With Sinatra among the Pythons

 My father in law declared I was the only Englishman never to have been to Spain. The Spain all the others had gone to could be represented by Torremolinos. So we will put that wrong right. A place so famous it appeared in a Monty Python sketch. Repeat after me - in an Eric Idle sort of way, ‘Torremolinos! Torremolinos!’

The windmills which gave the town its name were built about 1300 - and the defensive tower came from the same time. This was a bit useful as North African raiders continued to bother the area till the 18th century, when the Anglo-Dutch took over and almost completely destroyed the place.


Apparently British visitors started turning up from 1928. In the 50s the celebs joined them. Just people as Ava Gardener, Orson Welles and Frank Sinatra could be found as could, from 1959, the Art Deco Hotel Pez Espada. The 60s saw the growth of mass tourism, worthy of a Python reference. The housing stock is an odd mix of the new and the now, oldish.


We will pass a Burger King. Another highly reviewed [2295] but poorly regarded [3.5 stars] place. The key words included parking, cold, ketchup, machine, disaster, drinking glass, vacuum, 20 minutos, delivery drive and ants. Ok, lets do some reviews

Ketchup - Seven years ago Alma wrote ‘We are tourist visiting this area. Found the the staff rude. Ive been waiting by the till area to ask for some ketchup. Lady staff pretended she’s doing something and another male staff doing the same. None between these two came to ask. I waited for the female staff in finishing an order and ask for ketchup. This lady never gave me a response and continue doing something. Waited for a while but no response hence i asked again if im allowed to ask for some more, until then I that she gave me what im asking for. So appalled by this behaviour, im just wandering if a cultural thing being foreign on the area.


Vacuum - Marina wrote five months ago ‘Every time I come here, and especially lately, it's a mess. The staff keeps talking inside and doesn't bring out the food. It took them about 35/40 minutes to get my order, which is a King Saver chicken, when there was only one other person in front of me waiting for their order and the rest of the establishment was empty. It's obvious the staff are new and have no clue; I don't know if they understand the concept of "fast food." I almost asked them to give me my money back because I have to go to work without eating and be late on top of that. They gave me the hamburger so stale it looked like it had been sitting out for about an hour. The fries were fine. This Burger King is a disappointment, especially if you're in a hurry…’


20 minutos Antonio opined four months ago. ‘The food was as usual at these places, nothing special. The service and treatment were completely flat. The efficiency of the staff was quite low. Only four tables were occupied, and two orders were waiting 20 minutes for a meal. The same was true in the King car. They weren't clear about anything, even though there were hardly any people there.’


We are passing La Casa de los Navajas. It is a 1925 Moorish Revival palace from 1925. [https://turismotorremolinos.es/.../luga.../casa-los-navajas/](https://turismotorremolinos.es/.../luga.../casa-los-navajas/) Two days ago Manue wrote ‘A wonderful free experience with a lovely story, featuring a very kind gentleman who offers to take your picture: What more could you ask for? Go for it, it's worth it!’ Corey expanded six months ago. ‘We started with a walk along the beach, then headed to the Casa de los Navajas, a stunning Neo-Mudéjar-style mansion perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. Built in the 1920s by a wealthy local sugar cane producer, it’s filled with ornate details and Andalusian charm, a real gem that’s free to visit and offers beautiful views of the coastline. After taking it all in, we wandered through the Old Town. It was lovely everything was so close, and strolling up into the Old Town from there was a real highlight.’


So we end the day.



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