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My Holiday postcard with @travelsupermkt #HolidayPostcards – AD competition entry

disclosure:  this post was written for a competition entry

My Holiday Postcard post is my entry into the latest Travel Supermarket competition.  I’ve had some amazing holidays over the years – destinations from Ibiza to Bali, Maldives to Cuba, Thailand to Tunisia but I’m going to pick on a holiday to Spain as my holiday postcard for this post.

As regular readers of my blog will know, my parents live in Spain, in a quiet town (more of a village really) in the heart of Andalucia, in Sevilla province.  I’ve visited many times since my parents emigrated some years ago.  We first took my son when he was 3 months old and he’s been twice since.

The last family trip was memorable for a number of reasons.  My Dad was celebrating his 70th birthday last November so we decided that we were definitely not going to miss that event and booked a 10 days holiday to spend some quality time with Dad and obviously my Mum too.  As an extra treat, my younger brother joined us all for a few days (his children are all school-aged so he came without my SIL and the three kids).  It was wonderful to spend those days around Dad’s birthday with my brother too.  We reckoned it had been over 20 years since we’d slept under the same roof.

Anyway on to the holiday itself!

Our first trip out was to a town called Osuna which is fairly close to my parents home.  I’ve been there many times before, there are lots of beautiful buildings, and it’s a wonderful place to people-watch over a cafe con Leche.  It was whilst having one of those said cafe con Leche, that I realised that I had left my son’s buggy on the carousel at Malaga airport the day before!!!  Urrgh, back to Mum and Dad’s to make numerous phone calls to locate the missing buggy.  One silly Mummy – oh well, we’d been planning on visiting Puerta Banus anyway, so we’d drop into Malaga airport on our way through.  Needless to say that I still haven’t lived the buggy incident down – Mrs Organised, had messed up well and truly!

So anyway, Puerta Banus, should be a great place to look at expensive yachts and cars and spend some time on the beach.  Well, on the day we decided to visit, there was a horrendous thunderstorm, lightning and the roads into Puerta Banus were totally flooded.  But we’re British, right, a bit of a rain torrential downpour, isn’t going to stop us from having a look around.  Ok, well, it did keep Mum and Dad in a cafe, but I was damned if I was going home without seeing a boat or two!

My brother arrived the day before Dad’s birthday, Mum and Dad went back to Malaga to pick him up and we spent the day in Ronda, again somewhere I’ve been many times before.  There is a really interesting Bull Ring and Museum, well worth a visit, a wonderful gorge and bridge linking the old and new town.  I’m a sucker for an old building and Ronda is full of them.

Dad had decided that he wanted to go to Carmona for his birthday, their neighbour and good friend C had taken the day off to join us all, and had booked a table at a wonderful hotel restaurant for lunch.  We stopped en-route for a cafe con Leche (they don’t taste the same over here), and we got chatting to a local guy in the car park who had arrived in a horse and buggy.  He offered to take my son for a ride, and I hopped in too for moral support.  Apparently, the horse was a famous one in Spain in the buggy riding community.  The strange things that happen to you on the way to Carmona!

I’ve visited Carmona a couple of times before having my son, and on both occasions the city walls were closed, third time lucky?  Nope!  Closed for refurbishment!  Will have to go back again then.  Anyway, Carmona has a wonderful old town, lots of tight, cobbled streets, wonderful balconied buildings and churches in every direction.  We meandered through the old town and found a delightful square, sat ourselves down and took in the sights whilst drinking Cerveza and cafe con Leche.

We walked some more, and then it was time for lunch, a wonderful old hotel, we had the dining room to ourselves and the food was, as I’ve come to expect in Spain, scrumptious.  Dad had a great day, a 70th birthday to remember and we were all so pleased to spend it with him, in such a beautiful location.

We stopped at the Parador for another cafe con Leche later in the day and took in the stunning views from the balcony.

My parents live right in the mountains, their little cul-de-sac is basically on the edge of the town/village and then you are in olive groves and the Campo – wonderfully fresh air, beautiful mountain views.  One of my favourite places to just walk, take in the views and enjoy the nature all around you.

I wonder how many people visit Southern Spain and never venture off the beach or away from the coast.  I have learnt over the years my parents have lived there, that Spain is a wonderful country.  I am so pleased that my parents live inland, so we’ve had a chance to explore some amazing places.  We didn’t visit Sevilla on this occasion, but that city has become one of my favourite places in the world.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t think Spain, and in particular, Andalucia, is all paella, San Miguel and beaches – it is SO much more than that, in fact, that’s the Spain I avoid!

We had a wonderful holiday, with family and Spanish friends.  My parents speak the language, are the only English where they live, and I can’t wait to get back there in October. This is my holiday postcard.

 

holidaypostcards@travelsupermarket.com
http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/ #sthash.x96ZyvP2.dpuf
http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/ #sthash.x96ZyvP2.dpuf
  1. Upload your article to your blog, detailing the holiday story you would like to share.
  2. Be sure to include the name of your holiday destination, the dates on which you travelled, a good selection of images from your holiday and, most importantly, the holiday memories you would like to share.
  3. Make sure you mention our competition page: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/
  4. The closing day for entries is August 20, 2013 and you can let us know you have entered in one of the following ways:
  • Email us at holidaypostcards@travelsupermarket.com with a link to your post.
  • Tweet us @travelsupermkt with the hashtag #HolidayPostcards with a link to your post.
  • Or, tag the TravelSupermarket.com Facebook page in a post linking to the blog post that you are entering.
  • 5. Our judge will select the best blog post and it will be made into a holiday postcard.
    6. The winner will win £1,000 in cash.

– See more at: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/#sthash.x96ZyvP2.dpuf

 330Google +1

Holiday Postcards

We want to know which country you travelled to, what you loved most about being away and all about the moments that made your holiday memorable.

It could be reaching the peak of Arthur’s Seat and enjoying the view of Edinburgh below, or perhaps teaching your child to make their first sandcastle on a British beach holiday. Or perhaps you had an amazing time riding a jet ski in Florida or indulging in real Spanish tapas for the first time and spending an afternoon mixing with the locals?

Your story can be as short or long as you want, but the more detail you include, the better.

– See more at: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/#sthash.x96ZyvP2.dpuf

 330Google +1

Holiday Postcards

We want to know which country you travelled to, what you loved most about being away and all about the moments that made your holiday memorable.

It could be reaching the peak of Arthur’s Seat and enjoying the view of Edinburgh below, or perhaps teaching your child to make their first sandcastle on a British beach holiday. Or perhaps you had an amazing time riding a jet ski in Florida or indulging in real Spanish tapas for the first time and spending an afternoon mixing with the locals?

Your story can be as short or long as you want, but the more detail you include, the better.

– See more at: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/#sthash.x96ZyvP2.dpuf

7 thoughts on “My Holiday postcard with @travelsupermkt #HolidayPostcards – AD competition entry

  1. that sounds like such a special holiday to treasure!!!
    I would love to go to spain, especially Andalucia there is a lot of history to be seen there that I would be really interested in

    1. It’s a double edged sword. I would much prefer to have them a 20 minute drive away, so we could see them every week and be there quickly if they need me as they get older. A Skype chat once a week isn’t the same, but thank god for that technology or Monkey would have very little relationship with them.

  2. Just found you via one of the FB groups. My parents used to have a place in Mijas-Costa so I’ve spent a fair bit of time in that part of the world. I love Ronda, but I do love the beaches too – and the excitement of Puerto Banus! Not done Sevilla yet – hoping for a weekend away with girlfriends at some point 🙂

    1. Hi there, thanks for stopping by. I don’t think the blog lets you know your comment is awaiting approval – something I need to sort! I’ve sen pics of Mijas but not been there. Sevilla is wonderful, something for everyone there.

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