These are the last of the Spanish flowers – mostly wild one’s growing in great profusion in the countryside.
These remind me so much of English meadows with the diverse types of flowers all living in harmony together.
These are obviously not wild. An arrangement of red geraniums in front of dancing fountains in Granada.
This is a photo – not of an hotel but the town hall of a small town North of Marbella. Benahavis is the name and the care, love and pride shown in that small town is a real credit to the Spanish people.
There was an immaculate little park with immaculate toilets and I share with you below this little gem.
That concludes the flowers from Spain – for now
Click on this link to see more of natures beauty.
http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/
TODAY'S FLOWERS TEAM
LUIZ SANTILLI JR. - DENISE IN VIRGINIA - LAERTE PUPO - VALKYRIEN
JJ
This striking deep blue flower was climbing up walls and on other plants everywhere in the Costa Del Sol.
A type of bindweed is my guess – or CONVOLVULUS. We have it in the UK but I have only seen it with white flowers.
Can be a nuisance as it is a vigorous grower and can choke other plants.
The buds are a pretty shade of pink.
Here is another type of Angel Trumpet. Not as intricate as the previous one I posted but lovely in it’s simplicity.
Sadly, most of the blooms were past their best. Except for this one.
I just love bouganvilli - saw it in many different colours.
Finally, for this week, a honeysuckle dripping with blooms and filling the air with it’s powerful scent.
Click on this link to see more of natures beauty.
http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/
TODAY'S FLOWERS TEAM
LUIZ SANTILLI JR. - DENISE IN VIRGINIA - LAERTE PUPO - VALKYRIEN
What a pretty little town/village. Full of little white pristine cottages covered in gloriously coloured bougainvillea, from the palest pink to the deepest purple and occasionally a soft tangerine colour.
It was a fiesta day, the towns people were escorting a statue from the church in the main square up to some caves on the outskirts of town.
Most of the locals were dressed in traditional Spanish clothes, the men wore braces and had a red neckerchief around their necks and, unusually, caps on their heads. some of the women were dressed the same – not sure why.
The children were beautifully dressed as you can see.
The girls and ladies wore flamboyant dresses of every colour and pattern you could imagine. All were very tight skimming over their hips then falling in a cascade of frills. some down to the ground but many were shorter – to the calf. They had traditional dancing shores on their feet or espadrilles and they all walked, danced, sang behind a cart or van which carried the smaller children and no doubt their lunch and liquid refreshments! In fact many seemed very merry soon after leaving the church!
We discovered on the way home just how far they had to walk – several miles up hill to the caves where they celebrated with a BBQ and more dancing and singing.
We found our friends favourite bar – Cochrane's, set down a narrow little road off the square beautiful decorated with different coloured pebbles.
The bar overlooked the sea and was very pleasant.
We had a good walk around the town and sat in the square enjoying a beer and people watching.Then we made our way slowly up the narrow streets back to the car. I did stop and buy Phe a Spanish dress and flower for her hair- pink ( of course) and white. In the shop there was a small yellow bird, no idea what it was, happily walking around on the counter and then being lovingly stroked by the owner. When Lynne spotted it she jumped and was out of the shop like lightening. i had no idea she was afraid of birds.
Back home to pre dinner drinks ( except for Mike) and a dinner of pork medallions on a cream sauce a la Barry. Very nice.
Fly off to Spain tomorrow.
Yes, our flight is due to leave Exeter at 10.a.m. tomorrow for Malaga but it is looking more & more doubtful.
According to the News Spanish airports are affected by the volcanic ash cloud although we, in the U.K. are clear.
I must confess to being a little disappointed not least because we have paid for our accommodation but safety must come first and our trip is not important.
What does surprise me is that contacting the airport and the airline is not easy and no provision appears to have been made for extra staff to answer queries or to open the phone lines any earlier. We cannot phone before 8 a.m. which is difficult as we must leave home before then.
For the first time we have hired a taxi to and from the airport just in case we do get to Spain but coming home is delayed. Incurring extra car parking costs is unnecessary. A happy find actually as it is cheaper to get a taxi than pay for two weeks parking. Bonus.
So, we wait, I won’t be packing until later tonight, just in case, but if we don’t go – we don’t. Many more people will have their plans disrupted with huge impact on their lives whereas, we will just have our holiday delayed.
In the great scheme of things, nothing more than a minor irritation.
Our friend Lynne was delayed in Australia and eventually got home after a 46 hour journey via Singapore & Frankfurt ,where she had an 8 hour wait, on her own.
No, I’m not complaining – honest!
Thursday morning, still no news so we tried to be positive and made all the last minute arrangements.
Taxi turned up on time and we had a pleasant trip to the airport without any holdups at Kingskerswell as there normally is. It was looking too good.
Arrived in departures, no hiccups and were on our plane by 10.10a.m. only a few minutes late. Quite a bumpy ride up through the clouds but very fast and arrived right on time. Luggage waiting when we got to the carousel and friends waiting to whisk us away to Torrox.
Weather not brilliant, overcast and a few spots of rain on the windscreen but we were here so no longer worried about the volcano.
Nice flat, 2 beds, 2 bathrooms and a large balcony overlooking the sea on the side.
Next day was dry and sunny but sooooooooooo windy, The washing blew over on the balcony and we certainly would not be eating al fresco.
We drove up into the hills to Old Torrox. A mass of white buildings set in the lea of the mountains. Then up on to ???? where we walked around the village, full everywhere you looked with pots and flowers stunning.
We came across a fantastic cemetery where the coffins are placed on top of each other to form a wall. each one has a dedication written on it and all were covered with brightly coloured artificial flowers.
I was not sure whether I should take photos, would it be offensive to anyone I wondered? However, no one was around so I did and here they are. It must be marvellous to be so loved and honoured but your family in this way.
As we were leaving the wind, which was already very strong, became even stronger, screaming through the trees and creating a dust cloud which blew directly in our faces. The spirits had not liked their pictures taken – sorry.
Right up in the mountains it was very Frio – Brrr to say the least so we had lunch inside a traditional Spanish restaurant.
We ordered a mixture of Tapas which was cheese, olives, mackerel, prawns,ham and anchovies with fresh crusty bread. We ordered a side of chips which was huge and thoroughly enjoyed this impromptu meal.
Back down to the coast past beautiful wild flowers hugging the rocks, purple and pink and yellow daisy like flowers. Guess who for got her camera?
Dinner was a pick and mix of cheese and ham and salad, I was very hungry and made a pig of myself with the olives.
After quite a busy day Lynne and I went off to bed whilst the boys poured themselves a whisky or two,Three.Four …………… you get the idea.
They got very loud, laughing and playing Barry’s iplayer and then there was an enormous crash. That’s the damage deposit gone I thought.
Eventually Mike appeared. Very unsteady on his feet and giggling.
He staggered to the wall, which held him up whilst he took his clothes off and then collapsed into bed.Within seconds he was snoring and I turned over to go to sleep. Then all hell broke loose, he woke up choking, gonna be sick he says so I run to the kitchen – no bowls or buckets so I picked up the carrier bags. He was sitting on the side of the bed swaying quite dangerously when I placed the bag in his lap.
Three hours later it finally stopped and after his umpteenth apology he fell asleep. That was after I had stripped the cover off the duvet, the pillowcases off the pillows and the sheets off the bed. All plonked in the bath to soak. Washed the floor, moved the rug and fell into my bed. 4.05 A.M. GREAT!
Here endeth the first day.
