Category: Travelling Tales

Around where we stayed in Spain there are lots of little white towns. One was signposted nearby, so we drove the very steep and winding road to Comares one day to have a walk around.

The town was so high up so as well as admiring the town, we were treated to magnificent views across the valley.

There was a path with  tile footprints to follow, although we diverted from this towards the end due to the large amount of stray dogs.

Another day we drove to El Torcal, a national park famed for strange rock formations. The limestone has been eroded by wind and water, leaving interesting shapes in the rocks.

It reminded us a bit of when we visited Bryce Canyon in the USA (only smaller, and grey).

At one point we saw a herd of mountain goats- one balanced right on top of a rock with a perfect silhouette, but my phone could not zoom in that far. The agility those creatures have is amazing though.

It was also freezing cold here! When sheltered by the rocks we were OK, but when you got to the edge of the mountain the wind whipping up the sides was chilling (and so strong that it was nearly blowing my phone out of my hands- I couldn’t hold it still enough for a proper photo!).

The clouds were covering the very top of the mountain at some points.

We had packed a picnic, and there were benches outside, but we wimped out and opted for a warmer lunch in the car!

Another day we opted for another beach trip. This time we headed to Nerja, which came recommended as having less concrete monstrosities and a pretty view.

We were very pleased with our choice. It was a really windy day, so the sea had huge swells and lines of waves crashing into the rocks and beach.

It was hard to capture, but the waves that were rolling in were enormous.

I love this photo, the water was almost silvery, and not a weird instagram filter in sight.

We walked down the beach for a bit, then up in the other direction, then back and into the town.

We spotted some beautiful tropical flowers (hibiscus are my favourite).

Then we walked around the town to find this beautiful cove on the other side. Again, it was teeming with people- I was still surprised to find so many people there (and so many shops and restaurants open) but I really shouldn’t be surprised.

For the last couple of days Andy had to work, so we stayed around the apartment. I spent most of the day sitting outside reading and it was bliss.

Or just looking at the birds in the trees.

A lovely end to our winter break.

Hey peeps,

I hope everyone has been enjoying the festive period and relaxing/ doing whatever you enjoy.

After our long journey to and from Granada on Christmas Eve, we decided to stay nearer to the apartment on Christmas day. After a leisurely morning, we packed a lunch and drove off to the coast. We were so lucky.

The weather was just gorgeous.

No coat needed!

We walked up and down the beach, sat in the sun and had our picnic lunch, and then walked some more.

I packed this gingerbread in our suitcase (from the Vienna markets) so we had that to make our picnic festive!

I even made a Christmas tree and snowman (sand-man?).

But the snowman kept being washed away by the tide- should have chosen a more sensible place on the beach perhaps!

I expected it to be fairly quiet, but it was really busy with people walking along, eating or drinking in the bars by the beach, and a few brave (stupid?) sunbathers. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as the climate was good, but I think as where we are staying is so isolated, it feels like there isn’t anyone else in the country. I can’t imagine coming here in the summer though- not being a beach-to-bar person anyway it would not be my kind of thing, but also it would be so hot. And as you can see, the sand isn’t exactly perfect for making castles. But for winter sun this has been perfect.

Good news on the cough front- it seems to be nearly gone, apart from a few coughing fits when I first wake up. But all the shortness of breath that I was experiencing has gone, and I feel like I have my normal amount of energy, no headaches, my rubs and back don’t ache any more, and my cold is pretty much gone too, so I am certainly passed the worst, and am hoping for a New Years Day parkrun to kick off Jantastic 2015 in style- hooray!

Has anyone picked up anything good in the sales? We have wi-fi here, so I have browsed a few shops and ordered myself a pair of very warm and cosy looking slippers, and (how exciting) a new washing basket. Yep, I know how to live!

Hey peeps, I hope you have all been enjoying the last few days.

The two of us have been relaxing in our little Spanish apartment. The road up to this is a very steep track, and the roads beyond are thin and twisty mountain roads, so I don’t think I would have been brave enough to go running here anyway. But we have been doing a lot of walking.

On Christmas Eve we drove to Grenada to see the Alhambra. We had booked tickets in advance, but then had a bit of a mix up with our times (my Garmin thing is still on UK time as I am not sure how to change it) so initially we thought we had loads of time, but in fact we were nearly an hour late. Whoops. Luckily we were still allowed in.

The weather was fantastic, although pretty cold ( it is right up near the mountains).

I didn’t know what to expect- I had seen photos but it was just spectacular. These intricate carvings were everywhere, plus beautiful coloured tiles.

We must have walked around for at least 3 hours.

There were some lovely gardens too- we could smell the oranges as we walked towards the trees (like being on Disney’s Soarin’, except it was real and not fake orange scent….).

It was well worth a visit, and we were pretty shattered when we got back later in the evening (it was nearly a two hour drive each way). We took a lot of DVD’s with us, so watched The Snowman (my favourite Christmas Eve film) and then It’s a Wonderful Life, although I fell asleep during part of it!

The other day we found some oven bake churros, so the night before we heated some up and had them with nutella- when in Rome right? They were enjoyed in front of Home Alone- another Christmas classic right there.

Hey peeps, long time no blogging here. Pretty much I have still been coughing all over the place, and then last week got a cold on top of the cough, so I have been in a bit of a grump over that still (still no running either).

Sadly last Friday we had to go to my Nan’s funeral, as she passed away last month. But we had already booked a night in Bath (for the Christmas markets etc) so decided to till go there after, for something to look forward to.

We didn’t head into Bath until nearly lunch time, and had a quick look around the shops. The weather was beautiful (so clear and bright) so we bought sandwiches and hot drinks and sat outside with this view.

We walked down to the river too.

Such a lovely place to visit.

It was the final weekend of the Christmas markets and it was heaving, so after a bit more of a walk around we went to the spa. We had only been there once before (after the Bath half in March) and although that was amazing, being able to walk properly was even better!

This time we hired robes too- last time we only hired a towel and because you wrap the towel around you when walking around, it was very wet by the time I actually needed to try. The robe was the way to go. We didn’t go in the rooftop pool, but we went in a few steam rooms which helped my chest and cold no end- I could actually breathe!

We went in at about 2, and you have a 2 hour time slot plus time for changing and hair drying, and by the time we left it was dark (the reindeer was in the window- so pretty) and it was queued out of the door. I think we went at the right time.

We were both pretty thirsty, so headed to a cafe for tea and cake (mine was an orange polenta cake- delicious), before doing some shopping. Then we had dinner (lovely Bill’s, oh how I love Bill’s) and then finally time for the markets- they are way too busy in the day, and open until 9pm so it is much better to go back when it is a bit quieter.

Yup, not sure how to turn the flash off!

I had a proper hot chocolate, and we bought ourselves some tree decorations, before driving back home.

We saw strings of these dried oranges and cinnamon sticks in Vienna, but we weren’t sure how easy they would be to get back on the plane. They make our whole living room smell like Christmas.

I think that this is our third year in a row of visiting the Bath Christmas markets, and I think we have perfected our weekend now- we will be back!

 

 

So on Friday night we drove down to Gatwick, as we had a super early flight the next morning- getting up at 5am was not my favourite way to start the weekend, but it turned out well in the end.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out on a walk- it was pretty cold but not as freezing as it could have been (yet).

There were plenty of little Christmas markets on street corners- I love seeing all the gingerbread houses.

Plus plenty of very grand buildings- neither of us had been before and it was a great city to walk around- I think it would be lovely in the summer too as there were so many parks.

Just like in Cologne (we went there last year) all the markets had different cups- when you bought Gluwein (mulled wine) or any hot drink (Andy had that whereas I had a hot chocolate), you pay a deposit (a couple of Euros) and then get that back when you return the cup.

There were a few bigger markets that we walked to- in the day they were not too busy so we could look at what was on offer (and take photos).

There were so many amazing food stalls- these pretzels were gigantic- I don’t think the photo does it justice. We shared a marzipan pretzel (oh yes) in the evening.

Yet another market, by this church (cathedral?) with the most impressive patterned roof.

The gingerbread stalls were my favourite- we bought one to take home as we had one last year and it was just so good. Although some of the phrases piped onto them were a bit amusing- #yolo or #b*tch being the strangest two.

We had a rest in the hotel for a bit before heading out in the darkness to see the beautiful lights. I was not sure about food options, thinking it would be all sausages and stew, but there were a few veggie options about (although one market was so huge that you had to just get something when you saw it as you might not find it again)- I ended up having a jacket potato with cheese (my German is not the best, but I could translate that for sure) and Andy had a bread bowl filled with tomato soup- just like Boudins in San Francisco!

We went back to the biggest two markets, and they were just so pretty (but also rammed).

There were plenty of lanterns in the trees, including cupcake ones!

We were pretty shattered (and also freezing- it was so much colder after dark) so headed back for a long sleep- according to my vivofit I walked 29,000 steps- not too shabby! On Sunday we got a train pass and went out to the Schonbrunn Palace which is a big palace (over 1000 rooms) with enormous gardens- perfect for a walk. It also had a large Christmas market.

The sun even came out for a bit.

After a little walk around we fancied a warm drink – Andy again got the mulled wine, and I noticed on one menu an After Eight hot chocolate, and it stated alcohol free. The day before when I ordered my hot chocolate they asked if I wanted cream (I can’t remember what the word is, but it is a long word but it was written on the menu so I was prepared…) and I didn’t but this time they didn’t ask (and it wasn’t written so I didn’t think it would be included). The lady poured out the hot chocolate, covered it in cream and then stuck an actual after eight chocolate in the cream! I am not a huge fan of cream, but I put up with it because it held the chocolate in place!

Although the chocolate melted quickly!

Cheers!

Then we walked to the top of the hill for stunning view of the gardens and Vienna.

Then we walked back to the main building, had another mooch around the market before getting the train back to the city centre. I was going to buy a few gifts, but the shops had shut by the time we got back, plus we had hand luggage only so I was a bit limited with what I could bring back.

Our flight wasn’t until 9pm so we had time to re-visit our favourite markets before collecting our bags and heading to the airport. We still managed 22,000 steps for the Sunday- impressive!

It was a great weekend away- the flight was under 2 hours and because we didn’t check bags it was really speedy at both ends. The train from the airport to the city centre takes 16 minutes, and the centre was really walk-able too, with plenty of markets around.

Now we need to decide where to go next year! So far we have been to Copenhagen, Bruges, Cologne and Vienna, and I must say that the Germanic ones win so far for festiveness, food and gifts. I mean, last year I had a marzipan and nutella filled crepe, this year a marzipan pretzel- sounds good right?

Are you a fan of Christmas markets? I love that they are becoming more common over here too- we are off to Bath in a few weeks as theirs is always a nice one too.

What Christmassy food would you go for at a market like that?