On our very rickety and dangerous stairs there are flowers and herbs:
Saturday, May 10, 2008
In our garden
In our garden, there is Finchley:
On our very rickety and dangerous stairs there are flowers and herbs:
On our very rickety and dangerous stairs there are flowers and herbs:
A walk in Snodland (yes, that's really what it's called)
Now that the weather is better, we are going to start taking more walks. Last weekend we were joined by our friends Dan and Aurelie (unfortunately, Meg was studying for exams, but she's coming on the next one!)
We started out in Snodland (founded by Mr. Snod). We were very amused by the name and also by the beautiful papermill, which we tried to feature in this group picture, but blocked with our heads:
Proud to be from Snodland:
Ok, no more making fun of Snodland, or I'm going to get hate mail from offended Snodlanders (snort!).
It's spring and things are growing. There was a Jim growing in this field:
Some of us were having a little trouble with the hills on this walks:
But not Aurelie:
We came across a skeleton in a phone booth:
And the bluebells were looking in full bloom!
Dan found some metal:
It's always good to get to the pub. Especially when the sun is shining and you can sit outside!
Dan brought Kinder Eggs. They are so fun!Jim got a Mexican hermit crab, which was appropriate for Cinco de Mayo:
After lunch we had a rest in park for about fifteen minutes, then we saw this gnome house:
THis was an interesting piece of equipment. Dad probably knows what it is:
Another rest in a clover field, where we listened to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean and made clover chains:
A lot of time was spent photographing this tank.
Good times! We have some video footage oft he day, but have to get permission from others involved before posting it. Dan can sing Billy Jean.
We started out in Snodland (founded by Mr. Snod). We were very amused by the name and also by the beautiful papermill, which we tried to feature in this group picture, but blocked with our heads:
Proud to be from Snodland:
Ok, no more making fun of Snodland, or I'm going to get hate mail from offended Snodlanders (snort!).
It's spring and things are growing. There was a Jim growing in this field:
Some of us were having a little trouble with the hills on this walks:
But not Aurelie:
We came across a skeleton in a phone booth:
And the bluebells were looking in full bloom!
Dan found some metal:
It's always good to get to the pub. Especially when the sun is shining and you can sit outside!
Dan brought Kinder Eggs. They are so fun!Jim got a Mexican hermit crab, which was appropriate for Cinco de Mayo:
After lunch we had a rest in park for about fifteen minutes, then we saw this gnome house:
THis was an interesting piece of equipment. Dad probably knows what it is:
Another rest in a clover field, where we listened to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean and made clover chains:
A lot of time was spent photographing this tank.
Good times! We have some video footage oft he day, but have to get permission from others involved before posting it. Dan can sing Billy Jean.
Malaga
Our last evening was spent in Malaga, which is a very popular place with the British tourists. As soon as we got within range of Malaga, all of the radio stations were in English. One of the most amusing stations was one that was for Britains living in Spain and emphasized being proud to be English in Spain.
We weren't super impressed with Malaga, but we did like where we stayed, which was a small hotel that had been a monastary in its past life and was run by a very nice and funky French couple. We stayed in a small green room:
We did a little wandering around, but didn't really do much in Malaga. Jim wasn't up for trekking around after his morning of being forced to slosh through rain and mud to take a picture of me waving from the top of a tower. Here are a few pictures from around the city:
The windows on this building were cool:
And thus ends my blogging about our trip to Spain.
We weren't super impressed with Malaga, but we did like where we stayed, which was a small hotel that had been a monastary in its past life and was run by a very nice and funky French couple. We stayed in a small green room:
We did a little wandering around, but didn't really do much in Malaga. Jim wasn't up for trekking around after his morning of being forced to slosh through rain and mud to take a picture of me waving from the top of a tower. Here are a few pictures from around the city:
The windows on this building were cool:
And thus ends my blogging about our trip to Spain.
Ronda
On the way to Ronda, we met a horse.
And saw some spectacular views.
To get to Ronda, we had to drive through mountainous terrain. The mountains were dotted with little Spanish villages, which we could see off in the distance and the wildflowers were beautiful.
Ronda is known for it's Matadors and it's gorge, which runs through the middle of the city and can be seen from various perches up above. We were staying in a very cool hotel at the bottom of the village, so when we wanted to go into town we had to walk up a steep hill through the historic ruins. In Spain they aren't so concerned about safety, so we could climb up on walls and to the top of towers without anyone caring or stopping us. It was pretty cool.
Our very aromatherapeutic room:
Roman ruins:
Our hotel from above:
The gorge:
My very own matador!
We had dinner at our restaurant (the other one that tied for best meal of the trip). It was Morrocan inspired food again and I had shrimp tanjine. Our table was pulled up to a couch, where I was pretty comfortable. Jim took this picture from the stairs above:
My tanjine! It was seriously good!
This is Jim's interpretation of what he thinks he looks like when he's posing for a picture. HAH!
The next day it was raining, but it was our last full day in Spain, so we decided to brave the weather and wander around Ronda a little more. We started with the Roman baths next to our hotel:
There was a pretty interesting movie (in Spanish), which explained how the baths used to work. Fortunately it was animated, too, so it didn't matter that we couldn't understand anything else.
Jim was a little reluctant to partake in the next project, because of the rain, but I insisted that I run to the top of the ancient tower again and pose at the French soldier from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (Someday we will actually go to the North of England where it was filmed and run around on the hills with coconuts, but for now we have to settle for places that look similar).
Sadly, we had to leave Ronda for Malaga, which was our last stop before heading back to London again.
And saw some spectacular views.
To get to Ronda, we had to drive through mountainous terrain. The mountains were dotted with little Spanish villages, which we could see off in the distance and the wildflowers were beautiful.
Ronda is known for it's Matadors and it's gorge, which runs through the middle of the city and can be seen from various perches up above. We were staying in a very cool hotel at the bottom of the village, so when we wanted to go into town we had to walk up a steep hill through the historic ruins. In Spain they aren't so concerned about safety, so we could climb up on walls and to the top of towers without anyone caring or stopping us. It was pretty cool.
Our very aromatherapeutic room:
Roman ruins:
Our hotel from above:
The gorge:
My very own matador!
We had dinner at our restaurant (the other one that tied for best meal of the trip). It was Morrocan inspired food again and I had shrimp tanjine. Our table was pulled up to a couch, where I was pretty comfortable. Jim took this picture from the stairs above:
My tanjine! It was seriously good!
This is Jim's interpretation of what he thinks he looks like when he's posing for a picture. HAH!
The next day it was raining, but it was our last full day in Spain, so we decided to brave the weather and wander around Ronda a little more. We started with the Roman baths next to our hotel:
There was a pretty interesting movie (in Spanish), which explained how the baths used to work. Fortunately it was animated, too, so it didn't matter that we couldn't understand anything else.
Jim was a little reluctant to partake in the next project, because of the rain, but I insisted that I run to the top of the ancient tower again and pose at the French soldier from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (Someday we will actually go to the North of England where it was filmed and run around on the hills with coconuts, but for now we have to settle for places that look similar).
Sadly, we had to leave Ronda for Malaga, which was our last stop before heading back to London again.
The coast
After a busy week, I'm back to the blog. Hopefully I'll get through the Spain adventures this weekend.
In Tarifa, we stayed in Casa Amarilla (the yellow house), which was a self-catering apartment along the main street.
Tarifa is known for it's wind and is also on the Southern tip of Spain, so we could see Africa off in the distance. We wanted to go to Morroco, and actually were about to get on the ferry when it broke down due to "technical difficulties." So, we decided to refund our tickets and do something else, rather than sit around waiting for a ferry that may or may not leave the port. We'll just have to go to Africa some other time.
Jim with Africa in the background:
Spain has lots of windmills and solar panels. You can barely see the windmills up on the mountain in the background.
Kite surfing and windsurfing are big in Tarifa. There were some pretty amazing kites on the beach and Jim and I had flashbacks to Dad's giant kite in North Carolina. Next time we fly that one, we want to get a kite skateboard and go rolling down the beach.
Our room (with a kitchenette):
The Tarifa market wasn't that impressive...except for the fish!
It is obvious why I felt compelled to have my picture taken with this sign:
This was the cutest dog in Spain! He hangs out at a cafe where we got coffee one morning. He was cross eyed and really reminded us of Buster.
After our first day in Tarifa, we decided we needed a break from the surfer/hippy attitude so we took our rental car and drove about 20 minutes down the road in search of some sand dunes. The drive was really beautiful (as usual):
And the beach and dunes were unbelievable. There were a few local fisherman on the beach but very few other tourists and no one else up on the dune. We walked along the beach and then cut through the woods for a while before ended up on the dunes:
Sand dunes are one of Jim's favorite things!
The view from the top of the dunes:
Back on the beach we were wishing it was a little warmer:
Back in Tarifa, the young people were chillin outside of the church.
We had worked up an appetite, so we went to eat at this DELICIOUS RESTAURANT (it tied for best restaurant of the trip). If you go to Tarifa, you should definitely go here:
I was excited about my meal!
We were getting close to the end of our trip, but still had Ronda and Malaga to go!
In Tarifa, we stayed in Casa Amarilla (the yellow house), which was a self-catering apartment along the main street.
Tarifa is known for it's wind and is also on the Southern tip of Spain, so we could see Africa off in the distance. We wanted to go to Morroco, and actually were about to get on the ferry when it broke down due to "technical difficulties." So, we decided to refund our tickets and do something else, rather than sit around waiting for a ferry that may or may not leave the port. We'll just have to go to Africa some other time.
Jim with Africa in the background:
Spain has lots of windmills and solar panels. You can barely see the windmills up on the mountain in the background.
Kite surfing and windsurfing are big in Tarifa. There were some pretty amazing kites on the beach and Jim and I had flashbacks to Dad's giant kite in North Carolina. Next time we fly that one, we want to get a kite skateboard and go rolling down the beach.
Our room (with a kitchenette):
The Tarifa market wasn't that impressive...except for the fish!
It is obvious why I felt compelled to have my picture taken with this sign:
This was the cutest dog in Spain! He hangs out at a cafe where we got coffee one morning. He was cross eyed and really reminded us of Buster.
After our first day in Tarifa, we decided we needed a break from the surfer/hippy attitude so we took our rental car and drove about 20 minutes down the road in search of some sand dunes. The drive was really beautiful (as usual):
And the beach and dunes were unbelievable. There were a few local fisherman on the beach but very few other tourists and no one else up on the dune. We walked along the beach and then cut through the woods for a while before ended up on the dunes:
Sand dunes are one of Jim's favorite things!
The view from the top of the dunes:
Back on the beach we were wishing it was a little warmer:
Back in Tarifa, the young people were chillin outside of the church.
We had worked up an appetite, so we went to eat at this DELICIOUS RESTAURANT (it tied for best restaurant of the trip). If you go to Tarifa, you should definitely go here:
I was excited about my meal!
We were getting close to the end of our trip, but still had Ronda and Malaga to go!
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