicante airport and set off for our house in Altea. I knew Amy would be shattered as she had just finished the panto run at midnight on Saturday and the break would be good for Idg too, especially after the car crash of the previous week. As I was already here in Spain I had packed the car with loads of essential, food wine, blankets jumpers and a halogen fire. When I checked the house I has booked it said no heating!!

We found the house quite easily, though locating where the keys were required you to be able to identify an avocado plant!! The house was described as Bohemian and was certainly quirky, little bits and pieces of funky furniture and artwork etc  The electrics were a bit of a nightmare but more of that later. Once we unpacked we walked down to the little bar in the tram station, five minutes away. It was warm enough to sit outside and we had wine and tapas and chatted to the owner who was Spanish and called German. We then wandered down to the beach in search of some food and had our meal in an Italian place, lovely paella, and more wine...........bit of a theme here!! We got back to the house and had more wine.

Monday 2^nd February

The pressies and cards

Birthday morning I felt pretty rough, self inflicted (maybe dry January is not such a good idea) but had a lovely time opening cards and pressies. Thanks to the girls for bringing their pressies and those from Vicki’s and Anne and Keith H and also cards from Claire and Dan, Kim and George and Keith W . Thanks to too Chris who brought my pressie and card from his Auntie Pat. Birthday breakfast is traditionally scrambled egg, smoked salmon and fizz ( I passed on the latter) and we ate it on the terrace with sea views and blue sky.

We went into Altea in the car and wandered uphill through the old town and it was just warm enough to sit out and have a sandwich in the square. I had thought long and hard about whether to fly home for my birthday but don’t think we would have had any time outside in the UK!! We wandered into one or two of the trendy little shops and Idg got a nice leather ring. When we got back to the house we pottered about a bit and the girls went down to the beach and to play on the swings-as you do when you are 29 and 25 years old. Then about 4pm realised we had no power. We checked with the neighbours and it was only our house. Eventually I spoke to the owner and she said it would be fixed before 10pm. It is pretty cold in Spain once the sun goes down and without electric our only source of heat was the log burner in my bedroom. Drove and got some wood and eventually some candles and lit the fire, but due to a broken pane of glass all it did was fill the room with smoke........open the window and in comes the cat!! Getting the picture?? As the girls and I joked a birthday I will not forget.

Candles lit, wrapped in blankets we decided to postpone my birthday meal, how can you get glammed up by candlelight?? The girls had arranged with the owner a booking at a local restaurant that she really like. So we sent for takeaway pizza –which arrived in half an hour as predicted and the girls had some fizz, an alcohol free birthday for me. The power did come on about 9pm which gave us some heat.

Candlelit pizza

 

Tuesday the weather was beautiful, lovely blue skies so we set off in the car to go to Calpe for coffee and then Denia for lunch. I opted to take the second turning into Calpe and missed it as you had to drive through a garage forecourt first!! We headed for Javea, via a garage to buy a map..........having left the map book in the house in Casas Nuevas. We parked up near the marina in Javea and found a little coffee place in the sun and had coffee and lovely home-made cake, it was run by a German man and the cakes were delicious and the whole place spotlessly clean. We chatted to some people from Inverness who were visiting their daughter who lived in Javea. When Imogen was about 2 we spent a week in Javea with her grandparents but I didn’t recognise much. We had a lovely walk along the front and set off north for Denia. Any plans for a beachside lunch were thwarted, unless we wanted English food!! We went back to the harbour area and had salad and wine in a trendy bistro style bar and then went to gawp at the amazing boats in the marina.

Back at the house we still had power and we got ready for our night out, all made up (thanks Amy for doing my make-up) and in our posh gear we had a glass of pink cava. We drove up to the restaurant Ca Toni, too far to walk in our gear. We had planned a pre-meal drink but other places were closed so went straight in. It was lovely, nice comfy seats white linen tablecloths and napkins. The menu wasn’t huge but looked good and we were not disappointed with the food. We shared  a starter of embutido, a plate of cold meats and then Idg and I had rabbit and Amy had slow cooked lamb shoulder. I’m not really used to fine dining in Spain, we ususlaly do menu Del dia 8-12 Euros paper tablecloths and simple but good food. This meal had vegetables, our favourite asparagus and pommes dauphines (okay not Spanish but lush!!) The wine was dry and crisp and went beautifully with the meal. Amy and I had chocolate cake with hot chocolate sauce and ice cream. Yummy!! We left the car and got a taxi back after a wonderful night and all the better for waiting a night!!

Birthday rabbit.yum yum

 

Wednesday Idg and I walked the 3k up to get the car, it was breezy and fresh but didn’t look too bad. We went into the baker’s for a coffee and when we came out it was raining!! The mountains behind this part of the coast make for interesting weather. Our plan had been to go to Calpe on the tram but south looked better bet so we got the tram to Benidorm!! 60 years and 2 days old and my first very visit to Benidorm, and it was not as bad as I imagined on a brisk February day with coach loads of Spanish old folks!! A coffee stop in a little corner place, where I think our Spanish amused the locals and we set off on a quest for croquetas. These are one of Imogen’s favourite Spanish snacks, and are not made with mash like in the UK but with a béchamel sauce with cheese\ham\fish etc. After about 10 minutes the Corner cafe (cafe esquina) was found and delicious croquestas were served with three beers. We then had a long walk around the beach up to the old church and started out quest for lunch. I am bit of a snob at heart and English food is not why I spend time in Spain but eventually we walked back up towards the tram and Amy found a little back street and we ate in Bar familial. Menu Del dia was 10.50 euros and we all had salad the Amy had paella for started and Idg and I opted for lentillas casero, a huge plate of lentils, potatoes and pork. Our main courses were huga and none of managed pudding. No-one wanted anything to eat so we went to the tram bar, para 44 and had some wine . We walked towards the beach to find a bar for a last drin but they were closed and we decided to go to the very posh looking Hotel........... it was very grand and not hugely expensive and had lovely comfy sofas. The football was on the telly in the corner with the hotel musak turned down, Espana por favour!!

Thursday was our last day together and we had a lovely breakfast together, packed up and headed south to the airport. We had a quick coffee and then it was time to be at Alicante airport. I said cheerio to the girls and haded for Ikea on the way home for some outdoor furniture.

Our time together was very special, it is not often I get the girls to myself , and they are excellent company and make me feel very proud. They both enjoyed the blue skies and little bit of sunshine as a nice break from the English winter.

Till next time and thanks for all of the birthday wishes 

Norma xx

Benidorm OAP flashmob

Para 44 bar xx

Breakfast and then home.........