Days 66-71, 17-22 August 2014, Coasting along on the Costa del Sol.

Somewhat incredibly today marks 4 weeks here in Spain. Sometimes it seems to pass by so slowly and peacefully - but now I'm thinking - wow - 4 weeks - accomplished so much in terms of learning some basic Spanish, most definitely a work in progress. Also up to 20 laps of olympic class doggy paddle around the pool. As is the case with any long term stay, a routine has developed and as I'm not sure how long I'll be here... could be mid September could be mid October, I figure I'll save anymore daytrip outings until I know for sure. If I end up spending a couple of weeks in a budget guesthouse down in Fuengirola, that'll be a grand time for day trips to Ronda, Cordoba and Malaga. Current routine? I like to jump on the bus downtown a couple of times a week. Only a 10 minute trip and very regular buses. This week I went to the Tuesday Market and focussed on my fruit and vege shopping - Everything is phenomenally fresh and inexpensive and it's a superb way to practice Spanish - I'll have 1 kg of this.. how much are these? that's enough thanks etc... All good stuff. Ended up with my arms at least 2 inches longer due to the following bargains: 2 ripe pineapples (pinas) for €1, kilo of truss tomatoes €1, 2 massive lettuces €1, kilo of mushrooms, kilo of green beans and a cucumbers, say €5 and the bestest bargain of the day, a case of cherries (2-3 kg maybe) for €2.50. He was very keen on Dos por Cuatro - 2 for €4 - but I simply couldn't carry them! I quite possibly would have been found unconscious at the bus stop with cherries spilled all about me. One case was definitely enough - I've never had the luxury of treating cherries like snackfood before, but wonderful to wonder into the kitchen and grab a handful whenever I want. They might even last until next Tuesday's market if I'm lucky. Next stop was lunch - now that I'm a bit more confident, I headed to Calle Moncayo or Fish Alley - this is the main 'eat street' in town and full of restaurants of every stripe - Italian, Spanish, Seafood, Chinese, Thai etc. It was only 12.30 pm (only!) and not even half had opened for lunch (see picture above of lovely tiled establishment that was closed, but just opposite my eventual Chinese choice). I ended up trying out a very cheap and cheerful Menu del Dia (3 course lunch menu of the day). Spring roll, chicken curry with noodles and a dish of icecream - only €4.95. And they were open at 12.30 pm and they listened to my Spanish. Can't ask for more than that. Due to the horrendously heavy swathes of shopping bags full of fruit and veges, I headed home after lunch and had a much needed rest - for a couple of days. Figured I'd been swimming for 9 days in a row and might have over done it. Made an extra jaunt to town yesterday to buy actual groceries and decided another crack at the Menu del Dia was in order, so found a much better restaurant (extra euro for the 3 courses - up to €5.95 - but yummier). Another excellent practice session - Puedo tener para llevar por favor... Can I have to take away please... Very enjoyable 3 course extravaganza of spring rolls, thai chicken with cashew nuts and fried rice and icecream to finish. Not bad at all for around A$9. Quick post-lunch jaunt to the supermarket for non-booze, non-fruit & vege supplies, then back home on the bus... didn't want to run late for my siesta after all. Whilst not a Spanish dining event (too expensive... €9!), it was a restaurant and it's in Spain... so logically, it's a Spanish Restaurant. Aside from lunch shopping and food shopping, yesterday was a global shopping, triple country adventure. It occured to me when I had a swim a day or so ago that the mornings are definitely getting cooler - even had a shiver. Obviously my blood is finally thinning down and I've acclimatised - after the swim I checked the air temp and it was 24 degrees... so not cold afterall. I'll be heading to France in mid/late October, which will be a lot colder and then colder again once we head to Ireland at Christmas. I however have a fur coat (good old Bugsy) and will be fine. James on the other hand could quite possibly freeze having flown in from a Sydney summer, so I had a quick flick through 4000 odd sheepskin coats on ebay and found a perfect one second hand in Alaska for only US$100. It was actually made in Argentina where the cheapest you can get them is around US$300 for cash (or US$600 on a credit card due to their whacko currency laws) - which is why we never got it a coat when we were there - that and the one we really liked with a hood would have ended up $1000 - crazy money. Anyway - long story short, I put in the only bid on the coat, from here in Spain, won the auction and the man in Alaska posted the coat to James in Sydney overnight. Think local, Shop Global, we always say!