Back to Oz -

The big event for this year was the wedding of our son Anthony to his lovely partner Jenny. This occasion occurred on the 22nd September on a wonderful spring day in Melbourne Australia. I suppose we got the easy end of the day. Being the grooms parents meant a fairly relaxed day, with our responsibilities confined to making sure the suits were ready, shirts ironed, shoes cleaned and the guys fed before the big event. As we were overseas our pre-wedding jobs were also light on as Jenny and Anthony with the help of Jen's parents had everything planned beautifully.

It was a great day with family and friends from England, Scotland, South Australia and of course Victoria (and Spain obviously) all joining the bride and groom celebrate their day. Whilst Nana and Pa Selway were able to make the day, unfortunately Gran and Pa Berki missed the event with Pa having major surgery a few days earlier. However, our trip back did provide us with the opportunity to catch up with them and help out a bit with hospital visits and making sure Gran had everything she needed whilst watching over Pa. Daughter Lauren was a great help taking on a house full of visitors, acting as usher and reader at the wedding and generally keeping everything sane for the month we were back in Australia.

The reception was held at the Park Hyatt in the city and was great, with the speeches by Anthony's mates, Simon (Jen's Dad) and Anthony being amongst some of the best. Jenny looked wonderful, the bridesmaid were lovely and the guys did pretty good on the appearance front as well. Altogether a terrific day (even if it did seem a long time coming) and Ian and I could not be happier in welcoming Jenny officially into the family (mind you she has been accepted as part of the family for quite some time).

After 4 weeks of excitement and emotion, it was time to get back on the planes for the long haul back. Due to work Ian flew straight through to Spain whilst I took the opportunity to stop over and have another week in Kuala Lumpur as it was my last chance to see everyone for this year. Another great week and then time for a rest back in Spain

Week Break in Singapore 27 July

I joined Ian in Singapore for his last week. Whilst Malaysia has colour, traffic, character and its associated frustrations, Singapore "works". It is the only airport I have experienced where immigration and customs is a smooth, SHORT process. Whilst Ian spent everyday working (and most of the evenings as well) I had plenty of time to explore, shop and stock up various items I have found difficult to find in Spain (most likely due to my inability to converse in the Spanish language).

Ian and I headed out to my favorite dining spot in Boat Quay which has salt and pepper soft shell crab. I have tried this dish in many countries and it is only in Singapore that they seem to get it just right. We caught the national day firework practise which was very impressive and partially made up for missing the Malaysian fireworks competition being run in September to commemorate their 50th birthday. We also tried out the Thai food on the opposite site of the river this trip, the view was terrific with the old cafes and Asian boats reflected in the river, backed by high rise towers and fireworks against the dark sky.

The Hilton Hotel on the corner of Scotts and Orchard Roads sells the "best" Margarita - see the picture of Ian with his coke spider and the SIZE of the frozen Margarita I was served. From this corner it is possible to just sit and watch the world of Singapore pass by.

It was the end of sale time in Singapore and I was able to pick up a few shirts for Ian as well as some great designer baby clothes for my niece. At sale time some of these lovely little items are as cheap as Target (KMart style store) bits and pieces back home. I was also able to locate some study books that I was having trouble sourcing in Spain.....so a successful week. As we were staying at the Park Hyatt on Scotts Road, getting around the shopping area is very easy, with walking bridges and underground trains within 50 meters of the hotel. The only disappointment was the spa treatment I had whilst there. Malaysian spas are generally very Asian and very good. The Singapore Spa seemed to cater for the Western type of customer and the massage was rather soft and did not leave me with the same sense of well-being usually achieved from an Asian style Spa. Not to worry - I'll make up for it in KL in October

Week Break in Kuala Lumpur July 20th

A three week work stint in Singapore for Ian provided a great opportunity for me to tag along and pop up to Malaysia for a week to catch up with some of the "breakfast group". Our time living in KL was spent in the apartment block connected to the Prince Hotel which provided a residence lounge as part of the facilities. Many of the "long termers" became close friends, and would meet in the lounge regularly for breakfast and arrange shopping, lunches etc etc etc. So it was terrific to catch up with some of the ladies (and little Sienna) and ofcourse Meg (who is now pregnant) and hear the "KL news".

Good friends Monica and David provided accomodation, and Monica and Pilar kept me company on the inevitable shopping trips. Kuala Lumpur must be one of the shopping capitals of the world. It provides a mix of latest top designer fashions, local cultural buys, wonderful asian antiques and curiosities, great food and, of-course China Town. THE shopping place is KLCC. Sitting at the base of the twin towers, this centre includes a couple of department stores as well as the big name designer shops - plus has some great coffee places. The Prince is located one street away from Bukit Bintang - a street which is made up of shopping centres. Lot 10, KL Plaza, Starhill, BB Plaza, and the soon to be opened Pavilion. So the week was spent visiting all the old haunts and catching up with the sales.

It did seem strange to be back in KL with so many of the old faces no longer there. However, the old habit of meeting down in Eccochino Restaraunt continues with David and DJ joining the ladies for dinner. One of the downsides to Malaysia (and many other areas of Asia) is the risk of contracting Dengue Fever through mosquitos. Monica had several stings early in my visit and towards the end of my time with her was feeling unwell. A couple of days after leaving KL, she was hospitalised with Dengue Fever. She has recovered, returned to the Prince and is soon to be on her way to a holiday "down under".

It was a great week, stocked up on goodies, caught up with good friends, checked out the old haunts and will be back in early October to see the guys at the pool bar - Rodzie, Linda, and Tommy

CADIZ - June 25th 2007

Whilst Ian makes work trips down towards Cadiz on a weekly basis, our only tourist visit to the actual city of Cadiz coincided with a Fiesta day and we were unable to navigate our way around to the old city section. So today's tourist aim was to find the old walled section of the city and go for a wander to see what the place was like. We also wanted to look in on the stork nest we had filmed in early March to see what family additions had taken place during the last 3 months.

There are several sections of highways in our area of Spain which play host to families of storks during the spring and summer months. For those of you who have been born and bought up in Europe this may seem rather ho hum.......for us Ozzies, storks are something that you read about in nursery rhymes and we find them fascinating.

Their ability to build nests perched on high platforms on the edge of major freeways is great and watching them soar and fly so gracefully can be very time consuming (and also potentially dangerous as there are very few stop points along the road systems in Spain - so you tend to look out for them whilst driving - not so good). Anyhow, the nest we pictured being constructed in March (above)now has 3 members living in it (right).
The old centre of Cadiz is situated at the far end of the island - straight down the main street until it basically hits the far coast. In most places the city is bordered by a sea wall, so the beaches are either coves or run along the ocean side where the new town is located. Being a Sunday (and the start of Summer.....and hot), there seemed to be a local exodus from most buildings to the beach areas.
The walk along the ancient sea wall included a visit to the Castle of Santa Catalina. According to the tourist blurbs the original castle was built between 1598 and 1621. Originally erected to protect the city it was converted to a military prison for those of "higher condition" in 1769. The castle includes a chapel, barracks and warehouses which are used for art displays and exhibitions.

Leaving the coastline and moving through the old centre we were able to find some of the beautiful squares which seem to be typical for the old town centres in Spain. The buildings, churches and cathedrals which tend to border these squares are often impressive and the squares themselves vary from lovely gardens, to paved areas filled with tapas bars and restaurants, to road intersections and parking lots. Cadiz had some beauties. Stopping at one of the little bars and having a typical Spanish lunch under the umbrella is something that should not be missed. The relaxed middle of the day meal where it is expected that family and friends will take their time, gossip, drink and watch the world pass - usually in a little street with vine covered walls, bright umbrellas and plenty of shade is something that the younger western countries have missed out on.........it seems a very civilized way of living.


Cadiz has been able to maintain many of the old formal gardens throughout the old town. Many are small but are to be found every couple of blocks and in the heat of summer, the sound of the fountains, and the shade of the huge old trees provided another relaxing and cooling area to wander through and escape the afternoon sun. Whilst Cadiz does not have the stunning geographical scenery of Rhonda, and its historic castle was not quite as impressive as those in Malaga, it is a lovely city with a street scape which matches those we have seen elsewhere in Spain. Wandering through the narrow streets where stunning doorways allowed us to sometimes peek into houses which opened up to internal courtyards made for a enjoyable day. Cadiz was worth the visit.

Ronda - June 10th 2007

We had attempted this trip on Easter Sunday and although we actually arrived at our planned destination that time, we were unable to find a park and simply drove straight through and out the other side. So.....time for the second attempt. Success.


Ronda is about an hour to hour and half drive from Sotogrande, through wonderful hills and magnificent scenery. The drive is windy and sometimes steep but worth taking if you have the time. On a clear day the view from several of the lookouts can take in not only the distant Spanish hills and Gibraltar but can include the distant African mountain ranges. At this time of the year, the hills are covered in red poppies, yellow wildflowers and the various greens from the dirty green of the olive trees to the glossy sheens of orange tree leaves. In places it is truly majestic.

Ronda is a city which combines the heritage of Roman, Muslim and Christian conquests. The architecture is wonderful and in some cases the feats of engineering undertaken so many years ago are awesome.

The city square in the old town was built to combine the main functions of religion, justice and defense. The square is dominated by the Church of our Lady of the Incarnation with the City Hall providing an impressive boundary to the gardens which make up the centre section of the square. We were lucky enough to catch a parade of about 40 young people dressed for their first communion. Accompanied with a brass band, the various parish priests, nuns, parents and the rest of the parish it was an impressive pageant which went from the city square, along the main road and across the spectacular "New Bridge".

The Bridge of Ronda is spectacular. According to the ever reliable guide book it was built between 1751 and 1793 and is 98 mts high and made up of 3 arches. The central arch is 90 mts high. It is worth the walk to view the bridge from all vantage points - not just walk along the main street. We followed the track down to the Arab baths and crossed over the divide by the Bridge of San Miguel. The walk back along the edge, looking back across the river towards the House of the Moorish Kings was awesome. The view of houses perched and hanging off the edge of the almost sheer drop of 70 odd metres was breathtaking and the scene back towards the "New Bridge" was better than any available closer to the main street.


Once back at the main street, we were able to look back along the route we had taken and the landscape opened up to probably the best view of the day. The very deep, very narrow chasm which cut its way through the city, with houses perched on top overlooking the wonderful rural view which stretched away to the mountain ranges in the distance. Far below the river wound its way slowly through the rocks and pools which made up the base of the cutting. Generations of Rondarians had used the plazas and balconies which just seemed to be suspended over the gap for entertaining. We were able to watch one lucky couple have their wedding photos taken from the gardens of the House of the Moorish Kings. I imagine the background of their photos would have been world class.

It was a great day and the town was really worth the trip - highly recommended. Favorite spot for Sharyn was the House of the Moorish Kings. It now looks derelict - but that was actually part of the appeal - and its situation was 2nd to none.

TANGER - Sat 26th May 2007

As we are currently living in Sotogrande Spain - near Gibraltar, a day trip to Tangier is almost compulsory. The day started with an early rise (very rude for a Saturday) to catch the 9am fast ferry from Tarifa Spain (about 1 hour drive around the coast) -however we needed to get to the Port about 1 hour ahead of time to make sure we were able to snatch a park in the port area (not very big and is usually full by just after 8am). Ferry ride took approx 1 hour and we arrived to meet Mr Aziz just after 8am (they are 2 hours behind). Aziz is used by many of the expats and came highly recommended. After collecting the rest of the group we headed off to the coastal areas. Tangers has 320 days of sunshine each year. In other words IT NEVER RAINS........except when we are there. It started raining about 30 minutes into our tour and did not stop until we arrived back on Spanish soil - so rather than complain throughout this posting just read that into the following.......There was the usual camel rides and photo opportunity with the baby donkey (cute ....but). The drive took us through what can only be called "snob hill" and past various royal residences (very impressive), international rulers holiday homes (equally impressive) and sheiks residences (ditto). Unfortunately we were unable to see a couple of items during the trip due to an international selection committee who were viewing Morocco's bid for the 2012 World Expo. Obviously places which were involved in the bid presentation were "out of bounds" for the day including The Cave which we will return and see sometime soon.

Once the market place opened, we were taken to see the wet market. Unlike those we had seen in Malaysia, this was more western style - but very much larger, and noisier. The chickens were already slaughtered, the fish were fresh that day, and the vegetables looked fantastic. A great mix of commerce, conversation and community. Smells were fantastic with fresh herbs, dried herbs, various olive and garlic mixtures combining with fresh fish, meat and fruit aromas. From there we wandered throughout the old city. Narrow paths, archways, stone steps, small local shops with hawkers peddling a variety of goods including lovely cedar boxes, t shirts, fake watches and just about anything else you can think of. The architecture was fascinating.........small hand cut tiles making beautiful Mosaic patterns in the typical Moorish geometric patterns. Stone fretwork decorating the sides of buildings and providing artistic entrances in many of the door ways. Community ovens every few minutes where the local housewives bring their bread in the morning and their biscuits in the afternoon to be baked in large pizza type wood fired ovens. The smell was fantastic.

Then we had to pay our dues by going to the local tourist targeted shop (every city has them and every tour goes to them). Selling carpets, silver teapots, ceramics, leather goods etc etc etc. Morocco is known for its Berber hand made carpets. And no...... we did not buy one. But we had a serious look. The polite hard sell was on...wrapped in delicious mint tea and very friendly Arab hospitality...but we were unable to find exactly what we wanted - so once again we will come back.

Lunch was an interesting affair. Food was great, building was colourful - full of intricate tile designs, company was good. Not bad for a day tour. Then it was back to see the other side of the old city wall and the various sights from the highest point of the ancient town.

Tangier has been owned, colonised, invaded and ruled by just about everybody. The city has a French centre, a British area, a Portuguese element, Spanish quarter, Jewish area and obviously an Arab feel. Each succeeding power bought its own architecture and culture to the city. It is truly a mixture of races, and influences. Aziz took great pains to tell us that the place was truly international and laissez faire. Certainly we were able to see synagogues in one block with a mosque facing it on the next corner. It seemed to be a very tolerant society with the women dressed in anything from full western attire to the full Islamic requirement to cover faces, hair, arms and legs. We were informed that women were able to chose their adherence to religious dress for themselves.

Another stamp in the passbook (running out of pages very quickly). We will return in a few weeks and try to see other parts of the city and some of the coastal scenes without the rain. As with all tours one day just is not enough to do this city justice