Tapa a Tapa

Here we are me dears back in Blighty after a fab hol in Sitges and Barcelona.

Quite by chance our little jaunt coincided with the annual Sitges Tapa festival. 

How lucky was that !

The town  hosts the "Tapa a Tapa" event and "The Tapa of the year"  which is one of the great gastronomic happenings in Catalonia. 

Some top chefs such as Ferran Adrià have elevated the tapas concept to the category of "haute cuisine".

we managed only to tick off a few but our absolute favourite was definitely El Donostiarra.

It was also very close to the hotel, beach and the gay bars.

Very friendly and the food was fabulous 

Next to my wine and sunglasses is a tapa which was -

Chorizo / Tortilla /Foie gras / Tortilla / cured pork loin on a slice of baguette.

After 5 days of sun, sea and Tapas it was time to leave our friends who were travelling home separately.

On the very last day, the weather changed. Gone was the amazing sunshine and 30C heat to be replaced by cold and damp.

Luckily with a late flight we had already earmarked the day for a troll around Barcelona.

Not knowing the city and refusing to pay €30 to sit on a tour bus we ended up in the medieval quarter which was amazing

From there, up the Rambla

By chance we stopped at the most delightful cerveseria for lunch

Having grabbed the last table outside we were pleased to find that an half hour later there were masses of people trying to get a table both inside and out.

Pork fillet with cheese in a very yummy little baguettes 

Tortilla with brochette and a very nice glass of Spanish Rose'.

With out question the best meal of the holiday.

After more wanderings around the city we found the station we needed to get to the airport.

...and took another well deserved rest. 

More needed than enjoyed. it still hit the spot.

It has been compared to as Barcelona's equivalent of London's "Angus Steakhouse" which is a little harsh.

Barcelona has three main railway stations. 

We needed Passeig de Gràcia For the airport .

If you are entering Barcelona for the first time I strongly recommend you stay on the train and alight at Estació de França ( that's France not Franco by the way )

 A truly fabulous and memorable holiday. Fantastic weather and great company.

I would just like to add that I hope the 2 guys that stole my phone in Sitges both rot in Hell

ttfn

Random - Toreadors !

Well me dears our annual  trip to Spain to celebrate my birthday is just two months away. On that thought here is a random hotchpotch of Andalusian delights

I would however like to make it clear that no matter how much I like looking at bull fighters 

I do not approve of bull fighting itself.

So then to get us in the mood, here is the Divine Isabel Pantoja and 'Se Me Enamora el Alma ' with some dancing boys thrown in for good measure.

With la Pantoja ringing in your ears the following random selection from tumblr should be jolly.

and finally just in case you thought it all a bit too macho. 

There tiz then my lovelies.

The flight and apartment are both booked

and I cant wait to get a bit of Spanish culture.

ttfn

My 54th In Spain

In the not too distant past, we went to Spain three times a year and loved every moment of every visit - come, rain or shine. Delargo Towers has been feeling the effect of the global townturn in the economy, and it has been a whole two years since we have set foot on Andalusian soil; but with the help and the kindness of friends, together with a fortunately timed birthday, we made it this year!

February is the coldest and meanest of months. Winter feels like it will never end, yet only 2.5 hours away is Malaga and 20 mins from there Benalmadena, and our apartment with gardens and pool.

Talk about a tonic! Sun, blue sky, a blue Med; Lantana, Hibiscus and palms - it sure beats February in North London.

The apartment was on the other side of town to where we normally stay. Tucked behind 'Castle Bil Bil' it made a nice change especially as 'Las Maracas' beach bar was open.

A view of the castle.

Bil Bil was once a private holiday home.

In the grounds is a statue of Ibn al-Baytar who was an Andalusian botanist, scientist, pharmacist and physician. He was born in Malaga in 1197 and is famous for his two books. His first book was a pharmacopoeia (pharmaceutical encyclopedia) listing 1,400 plants, foods, and drugs, while his second was an encyclopedia of Islamic medicine which incorporated his knowledge of plants.
Ibn al-Baytar greatly influenced the works of later writers, especially in the Near East.

The gate house at the end of the once private beach:

Palms on Bil Bil beach:

Main gate:

The sun shone every day. The temperature was well over 20C every day, so each had to be spent on the beach.Ana almost every night had to be spent in the flesh pots of 'La Nogalera' in Torremolinos.

What you can see below are the sad and almost derelict remains of what once were fashionable 'Jet Set' apartments built in 1963. It was considered an architectural landmark in the city, covering a vast area of about 23,000 m² . La Nogalera consists of six tall buildings linked by elevated walkways and gardens - it was both commercial and residential with several pools and recreation areas, plus a small "Andalusian village" with entertainment and bars.

The first gay bar in Spain was here ('Toni's Bar') in 1962. Today Torremolinos has the largest gay scene in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona and is centred in and around (and under) La Nogalera.

The Torre ( tower ) of Torremolinos:

Back in Benalmadena, this time at the Marina:

Then on to Carihuela and the most wonderful birthday Paella in this fab Spanish restaurant:

Benalmadena Costa - and one of our fave statues:

Such an abundance of flowers everywhere, but especially along the Paseo.

Not bad for February methinks!

Sunset at the Palm 5 beach bar:

A rare view of Morocco. Its about 40 miles away from here and usually only seen this clearly a couple of times a year when the weather conditions are right:

Sunset = Cocktails

More cocktails !!

After an all-too-short a week it was back to reality with a bump; in fact back to Essex, with snow! We ended our holiday staying with our boys in 'Braintree Manor' and a few days for our livers to repair themselves at home here in Delargo Towers before the dreaded return to work.

thanks to all those who made it all possible

ttfn

xxx