Our party of 41 left Javea on the 29th December to make our way to Malaga for our 6-night Spanish Culture and Cuisine tour. En route we stopped at Velez Rubio for a few hours’ sightseeing and refreshments. Rather an uninspiring town itself, but with some interesting sights.
First visit was to the Church of the Incarnation, followed by the Museo Comarcal Velezano “Miguel Guirao” – which contained a beautiful and very colourful scene made entirely out of crochet; there was also an archaeology room, ethnography and an art centre; the last visit was to a pretty chapel with a beautiful Belen.
Our hotel for the first 4 nights – the NH Hotel Malaga – was ideally placed, just an easy and flat walk to the historic centre. our next day was free to explore the sights in Malaga.
Malaga certainly did not disappoint, with its wonderful Christmas decorations and plenty of interesting places to visit during the day.
The highlight must surely be our New Year’s Eve dinner, where Zuzana and her team at Restaurante Taska Laska worked so hard to make sure that we all had a wonderful evening. The meal was excellent, as was their service.
Zuzana kindly provided a short video of the evening – and the various courses which we were served. We toasted in the New Year as we all sang Auld Lang Syne – certainly a night to remember.
Many of us celebrated New Year’s Day evening together at Flamenco Alegria, an hour’s performance with great dancing and music, especially from the young guitar player.
After our 4 nights in Malaga, we traveller on to Almeria, stopping en route at Almunecar for sightseeing and lunch. A lovely little town, if somewhat hilly!
Arriving early evening in Almeria, we settled in to the 4* Hotel Nuevo Torreluz, which was located in the historical centre and an easy walk to all the sites of interest.
The lovely weather made it perfect for exploring Almeria, with its many cafes, restaurants and bodega bars. The lights in the Cathedral square were certainly on a par with those which we had seen in Malaga!
We returned to Javea on Thursday 4th January, having lunch enroute at the Restaurante Miras, a great menu del dia, even if the service was quicker than normally to be expected! We were blessed with sunny days throughout the 6-night tour, and many thanks to all the members who made it such an enjoyable trip. A big thank you also to our various photographers, especially Sieglinde, Tom & Jean, Carole & Keith, Zuzane (Taska Laska) and Angela.
