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Thursday, September 21, 2023

First three days of treats

 Good morning, dear Blogger friends. Thank you all for your kind comments about my trip to Spain. Just a note here: This trip was in May this year. I have taken this long to post about it but at least I am now...

It was so lovely to meet up with my sister and BIL After a light supper at their home, we all retired to bed. Celia and I to have the first decent night's rest in 30 hours!

The next morning Rose had booked us in at a five-star spa resort on a golf estate. I especially enjoyed being massaged by the underwater pulsating spouts in open air pools overlooking the fairway.

The spa was in the most exquisite setting. We emerged thoroughly spoilt and totally relaxed.

On Wednesday, Rose drove us "around and up the mountain" to the old town of Mijas. The three of us strolled through the marketplace soaking up the Mediterranean atmosphere of  market stalls, dripping with handmade jewelry and festively adorned ponies all surrounded by bleached white buildings with flower bedecked balconies and stairways.

From Mijas, which hugs the mountainside, we looked down on Fuengirola and the ocean beyond
At midday the Spanish dancers came out to entertain the crowds
Pony rides in the Mijas marketplace
The stairways and balconies (see behind the pony in the above image) are decorated with potted plants and flowers.

Celia and I outside a miniscule chapel on the hill. Do we look typically touristy or WHAT! 

My sister didn't leave a stone unturned to treat us to every unique experience possible. After the dancers and spending Euros at the market stalls, Rose booked a chocolate making workshop for us.
We really made our own bon bons and chocolate slabs!
You can imagine how popular this type of activity is. Just after midday. we were slotted in between two school groups of 12 children respectively.


After the chocolate workshop, Rose took us further along the town square. We ladies spotted and entered many ooh - ah shops! You can always hear women browsing and shopping together. They home in on a rack or shelf saying ooh look at this. The next lady will oblige by casting her eyes on the delightful object for sale and say aaah
The ooh-aah shops!


Our spoil was rounded off with lunch at a tapas bar.

All in all, the day in Mijas surpassed our expectations. We arrived back home at Rose' apartment, laden with gifts for our children, pleasantly replete and physically tired.

The next day Rose treated us to a visit at the Butterfly Park of Benalmadena. The butterflies and brightly colored birds flit around between the tourists walking along the pathways.

Vividly colored butterfly 
A joey was an entertaining sight for the children 

A brown butterfly alighted on my sister's handbag

Celia resting in the shade, while I took photos

I was fascinated by this green variant of the Streletzia (a South African flower) in the park

Another dollar (or many dollars); another day on our wonderful Spain trip.

More tomorrow...






9 comments:

  1. You did so many fun things that your sister arranged. I like the white horse pulling the carriage and that chocolate making workshop.

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  2. How beautiful. How very, very beautiful.

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  3. It seems you enjoy the program your sister made for you !

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  4. Hello Jo,
    Your trip photos are beautiful, looks like fun times. The view of the ocean is lovely. Love the butterfly park, making chocolate and the lunch looks yummy. Take care, have a great day!

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  5. that last plant we have one in our back yard, it is 25 feet tall. we call it bird of paradise. same color as this one in your photo. the lunch looks worthy of ooohhhh and ahhhhhh also. I would love the jets in the pool.

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  6. Gosh that sounds like lots of fun. Thanks for the birthday wishes, much appreciated. Have you heard that Gaelyns truck and campervan burnt to the ground with all inside other than herself and phone? Terrible news. Cheers Diane

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  7. Hi Jo love your article. Great holiday ...love Rose xxxx

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  8. The chocolate workshop sounds great and lots of fun.

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  9. So nice to see you enjoying yourselves.

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