As if by magic, our second set of guests arrived – actually on our wedding anniversary! Hence H & I nipped out the night before for a pre-versary dinner, at one of the beach bar restaurants, Santorini.
And it was a social whirl for the next 7 days as it was F&R’s first visit to Chiclana, so we of course had to show them all the highlights. Ranging from ice chilled beers in frozen terracotta ‘pots’ at our local, Che bar, to ice creams over the road – and somehow I have still only had 2 since arriving! Must up the ante on that one. And of course, morning walks – here F&R being introduced to one of the many Melkart statues, this one in the little fishing port.
And then of course there was a magnificent fish lunch at La Fontanilla in Conil – Fi & I arrived by car, while the boys sweated their asses in by bike. Many garlic prawns met their end, as did a sea bass, grilled squid and a lot of Conil tomatoes with tuna sashimi to boot.
Followed by a long and very leisurely walk up the 7km beach, and a stop in – oh god I think it was eight – bars on the way back. I very sensibly – knowing my rubbish booze tolerance these days – did not partake in them all, but the others did (and there were some hot little hangovers the next morning!!) We introduced them to many a Spanish bar snack, including the ‘big as your head’ tasty prawn tortillitas. A right laugh of an afternoon, with bums on swings, then wicker pods and then wobbling on our bikes back to base and to see Maddie.
One ‘first time’ activity was a visit to the annual Horse Feria in Jerez. We weren’t quite sure what to expect but it turned out to be a huge outdoor space with about 200 (?) or more restaurants all set up with tables. All of which were empty on our arrival and then in a blink of an eye – all totally full with locals scoffing their way through the menus. There was a horse & cart parade on the afternoon that we went – being watched and judged by hundreds of Spanish people, all turned out in their finery, from the women in bright flamenco dresses, all with flowers in their hair to the chaps in shirts & chinos, with wide brimmed man hats. Several sherries were duly consumed and I was designated driver homewards…
A lot of time was spent reading and relaxing by the pool as the weather got steadily hotter all week – thank god I bought three new bikinis before coming out – they have been my daily mainstay!
All in all, a very good and busy week – and we are now detoxing for a few days before the White family arrive tomorrow. x