Salobreña - Our Own 'Club Med'

After enjoying a fun-filled, whirlwind weekend with the Lopez family, they generously offered us the use of their condo in Salobreña; a beach town on the Mediterranean Sea.  Would we like to spend a week there?

They didn't have to ask us twice!  We immediately said YES!

The old town of Salobreña with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.

Our digs for the week.

Our week was simply glorious.  Every day was spent the same way.  Our schedule was quite grueling.  Walking, laying on the beach, eating, drinking, napping, swimming and more walking.

We got up early every morning and headed toward the beach to join the other joggers and walkers.  The beach is a very quiet place in the morning.  We walked at least 10 kilometres every day.

Early morning Salobreña.

Joe couldn't resist eating churros and chocolate for breakfast.

Early morning fisherman.

We'd stop and watch a rousing game of petanque along the way.

Our morning walk took us up the hill into the old part of town.

Hiking up these hills was a workout!

The views were spectacular from up there!

Flowers were everywhere.

Hiking up and down all those hills in the heat built up quite a thirst!  So we had no choice but to stop at a bar for a beer.

10:30am beer.

After our walk it was time for some serious sun-bathing and swimming at the beach!

A busy Sunday in Salobreña.

We learned to read the flags that are dotted all along the boardwalk.  Green is for calm seas, yellow is for caution and red is for GO IN AT YOUR OWN RISK!

While it may look like I was drowning, I wasn't.

Bagging some rays.

The Mediterranean is fun for everyone!

Mrs. McGillicuddy enjoying the sun and surf.

At 2:00pm, like clockwork, the beach began to empty.  Everyone packed up and headed home for lunch and a siesta.  We were no exception to this rule.  Many people left their chairs, towels and umbrellas on the sand seeing as they'd be returning in a few hours.

Siesta time!

Looks like someone got a little too much sun!  And this happened while wearing sunscreen and staying under the umbrella.

Lunch at home.

After our nap, it was time for happy hour!

Tinto Verano.  1.5 litres for a few cents.  My newest favorite drink on a hot day.  Over ice and with a big squish of lemon.  HEAVEN!

And who can resist ham flavoured potato chips?  Certainly not me!

Gin and tonic is a very popular drink in Spain.  It's very popular with us too!

Then it was down to the pool for a swim and a little more sunning.   Back up to the apartment to shower and change before we hurried to the beach to catch the sunset.

Everyone eked out the last few minutes of sunshine on the beach.

But the day was not over yet!  It was time for 'paseo', an arm-in-arm stroll along the boardwalk with the throngs of other strollers.  And I mean throngs!

After all that strolling we were ready for dinner.  Which usually was at a restaurant and always included fish.  And never before 10:00pm.

Fire roasted sardines.

As we walked back to the apartment after dinner, bouncy castles were in full swing along the beach.  They were full of squealing children.

Midnight fun.

Our week passed far too quickly.  It was time for the Lopez' to fly to Canada to spend the month of August in our home.  They arrived in Salobreña in the early morning for Joe to drive them to the airport in Malaga.  I got emotional saying good-bye to each of them.  My hope is that we see each other again.

New friends.

Adios, Salobreña!  Hasta luego.

This Spanish Family

Our beautiful home exchange family

Joe and I arrived in Spain two weeks before our home exchange was to begin.  We like to squeeze as many weeks out of a vacation as we can.

After our week in Madrid, Cordoba and Sevilla we were invited by our home exchange family to spend the weekend with them.  How could we say no to that?  We immediately accepted their kind and generous offer.

They picked us up at the Granada train station and there were hugs and kisses all around.

We found out there was to be a barbecue later that evening with many of their friends and family in attendance.  Yahoo!  I love parties!

But first there were preparations to be made!  I offered to help in the kitchen.  Not my strong suit I'll grant you, but I do like to help out.

Who said I can't cook?

Los madres.

I can't believe these are going to be our digs for the month of August!

Joe likes to help out too.

New friends.

More new friends.

People have sent me messages asking how do we manage not understanding anything people are saying.  It's not bad!  Spanish is a beautiful language to the ear and we just let the music of it float over us.  We've discovered that it is quite freeing not understanding everything that is being said.

And when we do 'talk' to one another, we smile and laugh a lot.  And use big hand and arm gestures.  And I probably contort my face a lot.  In fact, I know I do.

The next morning they took us out for breakfast.  People!  Churros and chocolate.  BEST BREAKFAST EVER!  Drinking this chocolate is like velvet and heaven and richness sliding down your throat.  Dunk a churro into it and magic happens.

 Amazing chocolate.

 A mountain of churros.

The best food combo in the world.

After breakfast we drove out into the Andalusian countryside to a relative's cottage for lunch.  Lunch?  Didn't we just have breakfast?

 Abuela stirring the paella.

 Joe getting a jamon slicing lesson.

 Like a boss.

 Mmmmm...jamon.

 This amazing meal went on for three hours.

 Eating, eating and more eating.

 Joe fell into a deep food coma shortly after lunch was finished.

We walked back out to the car to drive home for a much needed siesta.

Thank goodness we had a three hour snooze in the afternoon because we'd been invited to attend their eldest daughter's graduation party from pharmacy school later that evening.

A happy family.

The next morning they drove us to their condo on the Costa Tropical in Salobreña.  They offered to let us stay there for our second week in Spain!  See what I mean when I say they are generous?

Back seat selfie.

Thank you Lopez family.  The kindness you have shown to Joe and I will never be forgotten.  We will always remember the weekend we spent with you in La Zubia.  Thank you for choosing us to exchange homes with!

Madrid, Cordoba y Sevilla

Our 10 months of waiting was finally over!  Our much anticipated trip to southern Spain was finally here.  We left Vancouver on July 18th and after 24 hours of travelling, finally landed in Madrid the following afternoon.  We had a small nap in our hotel room, but we didn't want to sleep too much or else we'd be awake all night.  We often find it best if we just plunge into the time zone we've landed in.

Madrid at night.

We found out there was a shuttle bus going from our hotel to downtown Madrid for the evening.  The only glitch?  It left the hotel at 8:30pm and wouldn't pick us up in the city centre until 12:45am.  I was a little unsure of this as I didn't know if I could stay awake that long.  But Joe said, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

So off we went to explore Madrid for a few hours.  

We wandered the backstreets of town until we came to a very loud, very crowded tapas bar.  "This is it!" said Joe.  He waded into the throng of locals, ordered 2 beers and tapas in his best high school Spanish and we were off to the races!

Joe and the locals.

The Spanish have a curious custom of throwing used napkins and toothpicks on the floor when eating and drinking at the bar.

We had a great evening wandering around Madrid.  But staying awake until the bus came to pick us up at 12:45am was very difficult for a certain someone who had been awake for a long time.  So Joe did what he does best.  He fell asleep.  On my shoulder.  On a park bench.  On a busy downtown street of Madrid.  And I did what any good wife would do.  I took a photo of him.

Travelling is so tiring...

Our next stop was Cordoba.  An ancient city full of Moorish and Roman influences.

The Mezquita, a ancient mosque-turned-cathedral.

A mere 3,000 pounds of multicolored glass and enamel cubes panel the walls and domes of the Mezquita's mosque.

The cathedral's bell tower as seen from Calle de Flores.

 Joe gazes longingly at the Iberian hams hanging in a shop window.  His dream is to smuggle one of these babies home with him, complete with the slicer stand.

The Spanish eat dinner at 10:00pm.  We happily adopted this custom.  We love going to bed with full stomachs.

Spain agrees with this guy.

Next stop, Sevilla!  A flamboyant city of bull-fighting, flamenco and tapas.  We enjoyed staying in the old Jewish Quarter for a few nights.

 Our hotel Las Casas de la Juderia.

The hotel's rooftop pool.  Joe had it all to himself one afternoon.  For about 8 minutes.

One night we luckily stumbled upon a street festival celebrating Santa Justa and Santa Rufina, the patron saints of Sevilla.

Iberian hams hang everywhere.  In bars, in shops, in restaurants.

Beautiful grilles let you look into the gorgeous courtyards and patios of Sevilla's homes.

'The Mushroom'.  Locals either love it or hate it.

A bird's eye view of colourful Sevilla.

Columbus' tomb.

Sevilla's flamenco scene is HOT HOT HOT!

The best tapas we've eaten so far was in Sevilla.  This tapa is an egg yolk on a bed of minced mushrooms sitting in a reduced wine sauce.  It was absolutely DELICIOUS!  I could have eaten ten.

It is so hot here in the summer many of the plazas and streets are shaded.

On top of 'The Mushroom'.

And that, my friends, was our first week in Spain.  

Good grief, I love this country.

You May Want To Consider Doing A House Exchange

Graffiti in the old town of Salobreña.

Not that Joe and I are home exchange experts, but we have hit the jackpot twice in a row now!  Readers of this blog will remember that last year's home exchange to England just fell out of the sky and into our laps.  A colleague's parents wanted to swap houses with someone in Squamish and we were the lucky someones!

As soon as we returned from our glorious summer in the UK, we decided to take the plunge and put our house on the home exchange website 'intervac.com'.  Our page wasn't on the website for more than a few hours and we got a lovely request from a family in southern Spain wanting to exchange houses with us for August 2014.

We checked our their place in La Zubia on the website, they checked out ours in Squamish.  An agreement was made to exchange vehicles (they drive a 2014 Land Rover but they will sadly have to make do with my 2008 Mazda 3) and airline tickets were bought immediately by both parties!

Honestly, what are you waiting for?  Check out intervac.com or any of the other home exchange websites.  There are good people out there who want to stay in your house while you stay in theirs.  It saves you a ton of money!

But the best part?  You make new friends!  We've gotten together with our English friends twice now and we were invited to their 70th birthday party when they were in Canada a couple of months ago.  And because we arrived in Spain early, the Spanish family have opened their hearts and their home to us.

So there you have it folks.  Do yourself a favour and exchange homes with another family during your next vacation.  You will not regret it.