Visiting Parents in Spain

It seemed strange leaving South America after so long but at least when we arrived at our first stop in Europe, Spain, the language was still the same.  It had been a good but long flight and Alisha and Lucy had refused to sleep on the flight as they were too busy watching movies so when we arrived In Madrid they were exhausted.
We then had a four and a half hour drive to Altea La Vella where my parents live.  My parents have owned property there for over 35 years and I have been a regular visitor so returning to the small pretty village was like returning to a second home.  It had been over a year since we had seen my parents so we were really pleased to see them. 
     As my mum had recently suffered a dislocated shoulder we did not do much in the 5 days we were there but that was just fine with us.  We chatted and caught up on things and even had a couple of afternoon siestas as we got over the jet lag.
The weather was fantastic so the girls were able to enjoy the pool and we could sit on the balcony until late in the evening enjoying the view.
      
We did manage to take a few short strolls along the beach a couple,of kms away but other than that we did not leave the village the whole time we were there.
       One of the things we enjoyed was going out for dinner most nights.  As I know the village so well I always want to revisit certain familiar restaurants.  We did not eat anything fancy but had some lovely tapas.  One thing I was really keen to have was a great Paella.  The restaurant over the road from our apartment, El Mallol, makes a fantastic one so we settled in there for Sunday lunch.  It did not disappoint and we even took the left overs away with us for later.  I first went to El Mallol nearly 40 years ago and so it is nice to go back.  We also know the owners and people who work there who are good friends of the family.   
We were fortunate that while we were there it was my Dad's birthday.  Alisha was keen to cook him a birthday treat.  So we invited my parents over to our apartment where she cooked him pasta bolognese followed by Apple pie and custard.  It was a big success and very tasty.  
         Not to be outdone Lucy made a chocolate cake for birthday tea the next day.    
While we were in Spain we heard that the ship that the truck was due to be loaded on was stuck outside the port due to a strike in the port.  Anyway after 2 days it was all over and the ship docked.  It is now on its way to South Africa, hopefully with the truck on board.
It was also time for us to move on after too short a stay in Spain so it was back to Madrid to catch our flight to London. 

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