Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
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27
May
2011
Holiday on Spain’s Almerian Coast, family style
Right next door to the Costa del Sol is not where I expected to find a relatively quiet beach side town and an almost entirely foreigner free population, however on our recent Easter holiday to the coast of Almería in Andalusia I was surprised to find myself holidaying mostly, in fact almost exclusively, with Spanish families.
Palm Trees and Swimming Pool an child-friendly 15 metres from the beach
The winding streets of Mojácar
While Spain’s ubiquitous coastal developments do line much of the Almerian coast, smaller communities without high-rise or sprawling apartment developments can be found if you look carefully enough. In the small resort of Puerto Rey, where we stayed, stylish houses with white washed walls set behind bright right red bougainvilleas line the path to the beach. There are no rows of British and German bars.
Desert Scenery of Almeria, Andalusia, Spain
The bright flowers and green lawns of the towns close to the beach contrast with the surrounding desert landscapes and in the background of this particular area the omnipresent Mojácar, a Moorish hilltop fortress, reminds the visitor of the long Arab occupation of the region, influences of which can be seen and enjoyed throughout Andalusia.
29
Oct
2010
The perfect little Spanish city
Oviedo is a stunning small city in the North of Spain. It’s the capital of the province of Asturias, a beautiful area of green pastures and rocky mountains. The city is also not far from a patch of coast that boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe and perhaps the world, allowing some residents to claim they have had days of surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon. Which would obviously require surfing in the kind of temperatures that make you wonder if you these people are dedicated or just mad.
If you’ve never looked at travelling to the North of Spain but Oviedo is ringing some bells – it may be that you heard of it watching Woody Allen’s film, ‘Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona’ in which it features fairly heavily. Allen’s a passionate fan and the town has returned the love by placing a bronze statue of him in one of the city’s many pedestrian streets around the centre. He joins an impressive and varied selection of statues that dot the city’s centre and includes the gorgeous “La Maternidad” by Botero. As well as an excellent example of loved and appreciated public art, La Maternidad’s substantial, exposed derrier gives children plenty of entertainment. At any given moment there is a small child giggling and pointing. Ah, bottoms. They’re pure comedy.
2
Sep
2010
Spanish Wedding – Medieval style (Architecturally Speaking – not dress up as Buxom Wench speaking)
This weekend I went to a wedding in the lovely, picturesque town of Ayllón en Segovia. It´s only an hour from Madrid and the area is dotted with other, equally delightful little towns (Riaza is worth a stop). We discovered you can still walk into a little tavern in a fortress wall or looking over a medieval plaza as the bullfighting plays on the television (or indeed, if you go at the right time, the town’s bullfighting or running of the bulls festival might actuall be going on live in the plaza) and buy a beer for one euro. And you thought Spain was all beaches and 15 euro cocktails.
The wedding venue, The Cloisters of Ayllón, was breathtaking. These are the kind of ruins you find all over Spain – there are so many medieval castles and ruins people literally don’t know what to do with them. The volume is simply too big for a National Trust type scheme to meet the task of restoring them all. (The government runs Paradors as part of a conservation plan – historical buildings converted in to affordable hotels and you really should stay in at least one if you visit Spain).
30
Jul
2010
Beach Babe
Like the rest of Spain, we’re on holiday at the beach. It’s our first beach holiday with a child. He’s 13 months, still can’t walk, weighs about 11kg and still likes to crawl all over his parents at every opportunity. The beach does not enhance this experience.
Here’s some stuff you might not know if you haven’t tried to go with a baby or small toddler yet.
- Your days of lying back on a sand controlled towel are over (an arsenal of toys will not make any difference). Babies and toddlers will not sit quietly in the shade, on a towel, playing with toys. What they will in fact do is crawl directly off designated sand free zone and bring back a substantial amount of the stuff with them.
- You’re not cool anymore. Face it, there is NO WAY on this earth to go to the beach packed like a camel – carrying change bag, toys, bucket and spade, water, baby food, umbrella, towels, and more (am sure Kate has the definitive spreadsheet somewhere of all the things one should take to the beach) AND carry an 11kg baby all the while walking on hot sand AND look cool. You are the stereotypical parent of every hip single’s nightmare. Don’t attempt to fool anyone. If you’re not loaded up like a cartless gypsy, every other parent will be smugly aware that you are either at the beach for five minutes or about to face down a disaster.
27
Jul
2010
Travelling with kids – part two, into the inferno.
So I think it would be fair to say that we have covered airplane travel relatively comprehensively (if by comprehensive you mean in a kind of crappy yet witty and insightful way here , here and here) but there is always the other bit – when you actually get there. Oh yes, the holiday itself. I’ve just been on one and although I know most things in the world, as I’ve mentioned before, a far cleverer friend than me says that every time you travel you learn a new thing about travelling with your children. I think she might be right. Plus, she’s a lot taller than me, and currently about 11 months pregnant, so I usually agree with most things she says, lest she clout me over the ear. Anyway – some tips….
- Most importantly – do it. Travel. Get out there. Most places can be done with kids. Unless it’s a twenty two star adults only resort. Don’t take kids there – unless you plan to hide them in your room the whole time. But that might be a bit boring. Even if they do like DVDs.
12
Jul
2010
First world problems
I am sorry to say that I am coming to you live from the outdoor sofa of our villa in Ibiza. A good part of this afternoon was spent lounging on a beach bed ordering white sangria (who knew that such a joyful drink existed?) and dipping in and out of the ocean pretending that my bottom looked EXACTLY like the Brazilian teenager’s on the beach bed in front of me – it doesn’t, which is quite shattering. There have been some other significant downsides to the holiday thus far:
- The supermarket was closed tonight on our way home from the beach. We had to settle for pizzas from the local pizzeria up the road. Which meant no cleaning up which I really enjoy on holiday.
- Son has a puncture in his floatie. Spending a fair bit of time swimming in circles as a result. Doesn’t seem to notice which is a little worrying.
- Due to lack of willingness on my part to spend a lot of time cooking, baby daughter has had same thing to eat for three days in a row and surprisingly still seems unkeen on couscous with steamed broccoli. Fusspot.
13
May
2010
The El Gordo Sing-along
There was a lot of excitement regarding the Euro millions largest ever 86 million pound jackpot last week. And sure, that’s an impressive lottery, but I don’t think anything can compare to the pomp, ceremony, tradition and downright oddness of Spain’s annual Christmas lottery – El Gordo (The Fat One).
It’s not just that it’s the biggest lottery in the world, hitting 2 billion euro last year, or the oldest (starting in 1812), for me it’s really about the sheer hysteria, complete media saturation, and best of all, the singing results, televised every year on December 22 and considered as much a part of Christmas as presents under the tree.
You read that correctly. Singing results. School children work in teams of two to sing out the winning number while another sings out its corresponding prize amount. There are a lot of draws in this lottery. Perhaps hundreds of 1000 euro wins, several fifth, fourth and third prize draws and then the two big first and second prize draws. That’s a lot of singing. There’s just the one tune. Well I guess it’s kind of more like a cantation. Each year, school children across the country are carefully selected and trained for this very special task, and a day of high drama and complex number sequences which must fit snugly into a given stanza.*
9
May
2010
The Land of Limbo – expats and why I am not a spoilt brat. Most of the time.
This is one from the wedding snaps. Not really.
There is a feeling familiar to many expats – well, at least those who have not committed to being an ex-expat, i.e., committing to living in the one country forever, they are usually happy with their choice (and keen to tell you about it, may I mention in a totally non-snipey way). For the rest of us? It’s often the land of limbo baby.
The most common discussion amongst expats, almost from the moment you get off the plane in your adopted country is – ‘How long are you here for?’ ‘How long do you think you’ll stay?’ ‘When do you think you’ll head home?’ ‘Do you think you’ll be here for good?’ And many other equally same-same-but-different-questions.
These questions come from many places – from other expats eager to know if you are staying to keep them company (hello London friends); other locals keen to see you leave (hello everyone who wants a place in my nursery); family who would like their grandchildren to stay put forever (hello mother-in-law); family who would like their grandchildren returned to them (hello mother); friends who want you to come to their weddings (hello increasingly impatient friends on all sides of the world); and people who may or may not want to employ you based on your answer (umm, hello all future employers. This whole post is actually made up.)
6
May
2010
An (almost) local’s guide to Madrid
One of our readers contacted us last week to ask about my take on the ‘must sees’ in Madrid. I wait around most of my days waiting for someone to ask me to tell them what I think, so, naturally, I’m delighted. It’s with no small amount of chest puffing and grinning then, that I bring you my personal guide to Madrid.
Madrid is a wonderful city to be a tourist. Everything you would want to see is in a fairly compact area. The central area of Madrid is full of truly stunning buildings, plazas and fountains that you must see. The underground and bus systems are a dream, even for non-Spanish speakers. Walking the streets is an absolute pleasure on almost every day of the year. Even in the cold of winter Madrid is characterised by impossibly blue, sunny skies.
I started writing this post with a great deal of detail only to find I was not even one fifth of the way through my recommendations and already at a 1000 words. So I give you bullet points, for both our benefits. Certainly there’s room for greater brevity, but it was never my strong point, as you may have noticed from previous posts.
19
Apr
2010
One Last One on Long Haul Flights with Kids
I realise we may have written quite a few posts on the long haul flight with kids theme but you really can’t talk about this topic enough, given the trauma involved. For those obliged to, or choosing to commit the insanity that is the Europe-Australia 30 hour long-haul flight with infant, you can never be prepared or forewarned enough. Besides, I feel like I’m suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder and I need to talk about it. They say talking helps. And alcohol. Someone pass me a whisky.
I only barely boarded the flight back to The Continent. I swore to my husband, who returned to Madrid from Australia two weeks before me, that I could not make the flight back alone with Monkey — and that I would see him back in Europe in several months time, once my two month boat cruise with ample deck space, luxury suite, child care facilities and daily stopovers had docked in the nearest seaport to Madrid. While I surprised myself by actually taking my return flight and completing it without throwing myself out of the window or having a complete mental meltdown (although there was a small meltdown, with tears), I have some very serious caveats on recommending anyone ever attempt this stunt alone and most certainly before I will repeat it myself.
