Where are we?: Germany
countries Visited: 9
Days on the Road: 111

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Spain Holiday Home


View from the Front Patio!



Before leaving for Spain I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a website that offered furnished places for travelers to stay that were much more homey then a hostel or a hotel!

I wanted a place close to the ocean but also one away from the big cities! I really wanted to force myself to learn as much Spanish as I could and staying away from larger cities is a good way to ensure that most people do not speak English!

I found a wonderful place in the San Javier region of Murcia, Spain. Its a 2 bedroom (3 beds and a pull out couch) 1 bathroom, fully equipped kitchen and a AMAZING roof top patio! It is exactly what the pictures describe, and I couldn't have been happier with my stay!


The cost in the low season was nice and cheap, and the owners made us feel so welcome, even inviting us over for a BBQ our first weekend here in San Javier!


The area is nice but in its low season it can be pretty quiet! I didn't find that a problem though because there is a local bus not but a 2 minute walk from the house that will take you over to the next door cities like Catagena and Murcia for under 4 Euros!


The walks along the beach up into San Pedro are calming and beautiful, and you can take a ferry over to La Manga for the day not but a 20 Minute walk from the house! Walking in the main street of San Javier you can see many local fish markets, and tapas restaurants, traditional Spanish bars and even a few English Pubs if you need a taste of home! 


The beds are comfy, the house is warm, the roof top patio has an incredible view, you can save money by using the full kitchen to cook your own meals, and really just enjoy all the comforts of home...away from home!

If your looking for an awesome Spanish experience with a wonderful place to stay check out the links bellow and get booking!

xxx

Spanish Holiday!!!!!



Wednesday, February 20, 2013

4000 views!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!




I cant believe that we have made it to 4000 views already!Thanks so much to everyone who reads and enjoys or reads and doesn't enjoy the sometimes long winded tales about the adventures of our travels.The love and support from everyone is appreciated so much! the comments, questions, criticisms and opinions are received with open arms, hearts and minds!

As Promised we will be doing a contest for one of my favorite Pastry books that will be coming up at the end of next week! 

There will be a question and all you have to do is leave the answer in the comment box below the blog entry (to come later next week). 

Thank you once again for helping me take the first step towards my dream of being paid to see the world...although I m not paid yet...maybe in the future! But for now Hasta Pronto from Spain and don't forget to check back for the contest question! 

xxx 
Kristen


..........yes I drew the picture myself .....and no its not for sale, I am quite the artist, I know!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Carnival- The Kick off!

HAPPY CARNIVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been here in Spain a little over a month now and have managed to make a small group of friends. This past Saturday was the kick off evening for CARNIVAL! So we decided to get our little group out dancing together!

 We went to a little bar on a cobble stone strip that had about 4 other bars on it...efficiently known as "bar street". A tip if you ever want to go out dancing in Spain, do not go till well after midnight, we made this mistake and got there about 11:30pm and ended up being the only 6 people dancing for about an hour(but we really didnt mind...the space to dance was freeing). At about 1am the people started pouring in the bar! Some in costumes and some just dressed to impress! We danced the night away and then waited about an hour for a cab...it was freezing...but being Canadian we didnt want to admidt to our new Spanish friends that we were cold!!

A wonderful kick off to Carnival! I wonder what the rest of the week has in store!

Stay Tuned!





Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Rock of Gibraltar....and Monkeys











Anyone that knows me knows I love monkeys. I mean, who wouldn’t? So having
the opportunity to come face to face with one is a dream come true. You would
think after the week Kristen and I had, we would want to go home and rest. Not us
though, one more adventure won’t kill us, although we did come close.

Gibraltar is a tiny piece of land on the southern most point of Spain, but in fact
it is not part of Spain, it is a British colony, which becomes painfully obvious the
second you step over the border.

We rented a tour van and headed up the rock. Now my only concern was seeing
the monkeys, but there are lots of other positive points in Gibraltar. Our driver,
who clearly had been at this a while, drove quickly up the steep narrow roads. This
ladies and gentleman is the part where I say we came close to dying. There was no
barrier or fence, only a small divider between us, and a very long way down!

Our first stop is a lookout point, where you can see both Spain, and Morocco. So
there we are, Kristen and I standing in the only place in the world where you can
see 3 different countries. The feeling is hard to explain, it’s like knowing you are
part of something epic, it stops your heart, and makes you want to laugh, and cry
all at the same time. For me it was the moment I truly knew we were blessed to be
on this journey together.

Ok enough with the sappy crap, on to the monkeys! We were taken to St.
Michael’s cave, a deep dark, wet crevice in the rock that is stunning, and well, just
really cool. At this point there are monkeys, but they seem to be very uninterested
in us. Well except for the big one that made a beeline for our van when we opened
our door, but I think he was more interested in our bananas.

Further up the rock we find our monkeys! A small family that is more than
happy to interact with us. When we get there, there are several people already
there, and the monkeys are jumping, and climbing all over them. Now as I said,
I love monkeys, but I sure as hell don’t want one to jump on me! The thought
is terrifying, so Kristen and I stand back and watch, and eventually get up the

courage to play with one, a very small one. The little baby let us hold his hand, and
pet him slightly, but got a bit testy when he realized we did not bring him food.
Monkeys are fickle creatures it would seem.

So what next? What do you do when you have fulfilled your lifelong dream? Our
tour guide Ben said it best; “You make more dreams!”

Many more dreams to come!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Morocco is only a Ferry ride away!














After leaving Sevilla, we took the bus down to Tarifa. It was only a little over
2 hours away, and Spain’s windsurfing capital. I do not know how to windsurf;
I doubt that Kristen does, although to be fair I didn’t ask her, this was not
however, the point of our journey.

From Tarifa it is only a short ferry ride to Tanger, Morocco, on the African
continent. We had heard many wonderful things about Morocco, like the
beautiful cities of Fez, and Casablanca, and overnight camel rides into the
dessert in Marrakesh, but this time around Tanger was our goal.

Having also heard a lot of bad things, like it is not safe for woman, and
everyone is out to scam you, we were a bit nervous, which is why when Hasan,
a native Tanger man asked to be our guide, we gladly agreed. It was a good
thing too, Morocco may be only a ferry ride away, but it might as well be a life
time.

So off we go, with Hasan, round the ancient and small streets of Tangers that
is more like a labyrinth. He showed us Mosques, and bakeries, men making
handmade mosaics, and 800 year old trees. Did I mention it was pouring rain? I
should mention that it was pouring rain, but we had gotten used to it
in Lisboa, so no problem.

We went to an indoor market that had meat fish, fruits and vegetable. We
bought dates, and oranges, and olives and bananas, never spending over 5
Euros. Kristen even had a little rendezvous with a fish ;) We were then invited
in for mint tea, while a carpet salesman showed us the beautiful handmade
rugs. Next was a medicinal/ spice shop that has cures for whatever ails ya, we
got saffron and a wonderful smelling Moroccan spice for chicken. Then off for a
wonderful lunch at a restaurant I would never be able to find again if I tried.

Now all the while we are being paraded around the streets the men are
whistling, and saying hello, and even yelling, making us giggle, laugh,
and sometimes cringe. My friend Kechura had it right when she said “Watch
out for those Moroccan men, they love Canadian girls!” I think you would never
have low self esteem in Tanger.

So we are full, and satisfied, and a wee bit too happy about having now half
a dozen stamps on our passport. We board the ferry again, and return to our
beloved Spain. Hasta luego Morocco, until next time.