Our Andalusian Adventure

The end of 2019 finished with a wonderful whirlwind visit to the UK to see our family and friends,we wrapped up warm and had a great few days catching up.

We hurried home on NYE and caught a 5pm flight back to Malaga, after all we could miss the New year's eve celebrations. So, we rushed home put on our 'glad rags' and made it to the bar by 10pm, winning! The bar had a singer on and everyone was up dancing.

New Year's Day was supposed to be a day to do nothing but like many days in Spain things happen impromptu and we were invited to lunch by the lake. We gladly accepted and had a wonderful meal taking in the impressive view.

Next up was Los Reyes Magos (3 Kings) for those who don't know this day is huge its bigger than Christmas for the Spaniards. There is a parade through the town and campo and then a finale at the Ayuntamiento (town hall) Hot chocolate and cake is handed out - all free of course and then the Kings make there way up the balcony so they can throw 100's of sweets for the children. Most children take a couple of carrier bags, that's how many sweets there are!

All went back to normal for a couple of days before my BIG birthday (40) on the 10th of Jan, i was surprised with a visit from my best friend for the weekend and we all went to the beautiful Bbou hotel Cortijo Bravo for a meal and over night stay. A fantastic way to celebrate my birthday, made truly memorable topped with a trip to the Hammam in Malaga centre. It's my second visit and i would definitely recommend it. Ultra relaxing and filled with history.

January ended with a sprinkling of snow on the hills, this was definitely unexpected and didnt stay around for long. It was all gone by the time the grandparents arrived in preparation for Chloe's 9th birthday. She requested a party for all her friends so we decided on a party at home. Being February luckily the weather was on our side and all the children could play outside, although unbelievably it was a bit too hot and they spent most of the time in the shade!

After all the excitement of the party we started to get ready for our much anticipated trip, we booked a stay at the ski resort Sierra Nevada. All very excited it was our first time visiting and our first attempt ski-ing! What made it even better was that our friends from the UK were flying over to try it out for the weekend too! We all fell in love some more than others with the ski-ing but the whole experience was fantastic. Being only 1hr 50mins in the car made it another huge bonus for us.

As the news of Coronavirus started filtering through more and more, we couldn't wait for our first family holiday since emigrating to begin. The girls have a half term break at the end of February so we booked to go to Fuerteventura, only a 2 hr flight away and stay at the Barcelo hotel Castillo Beach resort. We got upgraded and had a bungalow right on the beach. We stayed all inclusive for 7 nts and made the most of all the delicious food on offer. We were pleasantly surprised by the glorious weather and even managed to spend alot of time in the swimming pool. One day we hired a car and explored the island more and headed north stopping off at the Corralejo dunes. Wow, what a stunning place! Beautiful white sand and turquoise waters, the girls tried their hand at surfing but i think a few lessons are required... Staying at a Hotel is great but there's nothing like getting out and discovering gems like this. It was the highlight of the trip! Refreshed and a few pounds heavier we were all ready to go home., That's the thing when you live in a holiday destiantion you don't get the holiday blues as much.

Once home our attention was fully on the Coronavirus situation and to be honest we were relieved we got home safe and sound. Following this it wasn't long at all before we were in lockdown. This really was a challenging time especially for the children who wasn't allowed to leave the house for 6 weeks!!! I was grateful that we had a garden and that we had a dog. Having a dog meant that we could walk the dog once a day and living on the edge of a national park meant we could safely disappear into the woods. We made sure we all joined in with the Joe Wicks PE lesson everyday, played lots of tennis against the wall -when it wasn't raining. That was the other thing we had the worst weather during March and April, it made things very difficult. Made lots of cakes and pies, even joined in with the daily art class online. The hardest part was that here the girls had to continue with schooling via zoom classes and Google classroom. They had to complete all the work and upload it to the deadline given. This in itself was a full time job for me organising and ensuring all work was uploaded in time. I did help my Spanish though 

By the 1st of May we were all allowed 1 hour of freedom per day and it was warm enough to go in the pool!

The third week of May came and this meant that we could start socialising in small groups again, after 9 weeks this was so needed! By the end of May we could acutally go to a restaurant! And at the start of June our bars started opening in our village, hooray!

Once we were back using the pool fully it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the work that needed doing, ultimately it needed draining and regrouting and re filling. It became a race against time as once June begins the town hall ban all refilling of pools due to water shortages. The worst problem was how to empty it or more to the point where were we to put the water. Lets just say a garden nearby which was brown is now very green. Our great builder friend Nacho Martin carried out the work and once completed the pool looked wonderful, like new even! Consequently since then it was so much easier to clean and takes half the time. We were very pleased that we made the decision to get it done and got to enjoy the refreshing crystal clean water for the rest of the summer. 

Wow, i knew i hadn't blogged in a while but i never thought it was 15 months ago!

I'm sorry i've been absent and i hope to make it more regular now... This feels quite daunting as alot has happened in this time and it might make my brain hurt trying to remember everything!

It's probably best to start by stating that all is good, we are still in gorgeous Andalucia and still loving it! Even though while i am writing this it is pouring with rain and it hasnt stopped since yesterday but we so need it, it's been a very dry year!

So here we go i'm going to try and summarise our life since October 2019 but it will be in installments.

I think the easiest way for me to remember is to look back through my Instagram, which by the way is @dannidoes if anyone wants to keep uptodate on our adventures.

Making the most of the fabulous weather for All Saints Day 2019 (1st Nov) we took a trip to one of our favourite local beaches Burriana playa, it was a incredible 28 degrees and we all enjoyed relaxing and trying to spot the odd dolphin.  Burriana is part of Nerja and has a nice choice of restaurants and shops including a very famous Paella restaurant 'Ayo' where for 8 euro you can eat as much as you want 

Burriana Playa

They have three huge paella pans where many people will stop and watch them create this wonderful dish with wood fire underneath. A great atmosphere for a yummy sunday afternoon lunch. The other great thing about Burriana is the sea, it has the most beautiful turquoise water and if you take a kayak around to Maro you will find a hidden waterfall full of marine life. As you can imagine a very popular place with limited parking best visitied out of peak season.

The remainder of the month was spent riding bikes around the lake (lake vinuela), writing christmas lists, dog walking, a school trip to the Science Park in Granada which Chloe enjoyed and at the end a trip to el Corte Ingles for Christmas inspiration. The shop was decorated beautifully and i added to our Christmas bauble collection 

Lake Vineula

I almost forgot November also included 'Ruta de Tapa' where local bars and restaurants compete to win the best tapa award. You are given a leaflet with all the bars and their tapa. The cost is 2 euro for a drink (beer) and a tapa once eaten you must score it out of a 5. You have 3 days to go to every bar and give your score. This was our first and we loved it! Our favourite was created by Manolo at Meson El Ciervo and it was a slow cooked deer on a mushroom with cheese and a little rice with a gravy. Delicioso!!!! Needless to say they won the competition and the prize is your weight in beer! Among other things. We cannot wait for the next one, most villages also do their own so we will be have to go along to theirs too and show our support 

December arrived and its funny because December starts to feel like a second spring, we have the odd day of rain and lots of wild flowers appear and what was brown is now green with grass, its quite hard to get your head around.

As there is no october half term in Spain the 2 day bank holiday at the beginning of December is most welcome! Time to relax and not think about school or homework!

Next was Olivia's 12th birthday and this year we went to the Escape rooms in Benalmadena 'Prison Island' she took 2 friends and they were 1 team and Paul, Chloe and 1 were on another. We had a great time, great physical and mental exercise and all came out ravenous. Another beautiful sunny day, so we headed to the large park with a playground, birds and a lake (i can't remember the name!) It was alot of fun and only a hours drive away.

The following day we put up the tree and awaited the arrival of the g'parents for Olivia's actual birthday on the 12th. They had a great week here and were blessed with good weather. Finished off with a trip to our favourite Steak place Venta el Charco, fantastic steak and trimmings with wonderful views of La Maroma 

After Olivia's birthday its always full steam ahead into Christmas, with many school shows and nativities. Alcaucin puts on a lovely Nativity with a donkey and all the characters including a bull - well it is Spain! And of course the girls had to have a little donkey ride!

Just before Christmas we headed to Malaga for the annual Christmas light and music show in Calle Larios. It's becoming a bit of a tradition now. This year we went with some friends and enjoyed a cocktail on the roof top bar over looking the port, this was a real treat if you could find a seat 

Christmas day was fab, we ate outside and made the most of the weather.

Boxing day we got out and had a lovely walk around Lake Vinuela, Ted especially enjoyed this with a play in the water! Chloe and i even got our feet wet too! A good walk finished off with turkey and stuffing sandwiches, heaven!

A great way to say goodbye to our home as we would then be flying back to the UK for a few days to see family and friends