Fuengirola, Spain

This photo is from Wiki, though we passed this several times on the free way going to and from Malaga from Marbella, Spain; we never managed to have time to stop and tour.  It was on our list of places to see........and is still for the next time we get there.

Info is also from Wiki, though I hope to learn more fist hand when we do get to visit.

This is located in Fuengirola...today is F in our a-z travels.  However the name of the castle is Sohail Castle.  This area is very old with a huge long history.

• Originally a Phoenician Settlement
• Later occupied by The Romans and was known as Suel in the first century
  AD
• The castle was built by Abd-ar-Rahman, III in the mid 10th century.  
• The community of Suel was not mentioned at the beginning of middle ages.
• Centuries later it was known as Suhayl, during the Morrish era.  Al-Suhayli lived there 1114-1185(meaning man of Suhayl), he was one of the 7 saints of Marrakesh.
• Later a fire destroyed the village and people fled to nearby Mijas...another city we passed by often on the freeway.  This was the early middle ages and was then known as Font-Jirola by the Romans.
• By 1485 only the fortress remained and the area like others fell to The Christian Monarchs during the final phase of Reconquista (reconquest).
• An attempt to re-populate the area with 30 people failed and by 1511 it was listed as un-inhabited except for the fortress and the watch tower.
• In the 18th century after the danger of Turkish and Moorish Pirates past an Inn was opened for travelers.

The Fireplace.  The being the key word.  There is only this one fireplace in all of La Alhambra. La Alhambra is in Granada Spain. This was built/added by Fernando of Aragon (King of Sicily) when he brought his bride, Isabel heirness to the Crown of Castile to Alhambra on their honeymoon.  Though I found very little about this fireplace during my research, the auto guide we had told this story.  Isabel was born 1451 and died in 1504.  Fernando was born 1452 and died 1516.  He became King of Sicily in 1468 and married Isabel in 1469.  Isabel became Queen of Castile and Aragon in 1474 with Fernando co-ruler.  We toured Al Alhambra on a very cool spring day (late March 2014).  We were cold, and wondered how anyone kept warm there those many many years ago.  In my research I learned that Isabel and Fernando lived in The Alhambra after the conquest of the city.   They did some re-decorating, but left The Palace un-altererd.

Columbus discovered America remember in 1492...as a point of reference.  There will be far more to blog about with regards to Al Alhambra; but...thought I'd put the little tidbit about the fireplace in today.

**REMINDER, please leave the url to your actual blog post, NOT your google+ page, NOT your blogger profile/dashboard page. Use the name and url option, or leave a hyperlink. **After the close of April's A-Z, I plan to continue to write a post a day in the month of May using again the A-B-C's as my guide. My focus for the month of May will be Spain.

El Tunel Del Port, Olympic Port, Barcelona

 El Tunel Del Port in Barcelona.  That's hubby looking European with his black.  When we toured we did not dress like Americans with sloppy t-shirts, tennis shoes etc.  We dressed nicely and conservatively.  Those were the guidelines we read about before we embarked on our 12 day tour of Spain.  It's a way to show respect I believe for where you are, and to represent our country in a nicer manner.  There were several times it seemed like we got better service then folks dressed like Americans who'd been working in the gardens...maybe my imagination, maybe not.

Our private tour guide in Barcelona, Patrick Ducher (look how well he and his group are rated HERE), walked us here...right to our table after speaking with the host/manager of El Tunel Del Port.  How's that for service?  We had toured half the day with Patrick and he asked if we'd like him to find us a spot for a late lunch.  The restaurant is right on the beach as you can see.  It has several rooms up and down, and an outside patio area.  Lunch was fantastic, but apparently I was too busy eating to remember to take pictures of the food.

You can see by the menu it's Port, theme and of course the olives which are served before every meal in Spain along with bread.

I did remember to take a photo when we were taking our coffee and desert.  We shared the desert because we were so pleasantly stuffed.

El Tunel Del Port (link is at the beginning of the post), was founded back in 1923 on Ample Street, but moved to Olympic port in 1992 after the close of The Barcelona Olympics.  This location is perfect with something for everyone.  You can stroll the beach, the shops before or after you eat and enjoy the sites of the Olympic Port.

Moll de Gregal, 12
Port Olympic
08005 Barcelona

I highly recommend this restaurant and hope to go back next trip to Barcelona.

**REMINDER, please leave the url to your actual blog post, NOT your google+ page, NOT your blogger profile/dashboard page. Use the name and url option, or leave a hyperlink. **After the close of April's A-Z, I plan to continue to write a post a day in the month of May using again the A-B-C's as my guide. My focus for the month of May will be Spain.

Casa del Corregidor, Marbella, Spain part II

 Did you see yesterday's post?  If not scroll back it's part I to this one.  Casa del Corregidor, historic AND a wonderful place to fill your belly.  I'm continuing to blog in a-z style for the month of May all about my recent trip to Spain.  So today is D=Dinner.  Our first meal here at Casa del Corregidor in the square of Olde Town Marbella, Spain was tapas style.  Certainly not portion sizes, but we ordered items that we could all share in.  There were 3 of us.  Round 1 was a fresh fish platter and veggies.  The fish were grilled and quite tasty.  I'm not one to ever order fish; but did enjoy most of these.  There were about 4 different fishes on the platter.  Only one seemed oily or stronger to me, but both Jane and hubby enjoyed it; as would most folks who like fish.

 Another round was an awesome beef kabob, again grilled with luscious fresh vegetables.

 We enjoyed wine, as you can see; and a delicious and pretty flan....something they are noted for.

 While we ate outside, as did everyone else; the inside of the restaurant is very cute.  Small and intimate.

 The far wall is a wine rack!  Wonder how long it would take to try everything, lol

 Outside, sidewalk cafe's are made very comfortable with heaters even on days with damp cool weather.

 That's me on the left with our dear friend, Jane who joined us for this marvelous adventure of traveling in Spain.

 This makes my mouth water.....my best meal of the entire trip.  Beef Stroganoff.  I couldn't eat it all, but I sure tried.  This was our 2nd visit to Casa del Corregidor.

 Jane had the paella with all kinds of wonderful seafood.  We had paella elsewhere earlier in the trip; but this was better.  See the pan......right there on the table.

A seafood sampler.....No one leaves here hungry and definitely a place to return too.

We truly do plan to return to Spain, and while we will try new places...........we also plan to return to our favorites........this is at the top of the list!

Tomorrow's post will be the reflection of this years A-Z challenge

**REMINDER, please leave the url to your actual blog post, NOT your google+ page, NOT your blogger profile/dashboard page. Use the name and url option, or leave a hyperlink. **After the close of April's A-Z, I plan to continue to write a post a day in the month of May using again the A-B-C's as my guide. My focus for the month of May will be Spain.

Casa del Corregidor, Marbella Spain

 Casa del Corregidor built in 1552 is one of the oldest stately houses in Marbella, Spain.  While this picture looks like a power washing or painting is needed

 This part is quite beautiful.  Click to enlarge and see the details on the 2nd and 3rd floors.  These area's are not open to the public.  The bottom level is a restaurant.  Were we ate 2 scrumptious meals, because one just wasn't enough........more on that tomorrow in part two of this post...D for dinner.  The building has a blend of 3 types of architecture, Gothis, Renaissance, and Mudejar.

 The historic sign tells us the house was that of The Chief Magistrate.

Another shot on a different day, light was a bit better.  Please click to enlarge and look at the balcony area in.

A building 462 years old....in the Olde Town Marbella.  We loved it there.  Put this on your list, as an historic spot, and pop in tomorrow ......come hungry the food is superb!

**REMINDER, please leave the url to your actual blog post, NOT your google+ page, NOT your blogger profile/dashboard page. Use the name and url option, or leave a hyperlink. **After the close of April's A-Z, I plan to continue to write a post a day in the month of May using again the A-B-C's as my guide. My focus for the month of May will be Spain.

Barcelona

 You've heard the term Bird's Eye View?  This guy arrived on our window ledge to welcome us to the city...at least that what it seemed he was saying..........that or open the window, it's wet out here!  We were in the older historic downtown area of the city, making it a wonderful location to get out and about.  If you click to enlarge the picture, you can get a feel for how old many of the buildings are.

You can also see how dark and gloomy it was on our arrival, though the next day was beautiful, and the 2nd day even nicer.  Look how the city spreads out, how full, how heavily populated it is.  Off in the distance (though we could walk it) is the famous Sagrada Familia.  Do click to enlarge and see the spires and the construction cranes.  We stayed at The Renaissance, formerly known as The Diplomatic Hotel.  The rooms were a bit pricey and small; but the location was awesome and we truly enjoyed our stay there.
Barcelona, my B for May (status post April A-Z)

There will be many posts about Barcelona with specific focuses, this is a bullet point list of things observed during our too short stay of 3 nights and 2 days.

• Stay longer, there is much to see
• People in Barcelona eat dinner quite late, many restaurants aren't even opened til 8 pm
• The city is packed with history
• Traffic is HORRIBLE, leave the driving to someone else.  Parking is in short supply, lots of folks walk, ride bikes and scoots; as well as use public transportation
• The Olympics were there in 1992, a good place to tour
• There are many Cathedrals to visit, as well as Churches, and Basilica's.  
• Art is Everywhere in many forms
• BE WARE OF THE PICK POCKETS.  Barcelona is considered, even by the locals, to be worst city int he world for pick pockets.  NEVER leave your belongings un-attended.  Men should not put wallets in the back pockets, and women should always put their purses across their body...not just hanging from their shoulders, AND the purse should be in front of you.  NEVER wear a backpack, you can't see them in action.
• The airport is HUGE, give yourself plenty of time to find your way
• Check the price of high speed trains if you want to travel elsewhere and compare to flying.  It may be a better option
• It's a busy port city
• Barcelona has been voted best beach city, multiple times.
• World Book Day, April 23rd, started in Barcelona (St. George's Day) 
• Catalonia flags far and away out number flags of Spain.  Catalonians want independence from Spain, speak their own language which is closer to French and Portuguese then Spanish.  The people in Barcelona refer to themselves as Catalonians, not Spaniards.   
• Rock n Roll is far more popular in Barcelona then The Flamenco.
• The city was formed from a military grid...a planned city.
• There are 5 streets with the name La Rambla

**REMINDER, please leave the url to your actual blog post, NOT your google+ page, NOT your blogger profile/dashboard page. Use the name and url option, or leave a hyperlink. **After the close of April's A-Z, I plan to continue to write a post a day in the month of May using again the A-B-C's as my guide. My focus for the month of May will be Spain. I've been planning and almost have every letter thought out.

Arc de Triomf, Triumphal Arch Catalonia

As promised, it's May and I'm starting my blogging about Spain, in alphabetical order...of course.  Arc de Triomf (Triumphal Arch) built for the 1888 World's Fair Entrance.  This photo taken from a distance shows you how wide the promenade is.

The arch was used again in 1929 during the 2nd World's Fair held in Barcelona (Catalonia), as well as The Olympics in later years.  It's built to resemble similar arches in Rome by Joseph Vilasecai Casanovas.  The expansive promenade is perfect place to walk, run, ride bikes, and stroll with a baby carriage.  The sun was warm, bringing everyone out locals and tourists.  It covers an 118 hectares (291.58 acres and is within walking distance to Parc de la Ciutudella on Passeig de Lluis.

The details of color, and sculptures is breathtaking.  Look how small the people walking nearby look....Please click to enlarge so you can fully appreciate this beautiful site.

**REMINDER, please leave the url to your actual blog post, NOT your google+ page, NOT your blogger profile/dashboard page. Use the name and url option, or leave a hyperlink.

Viu Bicing, Vodafone in Barcelona

 A bike rack

For Viu Bicing in Barcelona.  Today is the letter V as we move through our A-Z challenge (if you want a V location post, here's several for Virginia...Richmond, Monticello, Arlington National Cemetery, Williamsburg, and more.

We saw these strange bikes everywhere while we were in Barcelona.  Viu Bicing is a bike sharing program that began in March of 2007 in Barcelona.  It has moved about Europe, to Germany, Netherlands, and Italy as a means to reduce traffic and carbon dioxide emissions in busy cities, reduce noise and it seems to be very popular.  You purchase a pre-paid smart pass annually, and with a swipe of a card can slide a bike out to use.  They are meant for short distances, to supplement public transportation for the locals.

There are 420 stations and close to 100,000 members in Barcelona.  Vodafone (a mobile wallet app) is now involved giving members the ability to track their distance, average speed, and emissions saved.  The first 30 minutes of use are at no additional cost beyond the membership.  Each subsequent half hour has a charge and can be used up to 2 hours.  They are meant for short distances and therefore you are in fact penalized if you hit 2 hours, and your membership can be revoked if you hit 2 hours too many times.

You do not need to return the bic to the same location where you collected it.  Example you hop off the city bus or metro, hop on a VIU bic and ride 3 more blocks, park it and go to work.  When you slide the bike back in the rack, it is identified and locked until the next person/member slides their card.  They are meant for 1 way transportation.

What a great idea, too bad the US doesn't get on board with something like that, then again we don't have good public transportation in most areas either.  Not only is this a means to control noise, traffic and emissions, think of the wonderful on going exercise you'd get.

**After the close of April's A-Z, I plan to continue to write a post a day in the month of May using again the A-B-C's as my guide.  My focus for the month of May will be Spain.  I've been planning and almost have every letter thought out.  If others are interested in continuing to blog daily using our A-B-C's, please let me know.  We could start a linky and continue what we've begun during April.  I don't imagine it will be anywhere near the scope of the annual April Challenge.  But, if you're interested, please let me know in your comment.  And even if you're not up for another blog challenge, do stop back in, I have much to share from recent travels to Spain.**

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