Long trip to Gib ;)

Imagine 5 hours of this scenery. 

After a lovely morning strolling through Salamanca we checked out of our hotel and hit the long road south for Gibraltar.

We got into the city and our landlord met us at a local 'petrol' station.  He said "Oh well seeing as you've driven through all of Spain I imagine you're ready to check in, eh?"  BTW, gasoline in Gibraltar is about $6 US/gal! Yikes! I hate to think how much we spent on gasoline to get us to our required destination.Thankfully our car is a diesel and does not require filling up as much... 

Hour Four. Boredom alternating with outright fits of rage start to appear. It was a long, long day. 

Hour 8 finally we see the Rock. Our first evening---  I hated Gibraltar. I hated it. It was too crowded with too many vacationers zipping around on the motorbikes  and heavy techno music thumping through their speakers. We walked to downtown, not knowing how far it was, and ended up walking a good 2 miles total. I was in utter misery. I hate car traffic at night, and seeing as everyone was speeding at a good 85km/hr through downtown I was just not a happy camper. I don't ask for much when I travel, but I just want to feel safe and I want good sidewalks to walk down busy streets on at 11 pm with my fam. And that night was not my finest hour. We ended it on a happy note though with a delicious dinner at Champions grill with some tempura John Dory and a few pints of Carling. Oh and a fantastic Reading/Chelsea match on the television. By the time we walked back I was feeling a little bit more enamored of our new home. And I continue to like it here, even though it is STILL crowded and noisy and not the most charming of estates. Our landlords are truly lovely people, so willing to share everything they have with us and making sure our WiFi needs are taken care of ;). 

The Rock of Gibraltar shrouded in mist. Our landlady said this  sort of  inversion never happens. 

Sandbath. 

Sunrise 

This is our view outside our bedroom.  Not too shabby ;) It is so hot here we sleep without sheets! 

Good morning Sunshine ;) Welcome to the Rock. 

Every morning the 'Gib' soccer league practices outside our kitchen window on the neighboring 'pitch' at the military base

Beach rentals

Downtown

Beach time ;) 

Same football team doing conditioning on the beach at night?

Our eating establishment. I made spaghetti for our first home-cooked meal. It tastes better when you're sunburned and are wearing a sandy swimsuit ;). I loved going to the big grocery store here called 'Morrison's'. Full of all sorts of Brit delicacies like jointed bacon and baps and every type of chocolate delicacy a girl could ask for. Extremely spendy though, the pound is about 1.45/ 1 US. Gah. 

My beach treasures. I love sea glass. The middle bit is a small shard of washed  blue china fragment. I enjoyed searching along the reefs next to the shore, and was joined by two ADORable little Gib girls, who ran around with only swim trunks and ponytails. They were so precious. "What ah you looking fawh?" they'd ask, "Oh, I found a winkie!" they'd cry as they were 'helping' me and I still couldn't figure out what that was ;). And when I gave them a snail they'd found they insisted on putting it on the rocks "so it can make a familah". They are natives and said that they will be back to the beach another day and asked if I would be there, too ;).

Oldest made some new aquaintances today as well. I worried about them losing their jobs though seeing as they were supposed to working as lifeguards and spent nearly an hour talking with our daughter ;). 

umbrellas on the beach 

The infamous Gib airport. Yes it is true and NOT an optical illusion. About twice a day the Gib closes down their highway so that huge passenger planes can land at the airport.  I will try tomorrow to get a closer view, it really does seem like they are right on top of you!!

After a tiresome drive to the UK to avoid our Schengen visa issues, this has been a really nice holiday. The kids are loving the beach, making friends and sleeping and eating like bosses. Tomorrow we will go check out the monkeys ;).