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In a holiday mood

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  Well, it looks like we are in Lincolnshire Toto. Alright, it is flat, very, very flat…. And agricultural.  Maybe a bit drier. A lot hotter. Murcia has a number of holidays.  New Year’s Day is, radically, on 1st January and Epiphany on the 6th.  Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday [2nd, 3rd and 6th April] are holidays as is 1st May [Labour Day].  The Assumption [15th August], Hispanic Day [12th October], and All Saints [1st November] are days of rest, as is Constitution Day [6th December], Immaculate Conception [8th December] and also Christmas.  The 9th June is Murcia day. Trip Advisor reckons the top ten things to do in Murcia are: Catedral de Murcia Real Casino de Murcia Plaza de las Flores Plaza Cardenal Belluga Museo Salzillo Terra Natura Murcia Barrancos de Gebas Mercado de Veronicas Santuario Nra. Sra. de la Fuensanta Snta Clara Monastery & Museum Generally, nostalgia is to be enjoyed, free of the fact the olden days were ghastly. ...
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Neither Gothic nor strictly Greek Revival

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  We are heading towards an airport.  As confessed before, I haven’t flown enough still not to be excited by it.  I was very excited for my first flight and it never has gone away. Picture the scene. Luton Airport - gateway to paradise, or Harpenden.  We had visited Luton Hoo ‘ to quote wiki, ‘ neither Gothic nor strictly Greek Revival, ‘ and then neared the airport by way of reconnaissance.  It was 1972.  We were off to Switzerland.  Why Switzerland and not Malaga I hear you ask?  Well…. Mum had got tuberculosis in the late 40s. Having had a large amount of lung removed and in the pre-Clean Air Act East London, she was told she had to go to Switzerland for six months to recover.  This was not something that granddad, a carpenter on the LNER, could afford.  Thanks to the kindness of a neighbour she went for six weeks.  This I found out years later.  As for my first journey.  I got on the plane - a late flight - and fell a...
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Leave it clean if you go

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  We are going down about 100m - which is almost a third of the total height above sea level.  We can stop at the unreviewed villa Donoso park and garden. There is an equally unreviewed sports field near by.   We have a sentiment ahead - Banos y Mendigo.  772 people lived here in 2020, a considerable increase since the 277 of 2001.  57% of these people are foreign born - of whom about two thirds are European, the rest being mostly Africans.  It only has two, small wiki pages [Spanish and English.] Near the entrance of the town is the Puente viejo.  Alexander wrote ‘ An old bridge that has been renovated and painted. There is a path you can take to the hills of Portichuelo where there are fossils. Leave it clean if you go. Some people throw away coffee cups and empty tobacco packets.’ In the pueblo is Restaurante Venta La Asomada.    https://ventalaasomada.es/     Juan was impressed.  ‘ Total antidepressant. What a fantasti...
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Rambling on

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Between Murcia and Murcia airport is a lump of geology and we are going over it. We are in the region of the Puerta El Cigarron.  People seem to like it.  Keith said ‘Lovely forest areas to explore and good walking through river (Baranca) with sand and limestone cliffs.'   David added ‘ A very good route for the whole family. It's not too difficult, and you can see faces carved into the rocks. It's easy to access and has easy parking. Highly recommended.   The hiking area further on is described as El Matahombres.  Matrushko is impressed.  ‘ I've been there twice. By bike. The first time I didn't make it past the leg-breaker, the second time I thought I'd made it past the man-killer, already at night. Dead. But the slope I could see, STRAIGHT now without any switchbacks and in front of me, suggested that the man-killer... was far from conquered.  I'll be back.’ Let us end with a look at the weather.    The average temperature for to...
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It's a shame the hooligans and the weather ruined some of the views

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  We are heading south and cross the Mu-33 and wandering passed the Hospital Materno-Infantil Virgen de la Arrixaca.  We do not need to visit but who can resist a review?  https://www.murciasalud.es/seccion.php?idsec=347   I am always a bit wary of public institution being reviewed as people feel freer to vent.  It gets 3.4 stars.  About 45% are 5 star and 35% 1 star.  Google gives you four options - so here they are: Most relevant. 10 months ago. Mary -  Oncology department is 100% professional, kind and helpful. Pre anaesthesia clinic...receptionist needs some training in basic manners. The consultant on the other hand was 100% fantastic. Wish I'd made a note of his name to thank him. Newest. Gonzalo. A day ago. Five stars. Highest.  See Mary’s above. Lowest.  Three years ago.  Lorne  ‘Horrendous waiting times for simple things. Stay away from going here if you can!’ Time for  sit. La Taberna de la Tia Maria.  Two w...
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‘I love everything!!'

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  It is a day of streets and suburbs and blocks of flats on the edge of nowhere.  Let us go, first, to the Confiteria Praga.   As a supermarket,  Confiteria Praga is a 4.3 sort of a place. It is a 7.30am to 2.30pm and 5.30-10.30pm sort of place, every day but Tuesdays.  On Tuesday it is closed.   Four weeks ago Sergio said ‘ Neighborhood supermarket, fairly good prices, good deli, slightly limited product variety, but that's normal given the size of the supermarket. Overall, pretty good.’   Rey Lobo added ‘A supermarket in this Murcia neighborhood where you can find a wide selection of food and household products. Very clean and organized, it's perfect for making large or small purchases thanks to the variety of items.’ The top comments were Price, Butcher Shop, Embutido, Sunday and gender.  I can not find the references to gender.  I am confused. Panaderia El Rojo 1939 has an interesting name.  https://www.panaderiaelrojo.com/ ...
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