It’s the Little Things {sunsets and strongbows}

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Reb

Pretty laid back week around here although we have been awfully busy at work. I’m finally feeling comfortable in my new position and have been rearranging closets and shredding outdated paperwork all week. I’ve been going through closets and toys at home as well. I went to housing and picked up the key for the other half of our duplex and we are going to use their storage to start sorting through all of our keep/sell/toss stuff so we can move with only stuff we want/need.

Onto my little things to be thankful for:

We went out with my friend Sheree to a quick dinner. Sunset on the beach, it was perfect timing. Chilly though! I cannot WAIT until summer!

Strongbow cider. My friend Dana introduced me to this at ol’ Molly Malone’s, our local Irish pub. It is delicious! While it’s better on tap I was super excited to find it in cans!

One of my FAVORITE things, a three-day weekend! All of us are off on Monday and we are looking forward to relaxing all weekend long! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends as well!

Linking up with Aisle to Aloha’s

Little Things Friday Link Up

Gibraltar, a little bit of Britain right next door!

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Reb

One of the first trips that we took when we moved here way back in 2008 was taking a day trip to Gibraltar.

The Rock. It just pops up out of nowhere. It's HUGE!

At that time we weren’t that comfortable driving around yet (I think we had been here for a month) but our local Information, Tickets & Travel (ITT) office offered tours.

The tour was by bus with a pit stop/coffee stop halfway there. While it was nice to not have to worry about driving, we realized just what an easy trip this was and have since done it two more times. It only takes about an hour and a half from Rota (if that).

The most important thing is that you MUST bring your PASSPORT!!! I know SO many people who have gotten to the border and thought that government ID was okay. Passports are a necessity!

The best way to get onto the rock is by parking on the Spain side of the border in the town of La Linea. There is a McDonald’s right across the street with a large parking garage underneath. Parking is cheap and it is a 5 minute walk to the border. U.S. passport holders get waved through (at least we were, maybe we are just very non-threatening looking).

Crossing into Gibraltar

Here is what we like to do:

Don’t hop on a tour right away, grab one of the local buses and take it downtown. It runs a Euro or two per person (cheaper for kids), buy a round trip ticket it’ll save time later. The bus will take you downtown and drop you off in front of the Casemate Gate.

Enter through here!

Once you walk through the gate you will arrive on Casemate Square. The square has a great selection of restaurants (including some chain ones like BK and Pizza Hut if you are just fiending for a taste of America).

When my mom came this past September we wandered around the square before deciding on one with a tasty looking menu.

Waiting for some lunch...

O was just in a mood and nothing could make him happy. I think he finally came around with some Fanta Naranja and fries stolen from our plates.

Not hungry, just hot and cranky. And don't even THINK about looking at him.

Funniest reaction EVER!

So my mom ordered fish and chips since we were somewhere English. She was not expecting them to bring her a entire half of a fish. What is really funny (besides her disgusted look) was that the fish turned out to be excellent and she was SO happy she had ordered it.

Also in Casemate Square is Gibraltar Crystal. My mother-in-law was contemplating a return visit to Spain just to be able to go back and shop at this store. They have a demonstration area set up so you can watch them blow glass, always fascinating. You can get find some nice pieces to take home for £10-15. Of course some of the one of a kind pieces are several hundred pounds.

As far as currency goes, in Gibraltar both pounds and euro are accepted. I recommend just using euro because if you do happen to pull out Gibraltar pounds from and ATM or exchange money to get some and you don’t use them all you aren’t going to be able to use them anywhere else. Gibraltar pounds have the same exchange rate as traditional pounds but can’t be used anywhere else in the world. Stick with euro!

Right off of the main square there is a promenade that takes you through the center of downtown and along lots more shops and cafes. Plenty of photo opportunities with phone booths,

cannns,

the man himself, Lord Nelson,

Taken in 2008 our first visit. Look at baby O!

Gibraltar has SO much history, it can be difficult to take in during the course of one visit. It has been occupied by so many different groups and has been the center of so many different conflicts. Because of this there are quite a few memorials as well as a cemetery to walk through.

One of the beautiful gardens along the walk.

Once you’ve done enough walking and/or eating it’s time to hop on one of the rock tours. While there is a gondola that takes you up to the top (it is cheaper than the van tours) I recommend shelling out the money. The van tours only cost 20 euro per person and if you have a child that can sit on your lap you don’t have to pay for them. There are a few different itineraries but pretty much all of them hit St. Michael’s Caverns and the Siege Tunnels. Not every tour will hit the Pillar of Hercules, Europa Point or top of the rock. The drivers are full of information and every one we have ever had has been quite the character.

Pillar of Hercules with Grandma Carol

Europa Point - Morocco is over there somewhere (Also 2008 photo)

But EVERY tour will take you to see the monkeys. Oh the monkeys.

Hello mama!

The Gibraltar apes are world famous. It is said that as long as there are apes in Gibraltar the British will hold onto the rock (even if replenishment from some of their African cousins is necessary as was necessary during WWII). The apes are Barbary macaques and are very bold. They love to steal from unsuspecting tourists. We have seen them dig into purses and backpacks, jump into people’s cars to steal food and grab any plastic bag in sight.

One of the great things about having a driver is the fact that they come with treats to get the monkeys up close and personal for photo ops. This was our very first driver, Charlie. He was awesome. A crusty old Gibraltarian he had no problems sharing with the monkeys:

Charlie feeding monkeys peanuts from his mouth.M in 2009. I need to steal the photos from my mom's camera for some from 2011.

The second time we went back our driver was actually Charlie’s son-in-law. Small rock!

During the hot summer months the stop at St. Michael’s Caverns is much appreciated. These natural caverns were used as a hospital during WWII, and are currently used as a performance hall. There are lots of super cool rock formations, although taking pictures in the dark is a pain in the butt.

While walking all along these attractions you will see these iron rings sticking out from the rock. These were used before the road was present (oh my God. What a road it is, if you think coastline driving in California is bad, this will scare you silly. There are turns where the van has to stop and make a three point turn, just to drive down the switchback! Also for the drivers to get licensed to do tours on the rock they have to drive the entire thing backwards! Yikes!) Anyways, these rings were used to hoist things like cannons and supplies from the base of the rock up to the top courtesy of some donkey power. I love old metal. I seriously took 20 pictures of these rings.

The Siege Tunnels are built into the side of the rock and have ventilation points that conveniently double as cannon ports.

2009, more cannon sitting!

The tunnels end here:

The view from the tunnels. That is the Gibraltar airport and also the only road onto the rock. The main road crosses the runway and in the event of a take-off or landing the road is closed and the runway is swept for debris.

Clouds rolling over the rock, it was crazy seeing this from the top!

Gibraltar is a great day trip and one of our favorite places to take visitors to our little corner of Europe! Got a question, let me know!

It’s the little things {metal mouth and roaming canines}

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Reb

{Little thing numero uno}

Free dental care overseas!

And that includes orthodontics! M got a retainer on Friday, she only has a slight crossbite but the orthodontist said he’ll probably be able to fix it with just the retainer. We’ll go in for a recheck in a few week and if it’s not improving she’ll have to get brackets on the front 4 upper teeth (still free!)

{Little thing numero dos}

My dog decided to go on a walkabout this week as well. Back gate was left open and when my husband and kids came home they saw him in the street surrounded by kids. Well they didn’t think he had even left our immediate area but then on Facebook I see that he actually traveled a few streets over and was saying ‘hi’ to everyone! Silly dog! Glad everything was okay, we love this silly dog!

Little things Link Up Party with Aisle to Aloha!!

Three Kings Day, Spain’s REAL holiday!

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Reb

So tomorrow January 6th is Three King’s Day. It is the day that is celebrated in Spain over Christmas. The gifts, parties all the big stuff, that is all saved for Three King’s Day. This day celebrates the gift giving of the magi who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. (So really it does make more sense than exchanging gifts of Christmas Day) So the three kings are all over, on decorations, in the parades, everyone knows their names (something I NEVER learned in Sunday school).

So tonight, the night before the parade wandered through Rota. It started at about 4:30 at the castle downtown with the kings making their appearance and then the parade worked its way up from the marina toward the base. I was RUSHING to get out of work and get the kids to the parade since this is our last one. (oh so sad!) Thankfully in Spain everything generally starts a little late so I was hoping I could find the parade somewhere and catch up to it.

It couldn’t have gone more perfectly! The is a large parking lot just off base at the bus station/gypsy market I decided to park in and then walk the rest of the way. Well we walk to the other side of the bus station and there everyone is lined up on the side of the road waiting for the floats. THREE minutes later they came! Perfect!

O waiting for the parade. Thankfully it was a super short wait and the weather was just perfect!

These kids came prepared!

Adorable little girls!

Pretty girls! I would love to be able to ride the floats in these fabulous dresses! So much fun!

It's raining candy!

Streamers EVERYWHERE!

Cuties!

And some sweet little boys rode the floats too!

One of the kings (I don't know which one, don't judge me!)

Tossing soccer balls

Getting ready to grab some candy!

I panicked for a second thinking that they were going to have to shove the candy into my purse, but yay, I always have my reusable collapsible shopping shoved in my purse so I was able to pull that out. That bag has come in handy SO many times!

We came home with SO many streamers!

Grabbing as much candy as possible!

Now, there are professionals who SERIOUSLY come prepared to the parade. One of the most common things is the ol’ upside down umbrella, the better to catch candy with! Really clever idea, however, we don’t need that much candy!

HARDCORE parade-goers

Even easier, just bring a blanket!

The aftermath

We had a fun time at our last Three Kings Day parade… Thankfully my kids aren’t expecting the three kings to come visit tonight, OUR holidays are over!

EVERYTHING in Spain closes early on New Year’s (well except the bars…)

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Reb

On New Year’s Eve I had wanted to go out to dinner in Jerez de la Frontera, a bigger city about 15 minutes away. There is a restaurant there (near Ikea!) called Wok that does a kind of Mongolian buffet. We have a smaller version in Rota but I had heard good things about this one, bigger, nicer decor, better buffet selection.

Well we get out there at around 7:30pm which is early but we figured if we could kill time if we needed to wait until 8. Wok is closed. Dark, no one inside. Okay maaaaaybe we are a little early. So we hit up the grocery store Alcampo next door to look for sparkling apple/grape juice. No sparkling non-alcoholic beverages were found (although I did see Lambrusco for sale, I’ll have to go back and pick some up!) we did get some delicious donuts for dessert/breakfast/who knows they just looked yummy.

After killing time in the grocery store back to peek at Wok, nope still dark and not a soul in sight. Let’s just hop over to the mall that is right next door and find something in the food court. Park in the strangely half empty parking lot to walk up into the mall and see only people walking out. What the heck? Its almost 8pm on a Saturday night, usually the mall is packed with people! Mall doors locked. Oh no. This isn’t a good sign. Back over to the Ikea/Wok shopping center, McDonald’s maybe? Closed in the five minutes it took to run to the mall and back.

Now at this point we could have just given up and gone home except for the fact that I have been slacking on grocery shopping and there was nothing to eat at home (okay maybe pb & j but that was our last resort). So back to the base we go, we’ll hit up Pizza Villa even though we had pizza the night before. I figure a chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich will save the night. Pizza Villa closed. While I am ready to cry and give up because I am cranky, hungry and frustrated that we are all dressed up with literally no where to eat, my husband perseveres.

Out into Rota, where surprise, surprise: Wok Rota is open! And of course we were only the second table in there (after other Americans). I really think everyone in Spain was already making their way toward a plaza to party.

So food! We finally got to eat!

Ended up eating 4 shrimp, 2 hot wings, french fries and 1 bite of rice.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that all THREE of those plates are mine. I was starving when I filled them.

Not shown, his plate of squid and frog legs.

Getting 2012 started

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Reb

Well the first day of 2012 turned out to be a beautiful day, the temperature hit the 60s and the sun was shining. We took Bowser for a walk along with the RC car to a nearby playground with a field attached. Bowser LOVES chasing anything with wheels; bikes, power wheels, RC cars, the vacuum. I am actually worried that he is going to try chasing a real car one day and end up getting run over!

Bowser chasing the car across a field

He can *almost* catch the car

Our base has playgrounds all over the place, there are probably 3 within a mile or two not counting the elementary school (which has three). Ever since Bowser was a puppy we have been taking him to playgrounds and getting him used to walking on the different surfaces and playing on the slides. Now he LOVES going down the slide and will go down repeatedly by himself.