Mirador El Cerro Gordo (March 2006)

The Rock and It's Apes

The Rock of Gibraltar - March 2006: We planned many, many day trips out of Nerja and a 3-hour drive to the Rock of Gibraltar was our first! What an amazingly beautiful place! And oh so British! We walked across a live runway from Spain to Gibraltar. Our very knoweldgeable tour guide, Arthur, meandered his way up the rock, maneouvering the hairpin turns as if he was on a four lane highway. A native of the rock, he knew its history inside and out. He even knew which of the apes was the gentless and which one to be careful of. That's the one that tried to steel Mike's hat! Playing with the apes was one of the highlights of the day. We wandered around the town after our tour - enjoyed a tasty chicken pot pie and a pint in what could have been a pub in any town in the UK - shopped at Marks and Spencers then walked back across the runway to get back to our car to drive back to Nerja! Another day of delights!

Rock of Gibraltar

HOLA, AMIGOS!

March 2006: After boarding what Mike called "the cattle-car know as Monarch Airlines", we arrived in Malaga, Spain without a hitch! I won't get into the miseries of picking up our pre-booked Thrifty's rental car - suffice it to say, Thristy's does not operate out of Malaga Airport! Regardless that we had a confirmation notice for pick-up at said airport!!!! Never mind, we managed to get a small compact from a local company called Lido - highly recommend them for your next trip friends!! We only got somewhat lost leaving the airport and soon were on our way to our destination - NERJA!! Instructions were clear so getting to the Perla Marina was easy as pie! Interesting tour of the very tight underground parking garage (all the while being watched by the front desk on security cameras!!) but eventually we found our way back to street parking spot and checked into our cozy little villa. Although it was dark and we couldn't see much, we could hear the crashing of the waves just outside our door. Couldn't wait to wake up to the Mediterranean Sea!!

Awoke around 8 am - later than usual!! Pulled back the patio door drapes ... tah-daum!! What - pitch black!!?? Must have forgotten to set our watches back - no - the sun just isn't up yet!! When it did rise, we were giddy over the view. We strolled down to a local bakery and grocery store and bought a baguette, cheese, pate, champagne and orange juice! A repeat performance for most mornings there was breakfast on our patio! We explored all of Nerja and settled with our books for a wonderful week of rest and relaxation! Will we return some day?? Absolutely!!

Nerja,Spain (March 2006)

England 2006

So our trip went like this! A couple of days in Stevenage/London; a couple of days in Croissy Sur Seine/Paris and back to London for a day before going to Spain for a week.

I had the good fortune of being welcomed into the Crowe Family in 1998 and, except for Angela who came to Canada for a few family celebrations in the last few years, I had yet to meet any of the London Crowe's! I was excited to finally have that a chance. Mike hadn't seen them in a good five years either! We arrived from Paris and made our way to Dagenham to meet Liam, Allison, Sorcha and Aislinn (with whom we stayed) and Angela, Uncle Billy and Aunt Moira. We had a wonderful evening of getting acquainted and re-acquainted. We shared stories and fond memories and after a wonderful dinner and a few indulgences, we retired for the night! Morning seemed to arrive particularly early! With hugs all around and promises to get together again very soon, we left for the airport for the next leg of our journey! Fingers crossed that we see some of the London Crowe's in Canada in 2007! xo

The London Crowe's

A Day In London (March 2006)