After Mike and Pippa had returned home we had a quiet week until friends came out to their apartment and we went out for a few visits.
First visit was to Guadalest in the hills above Benidorm. Kathie and I have been here before and enjoyed wandering around the ancient village with its medieval castle and newish man made lake. Great views from the castle although unfortunately the solar powered boat was moored for the winter and we had no chance to go for a ride.
Murcia was another visit and again first time for Linda and Pete.
We visited the magnificent cathedral (above) and the Casino :-
A surprise here for most British people as in Spain a Casino is a meeting place and most definitely not a gambling den. I'm sure that there are places to chuck your money away but not in this type of establishment. There are some lovely casinos in the area which have taken on architectural significance due to the quality and variety of the building and decorations.
We had lunch in a tapas bar in the Theatre Square and were treated like royalty (probably due to lack of customers) as course after course of delicious plates were brought for us finishing with Solomillo, in this case a lamb dish, which could be sliced with a fork. Wine, water, bread, all the food, and postres (puddings) - €75 for the four of us.
Our friends bought bikes whilst they were here and this prompted Kathie and I to think about it as we had been considering the possibility ever since we arrived. We later ordered one each from England but more on that in a later post.
The month ended on a high with us and the rest of the U3A Committee moving the entire operation to the best meeting place in Torrevieja, the brand new CMO building, erected by the Local Council for use by the older people of the town.
We have been granted permission to use this fantastic building every Monday. Our first meeting was opened by the Mayor of Torrevieja, who warmly welcomed us to what he described as our "New Home" which bodes well for the future.
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