A Spanish Holiday - Part 5.

Our own personal chef.

One of the best aspects of staying in this particular rental property, is that the English owners live right next door. This can be very helpful if there are any questions you need to ask and also very useful if you want any advice about the best places to eat etc etc.

Another great aspect is the fact that one of the owners is a qualified chef and will cook a meal for you. He also does a mean carrot cake by the way.
Obviously, this service has to be paid for and it's not the sort of thing that you'd want to do every evening. But, for a day when you either don't want to cook yourself, or can't be bothered to walk into town to a restuarant, it's very handy indeed.

Being a qualified chef means that Ainsley doesn't just cook anything.He has his favourite things to cook. But, there is a nice selction of Thai, Indian, Japanese, Italian and even English cuisine.
All the meals are freshly prepared, with organic ingredients, if possible and they are served, by Ainsley, at your holiday cottage.

Well, last night my wife and i decided to treat ourselves to one of the Thai options and what a meal it turned out to be. In case you're wondering, we cooked the girls something seperately, as the Thai option wasn't really to their taste. They were quite happy with this by the way.

The meal consisted of:
5 mushroom soup,.
Cucumber salad,
Carrot and green bean salad,
Thai chicken curry with rice,
Home made lime ice cream.

This was all washed down with a nice, cold bottle of white wine. This was hastily supplied from Ainsley's fridge, as we'd forgotten to  put our bottle in ours!
He even gave us each a glass of a special dessert wine, made by local friends of his, to finish the meal off. Which it did very nicely indeed.

Before the meal was served, Ainsley came and set the table. Which you may be able to see in the photo above? He was even wearing his cooking apron and regulation harlequin checked chefs trousers. Very colourful.
Everything was presented very nicely and it was obvious that Ainsley takes a lot of pride in both the cooking and the presentation.

The meal itself was wonderful in every aspect and is easily the best meal we've ever had in Spain. It is a little ironic that the best meal we've ever eaten in Spain happens to be a Thai meal. But, it must be said that Spain is not a nation really known for it's cuisine. This is something that Ainsley agrees with.

All in all, it was a lovely evening. Made even better by the surroundings. It's not every day that you get to eat a meal like that, specially prepared and served to you, sitting by a pool, with a great view of the evening sun on the Alpujarran hills in the distance.
And to cap it all off and something that the girls really enjoyed. A nearby Spanish family were having some kind of family celebration and their music started to kick in, just as we finished our meal. That certainly got the girls dancing by the pool.
This made it all a very nice, idyllic and authentic Spanish evening, albeit with Thai food. But, somehow it all seemed to go together well.

Strangely enough, we're thinking of having another of Aisnleys menu options, later in the holiday.
We just can't decide what it might be....yet.

                                    (A meal with a view)

A Spanish Holiday - Part 4.

I've just answered a comment, on my last holiday blog post, by Ken. He noticed that i wasn't sure what day it was when i wrote that post & he's right. I did have to think about it. As i've replied to him. That is what this type of holiday is all about really and exactly what we were looking for.
Especially, after the year that we've had so far.

Although, there is no regime to the holiday and that is one of the best things about being somewhere familiar and having no real plans for your time. It is amazing how quickly you start to slip into a kind of pattern and one that is so different to what you are used to.

For me, the day usually starts around 8am, when i get up and go and have a nice swim in the pool. I do this for a couple of reasons. One, because i think that's the best time of the day for a swim. Mainly because, as the sun is not yet made much of an impression, the water feels at it's warmest. The is not so much of a difference between the outside temperature and the temperature of the water.
I also swim, very badly as it happens, for the exercise aspect of it. It's a great way to wake you up in the morning and really gets you going.

But, even this, is a change to home life. Obviously, we don't have a nice handy pool at home. If only we did. But, when at home, my wife is always the first person to get up in the mornings. Whatever day of the week. And yet, when we're on holiday, it's always me that's up first.
So, why is this?

Well, after writing that last paragraph, i had a discussion about just that point, with my wife.
She agreed with what i'd written and said that, when on holiday, she has nothing to think about and therefore, nothing to really get up for. She feels more relaxed on holiday, because of this and consequently, she sleeps longer.
I do understand exactly what she's saying there. When you're at home, there is usually something that needs to be done. Whether that be work, or family related. That tends to keep your mind more acrtive and because of this, you don't tend to fully relax. And, subsequently, you don't sleep as well. Your mind is always, subconsciously, telling you that you should be awake and dealing with "stuff".

I can relate to this in a work context as well. Ok, so i'm not in work at the moment. But, when i was, i never felt particularly stressed and never felt that my work affected me at all. But, when i look back, i realise that it did. I've certainly felt better and more relaxed since i've stopped working and i know that i'm not alone in noticing that effect.
So, even if we don't realise it, our "real" life does have an effect on us and, as i said before, coming on a holiday like this is the perfect remedy for it.

The only trouble is, reality is only a short airplane ride away and it's only a matter of time before we board that flight.
Having said that. For me at least and for the first time ever, that is not the case.
And that will be the topic for a future blog post.

A Spanish Holiday - Part 2

Blogging by the pool.

So, here we are in Orgiva for the third time. All three times have been in different rental properties and in slightly different areas of the town. Which does give a bit of variety and also ensures that, although you are staying in the same town, you do see things differently every visit and notice something new every time.

This does bring up that question of whether it is better, or more preferable, to holiday in the same place every year. Or, whether you should try somewhere new?
I'll admit, that if you'd asked me this question a few years ago, i would probably have said that it would be better to go somewhere new. After all, the familiar is all very good. But, where's the variety and excitement in that?
Now though and as much as i'd love to visit new places. There us something good and maybe even reassuring, about going on holiday to somewhere that you know and are comfortable in. Especially if you are travelling with your family. That family element makes a big difference. You have to have found the right place of course. But, i believe that we have.

This also raises that old question about the difference between a holiday and travelling.
Personally, i would consider this to be a holiday. Travelling, for me, means going somewhere different and exploring the area a bit more. This holiday is really all about relaxing and there's nothing wrong with that. But, i certainly wouldn't call it travelling.

For the first time in Spain, we don't even have a car. That shows how much "travelling" we intend to do this time around!
This decision was made for a few reasons. One was the sudden rise in the price of car rentals in Spain. The cost was getting ridiculous, especially if all you are using the car for is basically to get to and from the airport. Plus a bit of driving around town.
Another reason was that, for the first time, we are actually within walking distance of the town centre. That makes a great difference and is really very useful. I'm not a big fan of driving at the best of times. So, to have the centre of Orgiva on your doorstop was a big consideration and a big bonus, when renting this property.
Another aspect, was that the owners of the property, who live next door, were prepared to come and pick us up from Malaga airport. That's a 90 minute car journey, each way. Ok, they charge us for that service. But, it sure works oiut a lot cheaper than renting a car for essentially the same thing.

So, we are now happliy settled into our holiday home and we're all getting into our own routines.

As i mentioned before. This year we have brought my daughter and her friend along with us, as our son has basically flown the family holiday nest and is too busy with his girlfriend. The experience of holidaying with three women, two of whom are 16 years old, is an interesting one, to say the least! But, to be fair to them, it's all working out. So far at least. And having my daughters friend along is great company for her and didn't cost us any extra money. So, it's all good.

It is amazing how you can slip into a completely different way of life, a brand new routine and in a foreign country too. The fact that you are not tied by time in any way obviously helps.
Mornings are spent lazing around, or blogging by the pool. The afternoons are spent sunning ourselves and lying by the pool.

The sun is shining and life is good.

A Spanish Holiday - Part 1

As i mentioned yesterday, i have decided to try and write a few blogs whilst on holiday.
As it happens, yesterdays post started off being about the holiday. But, it somehow morphed into something completely different. This often happens and my blogs rarely turn exactly as expected. But, i think that's a topic for another day?

For those who aren't already aware, i am currently on holiday with my wife, daughter and her friend in Spain. I think the title of this blog may well have been a bit of a giveaway?
This is our fourth trip to Spain and our third to this particular area. It is an area that we have grown to really like. Hence the return visits.
We are staying in the town of Orgiva, which is nestled in the Alpujarras hills, in the province of Andalucia. The Alpujarras are essentially the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, which can be seen rising above the town. Orgiva itself has been called the capitol of the Alpujarras as, although a fairly small town, it is still the largest in the local area.
As a location it is perfect, being a similar distance from both the Mediterranean coast and the city of Granada.

As i mentioned, this is our fourth visit to Spain and to Andalucia itself. Spain was one of those places and Andalucia especially, that i had always wanted to visit and a place that i, somehow, knew i would instantly like. I was not wrong. Hence the return visits.

There have been a number of places that have fallen into this category for me and none of them have disappointed me so far, when i have been lucky enough to eventually visit them. I'll name three: India, Egypt and California.
I don't think i could put my finger on exactly why i knew i'd instantly like these particular places. Intuition perhaps? Or maybe it's because they are all places that i had an interest in, for whatever reason and therefore, i knew quite a lot about them before i visited. That way, i had some idea of what to expect and that may well have been what drew me there in the first place?

Our first visit to Andalucia was to the classic white hill village of Frigiliana, which is in a slightly different area to Orgiva, although not that many miles away along the coast.
We straight away loved the local scenery, the people, the lifestyle and most certainly the weather and knew that we would have to return to the area at sometime in the future.
Frigiliana itself is a stunning village and is well worth a visit, if you ever get the chance. As i said, it is one of the classic white hill villages that you see in all of the tourist literature. It gets a little busy with all of the tourist traffic, especially the coach parties. But, is still pretty much unspoilt.

Our next visit was partly determined by a book.
Whilst doing a bit of research for our next potential Spanish holiday. A task that i love doing by the way. I came across a book called "Driving Over Lemons" by an English author, Chris Stewart. Chris Stewart had settled in the Alpujarras hills, very close to the town of Orgiva, some years ago and this was the first part of his story. I was instantly hooked, as was my wife.
I narrowed down my search for our next family holiday down to the Orgiva area and found a suitable property, just outside the town.
Although it sounds a little extravagant, we decided that this time we would need to have a private pool, wherever we stayed. What surprised me and has surprised others when i have told them. Is that it is no more expensive to stay in a property, with a private pool, in this area, than it is to stay in a run of the mill holiday home in Britain. In fact it is probably cheaper, especially when you take the cost of living into the equation and also when you take the time and trouble to book it all yourself. Isn't the Internet wonderful?

                                (A pool with a view)

We first stayed in Orgiva in 2003 and this is our third visit to the town. We love it here and can see why it has inspired the likes of Chris Stewart and many other Europeans, especially Brits, to settle here.
"Driving Over Lemons" and its two sequels have become best sellers in the UK and have really opened up this area to tourism. This has not always been to the liking of some, as Orgivas success has inflated property prices in the area. In fact the British owner of the property we are staying in this time around, mentioned this very fact to us the other day.

But, this is one of those double edged swords. Yes, property prices may have been inflated. Well, some of them anyway. But, there is no doubting that the success and interest in Chris Stewarts books has brought a lot of new and much needed money to the town. Thankfully, on the surface at least, this doesn't appear to have had a detrimental effect.
Orgiva still retains it's "real " Spanish feel and although there are many tourists around, they are still well outnumbered by the locals. You will see and sit with as many locals, in the town centre bars, as you will tourists.
And that is one of the things that has made us return to Orgiva and the Alpujarras several times now and is what already has us talking about "next time".

(Well, this blog post is a case in point. It has, once again, morphed into something that it was never intended to be. Oh well, there's always next time!)