Monday 6 October 2014

A Little Getaway

Last week, Andrew and I packed our bags and jumped on a flight to the south of Spain. We'd scored a last minute deal on Living Social (I think I've mentioned them before?), so decided to cash in on some R&R and a little quality time after our months apart travelling.




We ended up in Algeciras, a port town near Gibraltar, and stayed in the Hotel Reina Cristina. Staying in the hotel felt a little like falling into the set of The Grand Budapest Hotel. It had obviously been the place to stay in its heyday, with kings, queens, sultans and other aristocracy, celebrities and politicians (including Winston Churchill and Arthur Conan Doyle!) all taking rooms at one point or another. However, now it seems to have lost some of its grandeur and the level of service that accompanies this and instead just felt a little sad and dated. Saying this, it was a good enough base for our trip.





We spent our week drifting in and out of the city centre, drinking coffee in the little cafés surrounding the pretty central plaza, visiting the shops and taking dips in the hotel pool. One of our evenings was spent at the interestingly named 'La Mafia' restaurant, which proved to be a rather yummy (and luckily not at all life-threatening) experience... I got a little over excited by the menu as you could choose exactly what type of pasta you wanted in each dish, whether it was spaghetti, little shells or a variety of different raviolis. Pasta heaven!






I had a very enjoyable week, although I definitely put this down to the company, not the area. Algeciras is a working industrial port and it lives up to this- the town is by far not one of the prettiest I've ever seen and there is not a huge amount to do. However, if you have sunshine and a pool, what more do you really need?




P.S- Gibraltar is so tiny and pushed for space that their airport runway has a road dissecting it! Cars are stopped like they would be at a rail crossing for planes to land! Craziness! 

P.P.S- the travel diaries shall resume soon! 

9 comments:

  1. That's crazy! I would have thought the airport would be too busy for that! And La Mafia sounds absolutely wonderful! xxx
    Lucy @ la-lngua.blogspot.com

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  2. love it! do you have a twitter i can follow?

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  3. I'm afraid not Jet- I'm terrible with Twitter and so gave up on it an age ago... Sorry!


    KJx

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  4. Haha yes, it was an incredibly odd sight as we came into land! I couldn't believe my eyes!
    Thanks Lucy =)


    KJx

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  5. Katie - oh my gosh yes, I keep hearing awesome things about Gibraltar and never get around to actually putting it on my list.


    The last image of the runway has such a beautiful backdrop! Might checkout groupons getaways!


    xoxo
    www.awonderingstar.com

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  6. How cute! I've never been to Gibraltar but after reading this post, I might have to add it to my wishlist. :)

    www.duchessoffashion.co.uk

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  7. this sounds like a great little getaway! I wish a trip to Spain was quick from LA, but it requires a fair bit of planning. I've been to Barcelona once and am dying to go back. Soon, hopefully!

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  8. You guys look super cute together! Did you actually get the chance to visit Gibraltar itself or just use the airport? Curious, as I am from Gibraltar :) xx

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  9. Thank you Mel!
    No I'm afraid we didn't get to see much of Gibraltar at all, just mostly the airport and the immediate surrounding area! Although must be a pretty interesting place to live?
    KJx

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