Hugh... (I'm posting my reply elsewhere here, so others can see my comments.)
» How was your trip to Spain etc? Was the rain mainly on the
plain? « It was "good" ... not great. I had
expected we would have more "free time> but the two weeks was
really very "crowded" with day trips out from the Bajondillo Apartment
Hotel in Torremolinos. We opted out of only two excursions,
an overnight to Seville and a day trip into the countryside outside of
Torremolinos to join a local family in their home for an
intimate visit and lunch. However, we definitely did
a day trip to Gibraltar and an
overnight optional excursion to Tangier, Morocco. We also
visited the Alhambra Palace at Granada and the Picasso Museum in
Malaga, plus a trip up in the mountains to Ronda and a short excursion
to Mijas.
 Bajondillo Apartments (on right) was a good venue,
we'd probably rate in two and a half stars. (Click
here for hotel web site.) We were located
in the middle building, on the east side (right), on the ninth floor
looking down from the balcony at the pool, the street, the promenade,
the beach and out at the Mediterranean Sea!
By the way, do
access the web site above and check out the web cam ... it's on 24 / 7
and scans the beach, etc. from the top of the building on the left in the above picture,
I already know I'm going to
get a ration of grief with my next comment ... personally, I was
unimpressed with the food in Spain. I became a fan ... not
... of tapas and paella. In fact, while I don't want to be
considered an "Ugly American," the best meal I had during my two weeks
in Spain was ... a Burger King Whopper!
<blush> Suffice it to say I learned a
lot ... I have always considered myself to be pretty well travel savvy,
but until this trip, I had never heard of Torremolinos and
Malaga. Turns out Malaga has a population of around five
hundred and fifty thousand people! And, before this trip, I
had envisioned Tangier as being a sleep little desert village in the
desert beside the Strait of Gibraltar! NOT ... Tangier has a
population of SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE!
<whew> Now, as far as "the rain in
Spain" being relegated to the plains, I'm here to attest to the fact
that it isn't restricted to any plain! As a matter of fact,
the entire Costa del Sol of Spain is extremely mountainous and while it
only rained once on us during the two weeks, that was the morning we
went up to Ronda ... and that definitely is not on a plain, but fairly
high in the mountains! <smile> So, another "My Fair Lady"
myth exposed! <grin> I am glad we went
... but I seriously doubt I'll be returning to Spain and the Costa del
Sol.
<sigh>
Jim
Edited Nov-15 by Jamaica Jim Jordan | 
