by Helen | Oct 5, 2025 | Lifestyle
We love our new lives in Andalucia and are immersing ourselves as much as we possibly can, mid-renovation. Sometimes though, especially in the cooler months – and this is why my thoughts are turning to this now, as we enter October – we crave certain things that were just kind of tap, back in the UK. Pizza Express pizzas, for one. Which we can luckily, by a sheer geographical coincidence, get out here. And, nwe did find ourselves, last winter, at times, definitely definitely craving a good old Sunday roast. We did make our own a few times, inlcuding knocking out a stand out Christmas dinner, with turkey, ham and ALL the trimmings. But DIY is a real faff, not to mention the washing up. So, imagine our delight when we saw that one of our favourite hotels – Boutique Hotel Alcaidesa – would be offering Sunday Roasts (including veggie options) throughout the winter to residents and non-residents.
Last winter we were renting an apartment in Sanlucar de Barrameda, on the Costa de la Luz, a good two hour drive away, so we decided to make a night of it, and we booked accommodation on the Sunday evening. Which, in hindsight, was a pretty good idea, as we were so full after our meal, that all we could was get to the room, and crash out, watching the wonderful Ripley series on Netflix.
We knew the food would be good, as we had previous experience of the hotel and had eaten in the evening and at breakfast, and both times, the food was outstandingly good. Owned by a Norwegian/English family, and run by a very international team, the food is interesting to say the least. Attention to detail is absolutely spot on, and the choice offered is amazing. So, we knew we were in for a Sunday afternoon treat…
The food is served buffet style, but a team of chefs keep it fresh and at the right temperature, visibly taking away food which may have sat for a little too long and replacing with obvious new platters of food. The carvery oois skillfully manned by one of the chefs, and even though it’s buffet style, you are usually served your choices. And the choices are vast – we had a variety of meats and veggie options. The two standouts when we have been visited have been the nut roast and the mushroom risotto – both perfect if you don’t want meat. There’s also a veggie gravy option, although if you are a strict vegetarian or vegan, it’s probably worth discussing your choices beforehand – I’m sure this lovely, professional set up would accommodate your wishes. The array of vegetables and sides is staggering – and the roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings were swoon-worthy. Starters are available and look gorgeous, but our advice would be to pass on these and go straight to the roast. As you can return as many times as you desire, and you will definitely go back once, you don’t want to fill up too much and miss out on the main course deliciousness.
Oh, and do try and a little room for dessert. I was fit to burst, as the little pots of Eton Mess kept on being replenished, I could not resist. But strawberries are very much OK, aren’t they? Maybe not the smashed creamy meringues and the cream itself and the coulis, but strawberries. Fitness food.
And, after fabulous food and excellent wine, the very comfy bed called and an evening of “Ripley”, before a good night’s sleep to ready ourselves for breakfast the next morning.
by Helen | Oct 5, 2025 | Spain, Travel
Located in the heart of the old town, on Plaza Santo Cristo, the first impression of this hotel is sheer, understated elegance. Everything is absolutely on point. The restoration of the building is absolutely exquisite. The exterior is very traditionally Andalucian – white washed, wrought iron balconies and grilles, heavy doors and shutters, and with lots of greenery in big pots. Obviously, a source of much inspiration for our house. Internally, it is a mix of traditional (in terms of the arches and the high ceilings and the ceramic tiled floors) but very contemporary in style and design, with a big nod to Moorish heritage.
The reception area sits snugly next to the bar/restaurant area, so it’s not the first thing you encounter when you enter the hotel. Instead, the entrance is like a home, with beautiful furnishings – big sofas, cosy chairs, coffee tables, accent lighting, lots of objects which add detail and interest. It’s a hotel which is quiet and peaceful and you feel relaxed as soon as you step inside.
Our room overlooked the courtyard garden to the rear of the hotel – again, exquisite. Full of carefully considered outdoor seating options, huge pots of greenery, different areas for relaxing, drinking, eating. And, like we had in our house in Istria, a luscious green wall.
The room itself was just perfect. A large, comfy bed with crisp, white. monogrammed linen and everything you could ask for to make your stay as relaxing as possible.
I do like a bathroom with white metro tiles, and this en-suite delivered. Our bathroom in West Didsbury was tiled in this way, with black grout – our builder really appreciated this decision – and when we stayed in the hotel, we were deliberating whether we went down this route again, so it was lovely to see them again, in situ. The shower cubicle has black crittal doors – something we had already decided upon for our en-suite, so again, really good to see in situ. Black accents worked well against the pristine white sanitary ware, and the fluffy robes, complimentary slippers and lush toiletries, just added to the feeling of luxury.
A la carte breakfast is served each morning, and as expected, it was first class. Eggs, whichever you wanted them. Hams, cheeses, breads, preserves, coffee, juices – as much as you wanted. The hotel also sells its own olive oil – which I obviously couldn’t resist, as I have a thing for olive oils, especially if bottled beautifully. Which this was. And, it tastes as good as it looks. As well as the hotel restaurant and roof top bar, La Bodega de la Fonda, is a cosy little restaurant, across the square, offering a selection of fresh, local and seasonal products, such as classic Spanish tortilla, croquettes, meatballs in their sauce and Iberian ham with fried eggs. The perfect spot for an informal meal, with fabulous views over the very pretty square.
A hotel that is truly a magical experience…
by Helen | Oct 4, 2025 | Lifestyle
*This is NOT a sponsored blog post. We paid in full for all food and drink.*
Living in Andalucia, we are certainly not short of excellent food options. Obviously tapas restaurants abound, and we’ve yet to find one that isn’t really good quality, most being pretty superb. Even the most basic offer food which is of high quality and excellent value. In the larger towns we can easily satiate our cravings for spicy – especially Indian and Thai – food, and in our town we have a fantastic restaurant which does focus on Andalucian cuisine but also offers lots of Moroccan inspired dishes. Heaven. Italian restaurants are also in abundance, but we have missed Pizza Express since leaving the UK. We know that we can get better, and much more authentic pizzas in Italian restaurants, and we do seek these out, but there’s just something that is so comforting and familiar about Pizza Express. And an idle, online search one day turned up Spain’s only two branches of Pizza Express – one in Gibraltar and one in Alcaidesa.
Gibraltar would be close enough, but until very recently, my residency was still under consideration, so I did not want to leave the EU and enter Gibraltar as this could potentially have thrown up many complications. And then, I found a branch in Alcaidesa, a beautiful town about 30 minutes from our house, right on the coast, with views across towards Malaga in one direction and the Rock of Gibraltar in the other, and out to sea, across to the mountains of Morocco. An absolute result.
We don’t go all the time, although it’s tempting, so when we do it’s a bit of a treat. We decided to pay a visit this week, on a hot, sunny early October afternoon to celebrate my residency being granted and actually finally being in the house. We haven’t moved to Spain to live the life of replicating what we had in the UK, but in the sunshine. However, the familiarity of Pizza Express is quite lovely. The same menus – both in style and what is offered. Everything is reassuringly the same. Which is good, as ordering is quick, as we always know exactly what we want. One day, we’ll veer away from our faves, but for the moment, we have a stock list that we’re still savouring. Only this time in the Andalucian sunshine, rather than the Lapwing Lane drizzle!
The very thin, stretched Romana bases are perfect – much less doughy and much less filling. Topped to perfection, too – American Hot (the jalapenos did have quite the kick!) with extra mushrooms and a Padana were just what we needed, along with a vino and a cold beer. I think we’re maybe just far away for home delivery, but I don’t think we can really complain when get to enjoy pizzas in the sunshine, like this.
by Helen | Sep 24, 2025 | Renovation
The stairs up to the roof terrace, from the first floor, were awful. Just awful. Steep, enclosed and dark. They were so awful in fact, that we gave our builders a bit of a head-scratcher and said we wanted to investigate accessing the roof terrace from the internal courtyard, with some kind of an external staircase. In our defence, we were trying to imagine better access to the roof terrace from long distance and so had forgotten how much smaller the courtyard is in reality, and how tall the house is, meaning not much space for a staircase. But, our builder did try and wrap his head around our ideas, until he had to finally get us to face the fact that what we were asking for, was going to be impossible. So, we had to come up with a Plan B and find some way of making the stairs, better.
And the answer, really, was pretty obvious. Much more obvious than our hare-brained idea of an external staircase. The answer was to do what we had done on the ground floor – remove the wall, to achieve open plan stairs, like these…
It was also decided, as work was being done on the stairs, that we’d incorporate a few more features, which now love, and although not factored into the initial renovation budget, have been more than worth the additional expenditure.
- Firstly, we decided that the actual treads would be lengthened and decreased in height, making the climb to the roof terrace, much more comfortable and much easier, meaning that new steps were built out of brick and plastered with concrete;
- On the turn of the new stairs, we decided that the low ceiling would be partially removed and then heightened, so that no-one risked banging their head, and so that the feeling of space and light was increased;
- The original heavy, green, metal door – which was a real monstrosity – leading out to the roof terrace, was removed and a bespoke, full glass door made. It had to be bespoke, because of the measurements, but didn’t actually cost a great deal more than anyone of the pretty bog-standard ones I found online. What makes this door worth its weight in gold, is that because it’s all glass, it floods the now open stairway, and down into the first floor living room, with bright sunlight. Just beautiful.
It was a pretty messy job, with lots of demolition but thankfully we were living off site, and only got stressed about it all in very short bursts, when we visited. Now that it’s all complete, we’ve totally forgotten the chaos and the destruction and the dirt and would recommend to anyone who is maybe considering it, go for it. Open up that dark stairway. And don’t go down the mad external staircase route…
We could not be more delighted with these new stairs. And, oh my, the demolished wall has totally transformed the first floor. Now that all of the internal white painting has been done, the real effect can be felt – the brilliant white walls look beautiful, and we are a bit obsessed with the grey, uneven concrete finish of the steps. We’re living with if for a while, but as we furnish and accessorise the house, the concrete is becoming a material which we don’t think we’ll be able to lose. We will be adding industrial style handrails, because for anyone not used to the open plan nature, the steps can feel a bit exposed, and grab rails add that element of safety. We also two spare light fittings from the internal courtyard which worked perfectly on the walls going up the stairs, so at no additional expense, we got white shades which exactly match those downstairs and give off the most beautiful soft light, illuminating what was a very dark part of the house. Not any more…
The original stairs were honestly so awful, that I was reluctant to use them, unless it was absolutely necessary, which obviously meant that a big part of the house – the roof terrace – was underused by me. That’s not the case now, as we’re raring to get going on its renovation!
by Helen | Sep 9, 2025 | Spain, Travel
Recently, we were lucky to be able to escape the chaos of our renovation and have a night in Estepona, where we met an old Manchester friend, who was out visiting family. We’d only drive around Estepona before, and had only really seen any of it, on programmes like “A Place in the Sun”, so I assumed it was a resort town, much like Fuengirola or Torremolinos, and so not a huge amount to set it apart. Well, how wrong was I?
I saw a post on Instagram, showing a beautiful old town, which we did know existed, but which we assumed would be up in the hills above the newer, coastal part of town – not a street back, from a lovely beach. We’d booked a night in a little hotel called The Old Town Boutique Hotel, situated as we discovered, on the very pretty Calle Caridad, right in the heart of the old town, a three minute walk from the sea. There was only one room left because it was a last minute booking, and we were allocated what was described as a Comfort Room – and very comfy it was too, with a large walk-in shower and a really good size bed, with beautiful bedding. We were situated at the rear of the hotel, but our room had French doors, with typical Andalucian grilles, overlooking a really pretty, flower filled courtyard. The hotel also benefits from a sun drenched roof terrace, where a pretty substantial, eat as much as you like, buffet breakfast is served. We whiled away a very pleasant Monday morning up there, far away from hammering and drilling and painting.
Calle Caridad is a beautiful, typical Andalucian white washed street, full of little boutiques, townhouse hotels, interesting shops, cutesy bars and a real variety of restaurants. Huge banana trees and palm trees line the streets, with pots of greenery and colourful flowers, tumbling down from wrought iron balconies. Attention to detail, from all of the businesses and townhouses, is very much in evidence and gives the place a feel of the very beautiful Marbella old town.
Eating out is not difficult, in and around Calle Caridad, as there is so much choice, and from reading reviews of the various restaurants, some really excellent choice. We opted for a restaurant called Bada, which was every bit as good as the reviews suggested. And, a bit more. The menu isn’t huge, but there is a really good choice of vegetarian and non-vegeterian, covering dishes from Andalucia, wider Spain, Morocco and Asia. We opted to go tapas style and mixed our cuisines – gazpacho, chilli halloumi and spicy flatbreads, smashed potatoes with a minty yoghurt dip, Greek salad and the most delicious Lebanese pizza, with chargrilled chicken and hummus. All washed down with a very pleasant bottle of chilled, dry white wine. Much recommended.
Another thing to recommend Estepona, if you arrive by car, is that there is a large underground car park on Avenida Espana, the main thoroughfare which runs alongside the beach, so very handy for the old town, which is obviously mostly pedestrianised. We were hugely impressed with this coastal town, and as it’s now less than an hour from our house, we think we’ll definitely be getting to know it a whole lot more.
by Helen | Aug 21, 2025 | Interiors
Yep. Another one of those things, like the butter bell, I had not heard of until recently. Fabric paint. Paint for your fabrics and furnishings. How this has passed me by, is beyond me, but here we are. Until I saw a post on Instagram, and started to investigate what I think I assumed was pretty much impossible. I mean – painting fabric! But it is a thing, and I am now a convert and my paintbrushes are ready and waiting, as soon as our furniture comes out of storage. It’s been an expensive business, renovating an old and neglected Andalucian townhouse, and we’re at the stage now where we need to keep an eye on the money pot. We’ve had to make some pretty high ticket purchases, because we sold a lot of our furniture with the house in Istria, so now we’re looking to be a bit more creative, and hopefully curb the spend, going forward.
So, Fabricoat came to my attention and I was intrigued sufficiently to order a 500ml bottle of Olive Green paint and have it sent over to Spain, so that I could experiment on a couple of small footstools, before deciding if I’d order more and transform some larger pieces of furniture.
Application is really easy. The recommendation is to brush down the fabric covering to be painted, spray lightly to dampen with water and apply your coats (it took a couple to achieve the colour of the footstools), brush lightly and let dry in between coats. The recommendation is also to use a darker colour than the original fabric, for best coverage. If the fabric has a pile, such as velvet, faux-suede, chenille, draylon or microfibre, it is advised that double the quantities of fabric paint are ordered, because there’s lots more surface area to cover on these types of fabric. And obviously, always test the fabric for water absorbency first. If it’s absorbent, Fabricoat will work.
Both stools have stood the test of time, without any kind of colour fading, so we’ve placed a bigger order for the fabric paint. We have an Eve mattress, bought a few years ago but still super comfy. It will sit proud of the new bed, which is green velvet – I know! – and the yellow edging of the deep mattress, will be seen. So, it’s going to be painted this beautiful olive green colour, which will hopefully complement the bed surround and the bedding. The next project will entail the refurbishment of a chaise longue, purchased from the storage people. It’s a bit bling at the moment, with swirls of gold velvet patterns, but we’re going chocolate brown on this, with the frame being painted a vanilla cream. And, if we like the brown, we also have a funky seventies swivel chair, currently resplendent in lime green, which will need a bit of tone down, to fit in with its new surroundings. At just short of £150 (including shipping and taxes, because it comes from the UK), for five and a half litres of paint, it’s sure less expensive than any kind of re-upholstery job. Results will be posted…
This is not a sponsored post and we get no kickback from the company. All paint is paid for by ourselves. It’s just a product we like and want to recommend.
by Helen | Jul 7, 2025 | Lifestyle
Since moving to warmer climes in Europe, we’ve become quite adept at dealing with bugs and mosquitoes. One of the first things we had installed in our house in northern Istria, were insect blinds at every window. These were much needed, as mosquitoes in particular, were pretty rampant in this part of the world. We also discovered the BEST mosquito repellent (and post-bite spray) called “The Wall”, a moisturising protective lotion, based on plant principles, that naturally repels these critters. It is a refreshing protective lotion, made from Ledum palustre (also known as marsh tea or wild rosemary), and essential oils of basil, geranium and lemongrass, which naturally repel mosquitoes. I’ve only ever found this in farmacias in Italy, but it is available to buy online. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s by far the most effective repellent (and after-bite spray) I have ever used. Smells lovely too, which is always a bonus with these things.
But, as good as this lotion is, it’s not the best summer repellent we’ve discovered. That title goes to an electric bug zapper, from a Spanish website, called Create. This anti-mosquito lamp works with an ultraviolet light wave frequency emission system. It has a 360° air intake, so insects are attracted to the lamp from any direction. Once this happens, a silent suction fan absorbs the mosquitoes and flies inside, where they get trapped. It doesn’t generate noises or smells, and, unlike other repellents, this device does not work with chemicals. It has a timer function, so you can either leave it on continuously, or programme it to automatically switch off after 8 hours or 12 hours. It’s quite a stylish little object too, white and boxy, with a light function, which is very handy – and with a pull out tray at the back, where you can look in wonder at all of the extinguished mosquitoes, flies and bugs. We’ve been really surprised by how many are actually trapped and we have noticed a considerable decline in the number of bites we have had. In fact, it is only when the zapper isn’t on, that we seem to get bitten, so I would say that’s a good sign it’s working and very effective.
This zapper is currently on sale via the website, and retailing at €24.95, the normal price being €29.95. We only have one of these currently, but as our windows in the house we are renovating won’t really accommodate insect blinds, we’re going to invest in three or four more, so that we definitely have all of the bedrooms covered, when guests stay. And because they are very portable, we can then move them around the house to where they are most needed. And, we can finally say adios to these annoyances…
This is not a sponsored blog post and we have not received any form of payment, from either company. Both the mosquito repellent and the bug zapper were purchased by ourselves – we’re just happy to let people know about them, as we’ve found both products to be very effective in hot, summer weather.
Create Image : www.create-store.com
by Helen | Jul 4, 2025 | Renovation
Our lovely Andalucian townhouse, when we bought it, was full of tiles. But unfortunately, most weren’t those beautiful Spanish tiles that we all swoon over. They were mostly patterned, but arranged in the most migraine inducing way – a really terrible mix of colours and patterns and textures. As we had a very strong vision for the renovation, and ultimately what the house would look like, we decided early on, the tiles would have to go. All were carefully removed and we now have a few good piles of ceramic tiles, all now in colour and pattern order and waiting to be cleaned up and either repurposed or sold on. In our tile journey, we have made some good contacts, as we wanted to replace the tiles with originals. The guys at Bert and May and Maitland and Poate were super helpful, in our initial research. Both have set up reclamation businesses in Andalucia and we did try, with both, to source replicas of the tiles we were keeping, so that we could replace the ones we were getting rid of. It all came down to cost in the end, because as well unique moulds having to be made, and colours matched perfectly, for the area we were considering covering, the price started to become prohibitive. So, as much as we wanted to support one of these businesses, we had to look elsewhere.
And that place was online. A bit risky, because all we had to go on, were images on a computer screen. But with ever increasing temperatures – meaning schlepping around tile stores was becoming more and more unlikely – and far too many other house things to buy/consider, we decided to be brave and trust our instincts. Orders were placed for a LOT of tiles, and the nervous wait for delivery started, and the hope that they would all arrive undamaged…
The original tiles on the first floor are largely in very good condition, and so in the places where repair was needed, this has been done, but we’ve managed to keep the ones which have always been there, in two of the bedrooms and the big open plan living space. They are super pretty and once we’ve cleaned them up and had them fully restored, I’m sure they will be as beautiful as they were, the day they were laid.
I think, looking back at the original tiling in the house, we made the right decision in replacing quite a lot of it. However, what has been removed, has been safely stored, in separate batches. Now that we can see the tiles in isolation, rather than as an onslaught of colour and pattern, we’ve realised that some of them are actually quite beautiful, and we may well have plans to repurpose at least one set. The others, who knows? Maybe we’ll find out that they are worth something and Bert & May or Maitland & Poate may want to take them off hands…
by Helen | May 20, 2025 | Renovation
Unlike previous renovations, when we’ve actually lived in the properties as they were being renovated, this time, we have lived in an apartment, by the sea, a good couple of hours drive away. Each trip over to the house, is over a four hour round trip, and so we haven’t done so many actual visits. We keep on top of everything with daily updates with our builder and video calls when necessary, so although we’re not right in the middle of it all, we feel very much in the loop, and know what is happening at all times.
This means that my blogging of our renovation journey has been a bit more sporadic than previously. But so much has been happening in the house – so much more than we actually envisaged initially – that I think it’s important to keep a record. Something we can look back on in the future, and wonder once again, how on earth we did it.
So, the main bathroom…
This was what we inherited. A bit daunting, as absolutely nothing could be salvaged, but we knew it had potential and we had a strong vision, so the instruction was issued to just get it all out and stripped back. And Jose produced a drawing which aligned with our vision.
The ongoing renovations…
What we’ve done…
Walls have been repaired and replastered, and are now half tiled. The remaining plaster walls will be painted white. The bathroom originally had a small shuttered window, in the corner – you can see it in the first image – and then at the opposite end of the wall, a full length window, overlooking the courtyard. This definitely had potential and we loved it, but we quickly realised, it limited what we could do with the bathroom and the placing of sanitaryware. So, the decision was made to block up the small window and site the shower in this corner, then brick up the bottom half of the full length window to create a smaller one, which would increase the useable wall and floor space. The original flooring was taken up and we chose tiles that suited the style of the house. We didn’t want them to look “new”, we wanted to look as if they could have always been there.
One thing we definitely knew we wanted, was a bath. And, having wanted one forever, we decided that this was the bathroom for a much longed for free standing bath. We deliberated over the size/style/colour for weeks and weeks as this was an expensive outlay and we had one chance to get it right. And, I think we have definitely made the right decision!
All of the bath, sink, shower and shower accessories are quite Victoriana, made of brass and with beautiful little blue tile insets. And, by an amazing stroke of luck, I found totally by accident, a company which manufactured, in exactly the same style, towel rails, hooks, toilet roll holders etc so we opted for these. These are still packed away, only to be installed when everything else is done, along a with a gorgeous brass, Victoriana mirror for above the sink. A brass sink, too, which we’ll have mounted on an old cabinet, which will be renovated and restored. Another non-compromise must-have, was the shower wall, made out of glass bricks. I’ve tried to wedge a glass brick something or other in every renovation we’ve done, with no success. Until now. I have my glass brick wall! And a beautiful non-slip copper effect shower tray, with a copper drain. It’s a beauty.
It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve seen the bathroom, so we know that things will have come on. We’re just awaiting delivery of blue ceramic edging pieces for the tops of the tiles on the walls and are now researching old cabinets, which will house all of our bathroom bits and pieces. And, the search is also on for a beautiful chandelier – just what I think this bathroom will deserve.
by Helen | Mar 11, 2025 | Spain, Travel
Before we started researching areas, as possible places to buy a property and relocate to, I don’t think we’d heard of Medina Sidonia before. However, the name resonated with us, creating visions of Moroccan medinas. Deep in the south west of Andalucia, the town is one of the region’s many pueblos blancos, where you can step back in time and immerse yourself in its history. Its Roman, Moorish and medieval heritage is palpable – walking the whitewashed and cobbled streets, the buildings transport you back to another world. It is thought to be one of the oldest cities in Europe, and certainly, its historical monuments, ancient walls and arches, its castle, and Roman remains such as sewers or the Roman road suggest a city which has survived the ages. Arab influence is strong, with narrow, cobbled streets, whitewashed houses, and picturesque squares, lined with orange trees. I’m not sure if we ever imagined ourselves so far south in Andalucia, in an area we didn’t know at all, but sometimes decisions are made for you…
(Map : Google Maps)
The first house we viewed when we arrived in Andalucia was in Medina Sidonia. It was pretty high up on our list and we booked ourselves into this hotel for a couple of nights to acquaint ourselves with the town. First impressions were great – high up on a hill, with views all the way down to the coast at Chiclana de la Frontera. It was a hot August morning when we arrived, and the white town, clinging to the hillside, did look incredibly pretty. First impressions of the house were also great – renovated to our taste and with commanding views across the countryside, as it was quite high up in the town. However, when we really drilled down into, for a variety of reasons, we decided not to pursue this house – land either side of it led us to think that one day, we could be living in quite a hemmed in location if properties were built to the side. It was just a little too far out of town, once we’d got our bearings. And although it was beautifully renovated, we realised that it was perhaps smaller than we wanted. So, a house down, but our first impressions of Medina Sidonia grew.
What we loved about Medina Sidonia, were the contrasting architectural style. The honey coloured city walls, with steps going up the side into the oldest part of the town, were just beautiful, especially in the late afternoon sunlight. Very Moorish/Arabic with their turrets and arches. And then the beautiful white washed houses, with their traditional black wrought ironwork at the windows and balconies, and big heavy doors. One house in particular had really caught our eye on the estate agent’s website, but we knew that this was a pipe dream, rather than anything realistic. It was huge, situated right on the corner of the magnificent Plaza de Espana, with orange trees right outside the front door, and ripe for an amazing renovation. But, it was just too big a dream and would have taken far more money than we had to turn it into a home,
However, we were very taken with the town, and some weeks later, we’d found ourselves an apartment where we based ourselves for just over a month. This enabled us to get to know Medina – and the surrounding countryside and coastline – a whole lot better. And, to realise that as beautiful it is, the town wasn’t quite right for us to make the big move to, and call it home. We felt that, after experiencing it, it was a little more isolated than we wanted and we knew that come summer time, it would be completely overrun with tourists. Unsurprisingly, because it is beautiful, and we had after all, visited as tourists ourselves, but we knew that such a seasonal influx of people would ultimately do our heads in. So, we enjoyed our time there as very temporary residents, glad to have made a decision.
But it is a pueblo blanco that has made a big impression on us. It will always make think of hot weather – we were there in October and it was still so, so warm. The orange trees were full of fruit, the sky was blue for most of the time we were there, and because we were high up, we saw some of the most beautiful sunsets. It was great to have a base after a couple of months on the road, and we feel really privileged that we were able to experience this lovely town on a bit of a more permanent basis.
