Spain (part 1)

I took over 1,000 photos while in Spain. Whoa! Because we visited so many towns, I'm going to write several posts over the next week or so.

DAYS 1-3

March 16th - The first day was basically traveling day. It took 3 airplanes to get to Spain. Little Rock to Dallas. Where we had a 5 hour layover.


Dallas to London, England where we had a 3 1/2 hour layover

Me on the long flight to London....all happy & relaxed because I took a Klonopin. :)Did I mention I have a fear of flying...anxiety was kicking in big-time!
John sleeping in Heathrow Airport

March 17th - and then finally...London to Malaga, Spain. When we got to the luggage belt we waited and waited....and our luggage was no where to be seen. We weren't the only ones...everyone who had a connecting flight from London was missing their luggage. Thankfully, they just put it on the wrong belt.


Meg was flailing her arms at us...I didn't see her but John did....I didn't see her because I was looking for my long, curly headed daughter. She had got her hair cut that morning...14 inches cut off!!! We were reunited after 6 months!!! Longest we have ever been apart. I cried and hugged her neck! Her hair is cute!!!

Another American teacher friend of hers, Jason, came with her for the 1 1/2 hour drive from La Linea to Malaga.

This is the view from Meg's living room balcony. Pretty nice, huh?!

We had dinner that night in La Linea at this Argentinian restaurant. The food was freaking amazing!!!
My first glass of wine in Spain. You can see how tired I am from traveling!
Meg & Daddy...John feel in love with this steak dish they had. It was so good he didn't need ketchup....I think that's the first time I have ever seen him eat steak without it.


Walking around La Linea. See that huge rock behind us? That's Gibraltar. We said good night and went to our hotel to get some sleep.

March 18th - Meg & Hillary came to our hotel room at 10:00 that morning. We were supposed to be ready at 10:00 but.....we were still sleeping! Oops...we got ready fast though.
We walked along the beach front to a restaurant called Aqa for breakfast.
They are in the middle of repairing that walkway the girls were telling us. Oh and there's that rock again. OK, so we are all fueled up and ready to go climb the "Rock of Gib"

But first they took us to the outdoor market where we bought honey and some nuts for the climb.

Once we crossed the border in Gibraltar (you have to show passport but they don't stamp it) it was like being in a different country...well, I guess we were since the British own it...haha.
The photo above is Meg & Hillary pointing to wear they live and the rock is all that green.

You have to literally walk across the runway...YES, Airport Runway....to get to the center of town and where you can hike the rock. (Gibraltars airport is one of the top 10 most dangerous in the world!)

Meg has a tradition where she always picks a flower once she gets in to Gibraltar and puts it in her hair. :)

We walked up hills and steps (2,000 steps total)

and down those steps

breathtaking views!!

We finally made it to the top....that was one of the most insane workouts we have ever done!!! I had to stop several times because I felt an asthma attack coming on....luckily it never happened but I did use my inhaler a few times to help me breathe. John said his legs were like jell-o and he was having a hard time with the last 90 steps.



Once up top there is a colony of about 200 monkeys that live there.

This precious little guy went to climb on me and I jumped. I put my hand back out to let him climb up me and he pushed me away. hahaha

He ended up holding my hand for awhile. He was so cute!!!


We got to see this one nursing on his momma....so beautiful!!! Momma was grooming him while he was nursing. Daddy was laying behind momma.

Once down from the hike (we took the cable car down) we went and ate at "The Star Bar" we had the fish and chips!! They are famous for their fish and chips....they were featured on some food network show. YUMMY!!!

HUGE tree where a cat named, Mickey, lives...Meg called his name and he came running out of the tree. She said, "head butt" and he head butted her. I did it and he got me in the eye...Mickey head butts HARD!!! It was cute to see him.

Beautiful sunset over the runway! Goodbye, Gibraltar! We enjoyed you!!!

We crossed the border back to La Linea, Spain and went to Meg's apartment. Her friend, Bianca, another American teacher was coming down to spend the weekend with us. She teaches in La Roda which is further north.
We went and had a few drinks before heading off to sleep. Oh, by the way...this was the last day of my 30's!!! Great way to say good-bye to that decade.