Costa Blanca durante dos semnanas

With Richard (Jackies dad) and Elizabeth in Altea-La-Vella, Spain

Brian did finally get the wiring done for Denise, though it was quite fiddly so took longer than expected. It still left us time to drive to the Fleur de Lys in Lowsonford where we did a nice 4 mile walk before eating one of their deservedly famous, steak and kidney, pies (see our Relive video with photos: click here).

Watching sunset on the terrace with a GnT, the sun setting through the pointed peak of Puig Campana. We have stood on that very point in the past 

Sunday we packed, thought we’d better get round to it as we were off to the airport at 07.00 on Monday morning. An easy flight and we arrived in Alicante, Spain, actually getting through, moments before father arrived to collect us. Timing or what?

After a splendid fish lunch at a restaurant in Calpe with the Penon in the background. The next day we climbed to the top of that...

Our weather has been much better than the U.K. weather, though we have had about 5 minutes rain and it has been slightly breezy on and off. We’ve seen some amazing footage of the river in Arbroath we walked beside though where they had much rain!

And looked down on where we'd been. We were in the harbour area where there are lots of fabulous seafood restaurants

It’s been par for the course here, lots of eating, drinking, reading and relaxing. Unusually for me I’ve been trying to get a tan, just so my legs aren’t white for the cruise! Brian has been for a couple of runs, we’ve done a couple of walks. Firstly we went to the Bernia Ridge and walked to the fort, where it was surprisingly windy, but a nice enough walk (see our Relive video with photos: click here). Secondly we walked up the Penon in Calpe, at a great rate of knots, till we got slowed down by all the other people who also thought it was a good idea (see our Relive video with photos: click here). We followed this with a little walk along the Mascarat Gorge which was very pretty, and interesting, taking us under the old and new road bridges and the railway bridge, though we weren’t in time to watch the people bridge swinging! (see our Relive video with photos: click here)

The walk up involves a section through a cave

We’ve had some lovely meals, both out and at home and put our livers in training for the cruise. We may be on celery and water for three weeks when we get back! We had dinner out with Sue, after drinks with her and Trevor, and met Dagmar and Michael for coffee this morning.

And up a long path to the summit, just in view to the right

Yesterday we went into Alicante to the Marq, the archeological museum, where they have an exhibition of the Terracotta Army, from China. Very well laid out, and informative, we were all very impressed. So we’ve even had some culture! We followed this by lunch at the beach for a thoroughly enjoyable day out.

A few years ago we did a rock climb up here, starting down there by the harbour and finishing up here

Time has flown by and Brian’s photos will hopefully tell much more of a story.

On the summit (with a few other people!)

Back down on the beach in Calpe looking back up the Penon

Zooming in you can see there are still lots of people on the summit. Now look again towards the bottom right corner and you might just see a rock climber. He's in white and is just above a bush heading up the last pitch. Zoom in a little more if you can't see him, he's definitely there

Second walk of the day, this one into the Mascarat Gorge. This lies directly on the Greenwich meridian (zero degrees longituide) and is an active fault line on two tectonic plates, last earthquake in 1989. When it rain here (not very often) a river can flow here which has worked through the fault line creating an impressive gorge. The stone bridge in front was the original bridge (now blocked off), the one behind the newer road bridge and the last one is the railway bridge. There are people who, illegally, set up ropes between the old and new road bridges and swing down between them. As we drove over they were just removing the ropes, so we'd just missed them. It would have made a great photograph! 

Further up and we're under the railway bridge with a huge trapped boulder balanced above us 

Further still and it gets narrow. There's another trapped boulder up there

As far as we can go without ropes. It looks like people have climbed the 30m face as there's quite a bit of polish

It's very impressive and an easy relatively flat walk, just a little bit of scrambling over rocks in places

The walk along the dry river bed is quite interesting too

Every strenuous day has to be finished with suitable alcoholic beverages either on the terrace or, in this case, down by the pool where its a bit cooler

An evening drink at Sue's with her friend Trevor before going out for a meal along the front in Altea

She's got a great view from her terrace and, right below her, numerous restaurants and shops along the promenade

Walking up towards the western end of the Bernia Ridge. It was a nice day, but windy, so we didn't go as far as we'd planned. This is the northern side of the ridge accessible by a long mountain road which is a great drive, parking at at a bar in the tiny Bernia settlement and heading off by foot into the hills

Here we've just walked round the edge of the ridge to get a view down towards Benidorm (beyond the hill jutting into the sea). We fancied we could just make out Africa on the far horizon, but we're not sure 

As far as we went, the old fort beneath the western peak of the Bernia Ridge (we've been up on that in the past)

We stopped off on the way back to look at the Russian Orthodox church, built in 2000 

Very nice inside, Jackie covering herself up, as requested

Dinner Al Fresco on the terrace one evening. That'll be more alcohol then!

High up in the hills behind their house with Elizabeth as far as the roads go. Its walking from here on up

Nice views from up here. That's Altea bay down there with the rock jutting out into the sea separating Altea from Benidorm (out of the picture right)

Yesterdays trip to see the Terracotta Army temporary exhibition at Alicante museum (I want to go to China to see the archaeological site now!)

The Terracotta soldiers loaned to the museum from China. There are more than 5000 so far discovered at the site of the tomb of Qui Shi Huang (Qui pronounced Chin, Shi Huang being the emperor who  first consolidated independent states to create modern China in 200BC, giving his dynasty name to China) of which only about 10% has been unearthed. They were all found in 1974 by accident when some peasants were digging to make a well

Every good cultural visit should be rounded off with a good meal, this one at the Azul restaurant on Alicante seafront

Followed by more drinks to watch the sun go down on the terrace. It's exhausting!

A couple of weeks in The Midlands

We were back at Abi’s on Thursday after Brian had a day to recover, not that he managed to get his blog done! Brian was taking down the lath and plaster in the bay window, as the plaster had been removed, despite her protestations, by the window fitter! The window fitters mate was coming round to plaster the ceiling and the window reveals. Brian can do many things, but plastering isn’t one of them, so we were trying to make it as quick and easy for him as possible. As it turns out, he said it would take Sunday, though speaking to Abi, it took Sunday, 4 hours on Monday evening, and 4 hours on Tuesday evening, it’s still not finished, and it’s a terrible job!

Weekend at Brian's daughter Fiona & James'. Here's granddaughters Jenny and Becky with Oscar cat 

Saturday we went over to Fiona and James for in impromptu get together. Brian was quite determined we wouldn’t be up as late as last time, 04.00! It wasn’t, but 03.00 isn’t much better! We just had a lovely evening, lots of chat, and then going through some old documents that Brian and Denise took from their mom’s safe when she died, more than 20 years ago. He has scanned them all in, but Fiona is going to keep the originals. It was lovely to have Becky staying too, though she wasn’t meant to be, but had sadly been bitten by the dog she was sitting for so had a very bandaged hand.

Sleepy Oscar cat

It was so warm at the weekend, very unseasonably so, so after a huge fry up on Sunday morning we all went out for a bimble round the housing estate, which was really quite interesting. We needed to clear some internal space as we were due out in the evening for a Sunday tea club! Crystal thought we would go somewhere different, so we went to the Malaysian restaurant that I’d gone to the previous week when I went to the ballet. What she ordered for us was so different from what I had thought, it could have been somewhere entirely different!

It’s been a bitty week really, Brian has had Covid and flu jabs. I obviously am too young. He’s been to the dentist and to his Lynch Syndrome specialist, and I’ve had conversations with two GP’s about being ‘a woman of a certain age!’ Having got the Grant of probate, much time has been taken filling out the forms to transfer land to Jonathan and house to me. At least when you ring the land registry you actually get through quite quickly, except on a Friday, when apparently they are too busy to actually take any calls! Just when you really want to speak to them!

Monday club meeting without Jill. LtoR: Martina, Jackie, Tim, Mark, Bill, Fiona and Brian

We went out with the Monday Club boys, and Fiona and Martina (sadly no Jill) so that makes eating out 4 nights out of 5! Shocking. Just as well I’ve been doing some good ‘proper’ cooking early that week and late this! We have finally finished clearing out the garage at Birmingham Road, so we have nothing there finally, hurrah! Apart from much domestic stuff we have also booked a cruise! On the same ship we went to Norway on, but this time we are going from Southampton through the Med, through the Suez Canal, Egypt, India, the Maldives and flying home from the Seychelles just before Christmas. 33 nights to dress for. I haven’t got, and couldn’t carry 33 outfits, but I do have a surprising number of possibly suitable clothes. This wouldn’t be so bad, but we are with Denise and Paul tomorrow, hopefully doing the little wiring job Brian has been trying to since July and going to Spain on Monday to see Dad and Elizabeth. As ever time is crazily vanishing! And if this doesn’t make the Birmingham Road sale go through, when it’s most inconvenient, nothing will!