Above and below a few photograph from the Gibraltar Trafalgar cemetery 

Yesterday morning I drove down to Gib to meet up with a friend and her husband, I used to meet up with her on training courses.. ten years ago!! Where the heck did those years go.. for both of us, they've been trama filled.

These photographs are from the hotel boat at Ocean Village on Gib..

Met them here and we sat up on the wonderful terrace.. for a long while.. caught the sun here! I'm glad I had factor 50 in! 

Before going down to street level and having coffees.. couldn't believe the time, it was nearly three before her and I went for a walk along through the main street and down to the cemetery...

The runway above... 

And harbour shots

All from the roof terrace of the boat..

And below, the view as I approached Gibraltar from La Linea.. I hadn't visited since Covid and the the coach trip from Alhaurín..

There is a tunnel now for traffic... 

But footfall still walks over the runway, felt very strange to me, with no traffic..

Didn't leave till late, was a really good day... 

I took the toll road both ways.. just to help with time and I couldn't face the coastal road.. too many roundabouts and cars!

It said the super blue moon was the 30th, but it was about three in the morning here, and I did manage to get some photographs, not great, just on my phone, but I'm glad I got to see it afterall.

And now rain is forecast from tomorrow until about Tuesday, we will see! 

I checked with Doctor Google and this came underneath the weather forecast..

*People also ask

What is happening in the rain?

Rain is liquid precipitation: water falling from the sky. Raindrops fall to Earth when clouds become saturated, or filled, with water droplets. Millions of water droplets bump into each other as they gather in a cloud. When a small water droplet bumps into a bigger one, it condenses, or combines, with the larger one.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org › ...

Rain - National Geographic Society*

So! Just in case we didn't know this! 

And for now.. 

This quote as I end is soooo me... I am always scared of stuff.. I am not the brave girl people might think I am.. 

And also as below, once I have done whatever I had to do, it's true, it wasn't so bad as I had built it up to be.. 

I have little faith in myself, and I think, the older I get the less faith I have..

M.

The quote!! 

Once you face your fear, nothing is ever as hard as you think.

Olivia Newton-John - 1948-2022 - Singer-Actress

Okay, so trying to find my voice...

I have not been too busy, looking for work is mentally debilitating, it gets you down; it gets me down.

I enjoy working, I bring a lot of me to whatever I do, and when I'm not doing anything, feel a bit lost.

And also, being in a new place, a very different place, is both exciting, and strange'ish.. We come to Alhaurín as often as we can and it is very good having two places to call home.

I am learning my way around La Linéa now, on foot mostly though, so really need to just get in the car and drive around, can't really get lost, the sea is on three sides really... the town is really nice, a mix of old and new, so many shops! But then there is nearly 65,000 inhabitants, and that's just the listed ones!

Alhaurín is not quite 25,000, so a big difference.

Great views from the terrace and I take lots of photographs from up there when I think to go up there... or of course to hang the washing...

This is the same photograph, more or less... I just cut and changed to black and white for effect... The reason being the very strange angelic form there above the Rock.... and even a very tiny one below and to the left of it... very very strange... it kept its shape until it left...

... stepping off the top here!

Today I am in Alhaurín... flying tomorrow to Nottingham to spend Easter with the family... missing my babes hugely...

I have been in my VR far to long and have a very sore face! So now, at last posting here and will get my dinner on the go in a few minutes...

I have made some notes to post here, but seem to have lost them...

I seem to have lost a bit of my mojo! That's what it is... I know its here somewhere... Not in the VR though! I need  relax maybe, sounds silly for someone not even working, but not working isn't exactly relaxing! LOL... Maybe its good there is no WiFi in the apartment, I'd be lost in the world of VR all day!

I go out every day, we are either here, or get out and about in a new area for me... Which is great, I walk into Gib other days, and yesterday the amount of tourists was a big change from only a few days ago! You can tell the locals walking in, we walk like soldiers against the storm! Heads down, long strides, purposeful...

Okay amigos, thank you for hanging on for me... I am doing okay, I am doing good... I shall be back!

TTFN
Marian

Bolonia Beach... windsurfers paradise! We dropped in here for a coffee... stunning beaches...

Castillo de Castellar, shame the day was wet and cloudy! We drove through and up above some of the clouds but those above still had plenty of rain inside they let go on our heads!

Coming back down we stopped off in a venta and had wonderful tapas and the sun shone... as arranged by the weather people, right on time!

Not sure where this shadow pic was taken... I think on the walk back to the apartment from the frontier...

And above the Commonwealth Park in Gibraltar... I have sat and paused here plenty of times already...

"to the things we missed; and things we didn't"

Yes yes yes! It has been far too long, I am sorry, I seem to have lost my writing words...

February since last post and I have been doing a lot of nothing, and a lot of new places and faces...

Places... probably seen on my Facebook or Instagram accounts...

Let me find some photographs...

Yes looking up through a random palm tree...

A view from the plane going to Stansted, UK... back in March...

Ely Cathedral near where we stayed in March... Beautiful Cathedral, I had never been to Ely before...

March 14th below.. Three photographs taken in Mijas, always difficult to get something unique... after thirty years of Mijas visits... I think I did good here...

And below... three photographs taken near the end of March, from the Rock of Gibraltar...

The runway here, ironically a friend was taking off at the time we were up there! So we watched the plane take off from Gibs short runway!!

And here is La Linéa de La Concepción... And there... to the left of middle, and half way up... to the left of the church! Is the apartment!

Lots of photographs on here, let me post and post some more...

TTFor a minute
Marian

The other day I walked along the paseo here in La Línea... As far as the blue benches go that is, and a little further! This is just a matter of minutes from home; who'd have thought!

Inappropriately dressed, wrong shoes, wrong coat! Heavy bag! Took my good camera but only used my phone! As usual!

Shamed by a man taking 'proper' photography using a tripod and camera almost long enough to reach the rock!

TTFN
Marian

Gibraltar

Had another lovely visit to Gibraltor with friends yesterday, Tuesday... Franco and I had stopped going so much, we only saw the things we had got fed up with seeing, therefore, and very sadly, we had stopped seeing Gibraltor!

So often we stop seeing the very places we see every day don't we... maybe the people too sometimes, which is even sadder.

Above a view at Europa point... a point in question, we had never been to before, until I came last week with the same friends...

Last week the rock was so bright and white on approach it looked to be covered in snow, the way the sun caught the chalk face... Yesterday it was cloudy on approach, from way back, we left the sun and clear blue skies, and drove towards the cloud looming over Gibraltar...

It cleared as we walked around the streets and had coffee...

A very cool building right near the end of the high street, further than I had every walked before, Franco and I only having ever gone as far as a menswear shop, where I bought Franco a really lovely Italian sweater, with a red strip running across, very unusual, until Franco went to visit Wales and was met by his bessy mate who was wearing one just like it!!

The Trafalgar Cemetery, I'd never seen before either! Very well kept and worth a good long walk around...

Above our friends the turtles at Casa Flores in Alhaurín El Grande, they were all sunbathing, heads up, feet off the ground!! check out those baby ones on the left, zoom in! They are so cute!!

The port at Gibraltor, its been up-dated big time!  We drove down the 'old' road... took an hour and a half, not too bad, I think quicker than it used and that's with reduced speed limits... Good trip down, got a few bits and pieces from the supermarket, had lunch... not the best of choices of venue... don't know why we do it!  Hunger maybe, but we should stop and think really!  The table got fun sun and I had to move around the table, getting trapped in the process by people sitting at the too close table behind!

And all for some over cooled battered fish!!

One of the items purchased in the above mentioned supermarket!  Wonderful grilled seaweed!  Yum yum yum!  Three small packets and all gone now!!

Probably too high is salt for me, but once in a while eh!

Today we picked up the prickly pears in the adjacent food market next to La Trocha flea market this morning, am I am back to work next week, I will miss the chap who sits along from our street, peels them and pops them into a plastic bag for you, one euro for about ten from him usually!  Love these things, peeled and in the refrigerator, eat chilled, very yummy!

Last week we went to one of our favorite stores in Malaga!  Bauhaus.... its just a big ferreteria, [hardware]...
But they have everything, including a great little bar that looks quite quaint!

I couldn't resist the BabyRuth bar in a store last week either!!! Strange diet I am on these days, its called a 'eat what you can where you can because you'll be in work for five weeks and won't have a dam thing' diet!

I think this was the best I ate last week, a wonderful piece of toast with the very best Iberican paté and caramelised red onion on top!  Although as I Twittered at the time, the service was very poor and we were almost at the point of leaving when 'he' noticed us...

Been a busy few weeks at home, lots going on, doctors, hospital... every town and village in the nearby province!  Catching up with friends and doing some things we needed to do which had been put off for no particular reason over the last few months...

Will have been off for exactly five weeks when I get back to work on Wednesday, and will be there for exactly five weeks!

I have been working on a couple of books, one is just about ready for the off!  Just waiting for the word from the Amazon team and I can get it 'live'...

Its been too hot to sleep, too hot to relax... too hot to stay in-doors, so we have driven to cooler places, like the coast and shopping malls with its wonderful cool air, until you come outside and remember again how hot it is, apparently the last few Julys have been hotter than the Augusts that follow... We'll see, well, Franco will, its not cooled down yet during the days, but the nights are better... We had to buy a new ceiling fan for the living room, Franco and I had fun putting that in place!  The last one we changed was when Tony was here, down-stairs in what is now the dining room... The halogen light bulbs are lasting well in that ceiling fan!  This one was already built, just a question of trying to wire it up with the use of one ladder and a dining chair in 50 degrees of heat!!

Pippa has been to the vets too, shots, nail clipping and worming tablets, she is back again in a few days, don't tell her!  She has to have her kennel cough updated, two of those before she goes in there!

I might not Blog again before work, its only two days, and I will be on a 6am flight from Malaga to Cardiff... and into work for 1pm... Speak soon amigos!  I will take some sunshine with me to Wales, although I won't mind the drop in temperature!

TTFN
Marian