Category Archives: day trips

tuesday in fuengirola

19 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by in andalucia, culture, day trips, food & drink, friends, Malaga, malaga getaway

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Tuesday in Málaga started with a walk around Atarazanas Market with Ania @ania_marchlik, who was leaving at midday to catch her flight to Poland. And we ended up having just enough time for a quick Beer O’clock at Cafe Bar Estraperlo before I met up with Victor @welovemalaga. As you can see, some people clearly don’t know how to do Beer O’clock.  😉

The original plan had been to go to Fuengirola with Victor and meet Janet @janet_mendel for lunch at Los Marinos José, a place that I have been wanting to go to for AGES as a result of seeing so many tantilizing Instagram pics taken there by Fernando H. So imagine my disappointment when I found out they were closed for winter holidays. But Victor said not to worry, he would plan a Day of Surprises for me. 🙂

But first I had to stop in at Victor’s to give Harriet and Gingerbread a cuddle…

This new plan ended up still including Fuengirola, even though my only reason for going there was that one particular restaurant. But Victor said we could go back for that another time and that he had something special to show me after lunch. Well, between us we had a list of recommended places to try in Fuengi. This first one (Casa Colón) was fine, we had a “starter course” there. But the next one on our list, Tánicos (recommended by Fernando), was closed on Tuesdays. Dammit. Third rec turned out to be a dud, so we didn’t stay. Instead we got back in the car and headed to Mesón La Salina, another one recommended by Fernando, and it was fabulous. Definitely want to go back with more of an appetite and at least 2 more (hungry) friends.

Next up… my surprise! But first we stopped off at The Inner Life of the Enlightenment Stupa in Benalmádena along the way. It is the largest Buddhist stupa in the West and quite impressive. Which I reckon counts as a surprise, and a good thing too because when we finally got to the Castillo de Colomares… yep, it was closed. Though we did manage to get a pic through the gates.

But you know what? I didn’t really care because it had been such a lovely day with Victor, going here and there, chatting and enjoying each other’s company. My Málaga Getaways have changed over the past ten years, but meeting up with Victor is always one of the happiest things I do there.

willie & venetia

18 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by in andalucia, day trips, friends, gastronomy, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, wine

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This story begins in April 2015 when Venetia @vblebus got in touch with me about my trip planning service as she was organizing a family trip to Andalucía. I recognized the surname and saw that I had been following her husband Willie @willielebus for quite some time, as a “person of interest” on the London wine scene. Anyhow, Venetia and I got to work on her trip and, after the first draft was completed, she said her (adult) kids had decided they preferred a beach holiday that year, so we put things on hold because V said that she and Willie would surely be coming to Andalucía on their own. And just over 2.5 years later… they came!

And it really was like meeting up with old friends. I knew they were interested in excellent food and wine – the “real deal” rather than wanky michelin star stuff – and so it was a delight to take them out on a couple of tapeos while they were in Sevilla, as well as recommend other great places for them in Córdoba and Granada. I also worked out itineraries for them and helped them choose their hotels and arrange transporation.

All of which made me realise that I should be pushing the trip planning thing a bit more. This project started taking shape around the same time I came up with We Love Tapas, and so it ended up on the back burner. But now that WLT is up and running I can turn my attention to developing this service, which is a great way to diversify and continue working in my fields of expertise.

Meanwhile, already making plans for Willie’s & Venetia’s return trip, which will definitely include visiting a few sherry bodegas.

the feriamobile

17 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in culture, dance, day trips, fiestas, flamenco, getaways, sevilla, spain

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One of these could come in handy for taking in all the nearby ferias in May. Unusually, Sevilla’s famous Feria de Abril mostly took place in May too this year as it traditionally begins two weeks after Easter Sunday. I tend to prefer the smaller ferias and will try to get to at least a couple of these ones. Maybe see you there?

  • Jerez de la Frontera  May 13 – 20
  • Dos Hermanas May 18 – 21
  • Córdoba May 20 – 27
  • Sanlúcar de Barrameda May 23 – 28
  • El Puerto de Santa María May 24 – 29

the urium effect

01 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in day trips, food & drink, friends, sherry, spain

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sherry getawayHad a great day out in Jerez, meeting up again with Seanna @sherrysips (who I met for the first time in person last year) and visiting my favourite bodega Urium. I also finally got to meet Erik @thewhiskykiwi and Laura @laurawburgess, who were in Sevilla a few months ago, but I was hit with a random 24-hour bug and ended up giving them a “remote” tapas tour via my iPhone from bed.

This time we all met up at Urium and were once again hosted by fab father & daughter team Alonso and Rocío. During our sherry tasting we were regaled by Alonso’s wonderful stories, we were fed and sung to, and we even ended up doing a bit of karaoke. Don’t ask. It’s known as the URIUM EFFECT.

 

galicia getaway – lugo

27 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by in day trips, getaways, holidays, restaurants, spain

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lugo beerLugo was our destination on my final full day in Galicia, a day trip suggested by Anna and Jorge @thekilomeaters after vetoing my request to go down to Rías Baixas country (home of albariño wines). I was told that this was the worst time of year to visit that area as it is virtually swamped with tourists and I would not get a genuine experience of the place. And well, when given expert advice it is always wise to take it, so off we went to Lugo.

lugoProbably the most distinctive thing about this provincial capital is that the old centre is surrounded by over two kilometres of Roman wall. You can also walk along the top of this wall (which we did) getting some excellent views of the city. Later we walked to the Plaza Mayor and visited the Cathedral. Then it was suddenly Beer O’clock and off we went to quench our thirst and try some complimentary tapas.

lugo complimentarycomplimentary tapas in Lugo

We started off at a very traditional bar Las Cinco Vigas where not only could we choose a complimentary tapa, they also kept passing around a tray of pinchos… you could effectively fill up on these but we had to move on. Next stop was Mesón de Antonio, a classic restaurant. I’m not sure what is normally given out here with your drinks as, thanks to being with Anna & Jorge, we were given the VIP treatment and an array of tasty dishes arrived at our table for us to sample, along with a complimentary bottle of godello wine.

lugo invitation

Mesón de Alberto

We made a couple more tapa stops after this, and along the way met local resident León the cat, who was out for a walk with his flatmate. She had the huge beast out on a harness and leash, which had got tangled up in his front legs, so we stopped to help her de-tangle the gentle giant.

lugo leonLeón and flatmate

It was a lovely day out, soaking up sun and culture and sampling some delicious food and wine. And plans were made for a return Galicia Getaway next May, optimum time for a visit to Rías Baixas. Can’t wait!