Gibraltar: Rock of Monkey's

Yay!!! The day has finally come to travel down to British owned, really the south of Spain, Gibraltar! I have been told it is just one big rock on the very southern tip of Spain with lots and lots of monkeys. They were right. When I flew into the tiny little airport, the runway is also an intersection to the main road into Gibraltar from Spain, I realized how little it is (and yes again, it is basically just a rock). Andy picked me up and we went down to Main Street with all the shopping, a cathedral and a big square where we had a delicious jug of sangria, the first of MANY on this trip, and after a bit of mid-afternoon drinks, with my head a little fuzzy, it was time to see the infamous moneys I have heard so much about!

We hopped in a huge work van of Andy's (this seems to be a recurring theme with us) and began the journey to the top of The Rock. On the way up I soon began to learn there are absolutely no rules, at all, on the road. People do whatever they want and run into whatever they want. And if you are on a scooter then you rule, it is as if you are the semi on the road. This seemed to be the case all over Spain as well. I was terrified and relived when he said, "We're at the rock and on our way up" ..... until I saw how small these roads were, ten times smaller than the ones in the UK!! Yikes!!! And on the very edge of a 90 degree drop! But my mind was soon taken away form this when I saw my first Gib monkey!! Then I saw another and another and another!! They are everywhere and there are literally hundreds!! I couldn't wait to get out of the car and see them up close! And did we see them up close!!! Those little devils are not afraid of anything! I was terrified of them!! They come right up to you with absolutely no fear at all and ready to steal any thing they could from you! I began to have flash backs from the movie Monkey Trouble!


At the top of the rock we looked out on the Atlantic ocean, all of Gibraltar, Spain, and Africa! It was amazing. I couldn't believe how close I was to Africa! I can almost say I was there! We also went exploring in an old WWII war cave. As usual I was following along behind Andy questioning if we were going to get in trouble, but really just a bit sacred of what might be lurking in the cave. Once inside it it was so worth it. Inside the cave there was a huge opening into the rock of old bunkers the soldiers slept in defending the Big rock from Hitler. Very cool experience.

After admiring the amazing views and playing with the vicious and a bit frightening looking monkeys, it was dinner time!! We went to the boardwalk and has a bottle of Spanish Rioja, Andy's fav, while watching the sun set. FAB!! Then went to a little restaurant, Guachos, tucked inside the hundreds of years old city wall and had some of the best seafood I have ever had! It is my new favorite restaurant!!!!!!! I had king prawns, that were literally bigger than lobster and tasted better than it too, and Andy had a mixed seafood dish with amazing fish and a few of the humongous shrimp! I have really never seen anything like these things! They were unreal! Shrimp on roids!!

I'm Back!

Well I have been a terrible blogger these past few weeks!! Sorry!

Since I have last posted LOTS and LOTS has happened! Andy was sent to Gibraltar, a tiny, tiny piece of land on the south of Spain owned by Britain. He will be there for three weeks for work. So I decided to stay in Horsham with his family. Worked perfectly. This way Louise and I have company and are not sitting alone in two different places twiddling our thumbs all day! Andy and I got here on Saturday October 3. We visited for a short bit with his Nan and the rest of his family before we were off to a pub to say congratulations to his friend on the birth of his first baby. Then off we went around to his friends Katie and Barry's house for chinese and Cranium! Girls vs boys and we killed them!! Andy may be perfect at most things but at board games I dominate!!!!! Then on Sunday he left until the end of October! Booooo!! But on the bright side I am going out to Gibraltar and Spain for five days on the 14th!

My few weeks at the Murdoch's has been fun and entertaining! On the first Tuesday I was there I went out for afternoon tea, my very first afternoon tea (how very English of me!), with Louise and her friends from teaching. As we went up to order, never having done this before, when asked what I would like to have I just followed suit and said, "tea"! Then asked what I wanted with my tea, not quite sure still what a scone is and wondering if the cheese one on display would be good with tea, (I am thinking gross!), followed with an American answer "Chocolate chip cookie please!" Wonder if I had said biscuit I might not have gotten such bizarre looks..... Apart from looking sooooo American as I ordered, my first tea experience was FAB! Louise's friends from work were an absolute riot!! I felt like I was back with my girls or my mom and her friends with the stories and gossip they told!! Pauline, Louise's good friend and teaching assistant, had me almost peeing in my pants when she told a story of a "friend" from years ago who got Deep Heat (or Icy Hot) in a very, very sensitive area while being "intimate" one night. I take it that it is a very uncomfortable thing for a man to have on his sensitive area! And as she said "That relationship didn't go very far after that".

The next day, a few other friends Louise works with came over for more tea. It really is shocking how much tea they drink over here (no wonder the Boston Tea Party was such an insult to them..... they worship this stuff!) and more pastries. I think by the time I am done here in Horsham I will have gained 10 ponds on tea, biscuits and pastries!! But I must say the pastries are pretty damn good!!

When the weekend rolled around I was getting super, super excited to go to Gibraltar and Spain! Only a few days left! All I could think about was seeing Andy, being in sunny warm Spain and drinking lots and lots of sangria! Hola Señor y Gracias!! Maybe I should have brushed up on that Spanish......

Out and About with the Murdoch's

Last Thursday Andy's parents make a road trip down to see us in Poole. They stayed on High Street, the end of the street with all the shopping, so we met them outside out apartment and took them on the other end of High Street, through Old Town Poole. We walked around as Andy chatted acting as tour guide. If he wasn't already such a good military man he would make a perfect tour guide! He is quite the chatter of knowledge! We went and got a pint and some food at our new local pub, The Plymouth Hoy. My summer edition Lemony Cricket ale was amazing, as always. After grabbing grub and showing off our town we showed off our bare but still cute apartment. 

Louise loves the country side in Dorset, as we all do,  so we took a drive, it was a stunning day, to a small sea town Swanage and around Corfe. We drove through the Sandbanks, according to our tour guide it is the most expensive place in the world. The homes here cost more than anywhere in the world. None of us could figure it out! I mean, it was petty and all, but I have seen better and in much warmer weather, such as... Florida!! Supposedly it is so expensive because one: the people who own these homes are big wigs in London, and two: the front yard is water and the back yard is water (giving it the name The Sandbanks). After seeing the multi million pound homes we took the ferry across into the country side while eating a Cadbury's 99 ice cream! Yum Yum Yum!! 

We got to Swanage and I fell in love with the place! Louise has always loved this little seaside town and I can see why. It was such a quaint tiny town right on the water. It felt as if you have stepped back in time. We just strolled around window shopping and watching crazy kids who were brave enough to play in the freezing ocean! I can't wait to come back and explore some more! Mom you will LOVE it here! We then set off for a walk around Corfe to see the castle while sipping on a pint! It was a fantastic afternoon!

After our fabulous day exploring more of the English country and me feeling starved, surprise surprise, we went to dinner at a little Thai restaurant called Thai restaurant haha! It was amazing!! I ate so much I felt like someone was going to have to roll me out of there!! Thank god everywhere is in walking distance because I would NOT have been able to drive!! I could barley breath. The best cure for this... a few more pints down at our local!