Holiday: Spain (2025)

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Friday, 31st October

We flew out to Spain to catch up with long-time mates Roy & Susan. Roy sits amongst that small group of longtime friends, who I’ve known for close on 45 years – and we’re looking forward to a week of R&R at their place with plenty of time to reminisce! 👍

In recent years, Roy & Susan have retired and moved permanently to Spain, close to the major town of Lorca – in Vélez-Rubio. It’s mostly Brit-free and Spanish-speaking👍😊 – so it feels like a real slice of Espana! As we were to find out, the views are pretty spectacular too! 😉.

The weather forecast looks attractive, especially when compared to the UK at the moment! 😊

We were up at ‘silly o’clock’ in order to get to Birmingham Airport and our flight departure of 9.15.

6.05am: A hassle-free journey to the Airport – albeit a rainy one! So many lorries on the road too (I think we both forgotten what it’s like to be on the road at this time!)

7.40am: For once, it wasn’t manic in the Departure Lounge and with the new body scanners in their new(ish) Security Area, we were through in a flash!

12 50pm: We landed on time at Murcia Airport, and after battling through the film crew that was there filming a blockbuster! (yes, really!) were met by Roy, Susan and their ever-faithful canine companion, Evie.

A quick walk to the car and we were on our way to theirs – a very relaxed hour-or-so journey! 👍

3.02pm: After stopping off at a local supermarket for tonight’s meal, we were ‘home’.

3.25pm: What next? A no-brainier! A beer or two by the pool! 👍

…and then a bite to eat! Salad and meats courtesy of Roy, followed by homemade Victoria Sponge. Cheers, both, we needed that!

Wow! What a location. It was all very Spanish and not a soul in sight! The view across the mountains confirmed we were away from the crowds! Lovely… 👍👍

5.35pm: And then to our little place for the week, adjacent to theirs! – La Casita.

Wow! What a fabulous place! It’s got everything we need – including Alexa too! Classic FM beckoned, and for a moment, we were back in the UK (apart from the climate, the quietness and the cuisine! 😜).

7 15pm: Finally, after unpacking, it was back to Roy & Sue’s for a longer natter and catchup before heading back to ‘ours’.

8.35pm: I think our very early start caught up with us. Goodnight! A lazy day ahead tomorrow! 👍

Saturday, 1 November

Morning all! 😊. A cooler start to the day!

Nothing in the diary except a leisurely breakfast with Roy and Susan, a trip into town to meet their neighbours, fellow Brits, Ray and Jools. I know, tough life, ehh??? 😜😜.

10.00am: We’re off!

Roy & Sue have got the journey into town down to a fine art – just 7-8 minutes by car. Here, there’s no problem with fighting for a parking space either – the parking in the street is free!

Martos Caffee was our first stop. By the time we arrived, it was already busy and we grabbed the last free table that would accommodate the four of us plus the impending arrival of Ray and Jools.

10.45am: By the time we’d met Ray and Jools, caught up with their news, munched our way through a variety of toasties, we were ready to move onto our first cultural stop of the day – The local Church. We said our goodbyes to Ray & Jools but plan to catch up with them again, before we head back to the UK.

Right opposite where we had brekky, was the Church of the Incarnation was stunning on the outside and even more so inside!

It was gorgeous inside and an example of Spanish ecclesiastical architecture, known for its Baroque facade and very complex design. It didn’t disappoint, and if you weren’t religious when you went in, you may have had second thoughts, coming out!

Next stop? The Saturday Market! 👍. You can’t beat them for value and variety, wherever you are in the world!

This one was no exception, with pretty much every stall doing a good trade. Fruit, Veg, Fish, Sausages, Clothes, Knickers and Chickens – you name it, they had it! Including raw potatoes, pre-cut for tasting (yes, really!)😮

12.22pm: We finished our morning on a cultural note by visiting the local Museum – The Museo Comarcal Velezano Miguel Guirao.

The rather narrow entrance betrayed its contents. After a very warm welcome from the Receptionist, and after paying our entrance fee of just €1 each, we were given a brief introduction to what was to come and then left to wander around. Spread across two upper floors and a ground floor, the building was originally the town’s Royal Hospital, built way back in 1765. It had been fully restored as recently as 1991.

Primarily, it was a rural Museum, featuring a lot of agricultural tools, but stretched the definition to include early cinematic equipment, archaeological finds and a wide range of anthropological work.

There was plenty to see here, and it was presented visually, in an easy-to-follow fashion. Note though, all the explanatory materials are in Spanish only! 🤔. In spite of the written language issues, it was an enjoyable experience and a real treasure-trove of bits and pieces from yesteryear.

1.02pm: We headed back to base for a chilled-out afternoon with a few nibbles, putting the world right around the pool.

4.45pm: A short siesta followed!

6.15pm: Roy was Chef tonight and did something magical with seafood and chicken!

That all went down a treat, helped along by a slurp or three of ‘The Guv’nor’ White.

6.30pm: Time for BBC’s Strictly, live, courtesy of a combination of technologies!

9.45pm: That’s it for tonight! Another lazy one tomorrow! 💤🥱😴💤🥱😴

Sunday, 2 November

Morning all! 👍

Our plans today? ….err, nothing much at all, except an extended Lunch at Casa Joya in La Losilla, about 20 kilometres and 30 minutes from here!

10.35am: So, after a late, late – and light – Breakfast, we jumped in the car and headed for the Restaurant.

1.32pm: Here we are at Casa Joya. It was one of those Restaurants that was ‘off the beaten track’. In fact, this one was off the track that was off the beaten track! 😮. Absolutely NO chance of passing trade, whilst even for regulars, it wasn’t a journey you’d choose to take in the dark! I immediately admired the passion and determination for the owners to open here!! 👍

Run by two Brits: Mary (Front of House) and James (Chef), it offered a menu to die for, with service to match!

We’d already pre-ordered our food a few days ago, so we didn’t have long to wait to sample their wares! After Mary took our requests for drinks, James delivered the food himself. Wow! Beautifully presented and as yummy as it comes!

By design, it was a deliberately slow Lunch, giving us time to savour their excellent menu and natter at some length – perfect!

The whole experience certainly didn’t disappoint, and Mary was the perfect hostess whilst James showed us he was at the top of his game with the menu! I’d never tasted Peanut Butter Pie before and although my Starter and Main was delicious, my chosen Dessert was even better!!! 😋😋

4.15pm: Well, that was a meal we’re never going to forget! Over three hours for Lunch too! For a moment, I thought we were French!! 😊. We took our coffees outside, which offered stunning views and a perfect end to Lunch. Better still, the bill that included three courses each, a bottle of wine, a beer or six and a G&T totted up to just €150 Euros (£132.12) including the tip! Happy days!! 👍👍

5.25pm: The drive back only took around 20 minutes, and we were soon back at ‘ours’. A short siesta was in order before catching up with Roy and Sue over at theirs for movie night! Tonight? ‘The Woman in Cabin 10‘ courtesy of Netflix. A great watch! (More details HERE).

8.05pm: We then paused the movie to catch the Strictly Results show. Simple pleasures with great mates!!! 👍

What a fab day! The weather turned out warmer than the forecast suggested, making the day even more enjoyable. The restaurant was excellent, and the virtually empty roads made it a stress-free driving experience too! 😊

10.05pm: It’s been a tough day (not!). There’s another equally challenging one lined up tomorrow! 🥱💤💤. See you Monday! 👋

Monday, 3 November

7.05am: Howdy folks! 👍👍. Welcome to another very lazy day here in Velez-Rubio, Spain. It’s a little cooler today than expected, but still warmer (and drier) than back home.

10.15am: A light Breakfast of croissants!

11.02am: Whilst Ann and Susan pruned the grapes (!!!) Roy and I headed for town to drop off a parcel and take Evie to the vet …and to search for a very specific cable for their TV.

We then headed for the local tech shop in search of the elusive ethernet cable! (boys and their toys, ehh!?!?). The good news? The local ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ had every cable known to man EXCEPT the one we needed! Bugger! 😳. Oh well, back to base!

12.50pm: Mission accomplished (mostly!). Carrots, a Cauliflower, and various other essentials for tonight’s meal, but sadly, no ethernet cable! Next stop? The pool and a beer! 👍

1.15pm: Closely followed by some yummy snacks to keep us going whilst we exerted all that energy around the pool! Today was turning out to be much warmer than the forecast had suggested! 👍

More chilling out followed!

3.15pm: We headed over to Ray and Jools’ place to take Ray up on his offer to show us around his hi-fi setup. It was certainly worth the visit, where Ray confidently demoed to Roy and me the differences between the various setups and speaker configurations. Very ‘blokey’ stuff, but it also gave Susan, Ann and Jools time for a separate catch-up too! I think they’re going to need a bigger place soon! 👍

Cheers Ray! We appreciated your insight into the world of really serious HiFi! 👍👍

5.20pm: We said our goodbyes and headed back to base, where Ann and Susan retackled the grapes outside our place to help reduce the swarms of wasps. They’d earlier also taken a liking to the fruit and had arrived in coach loads!! Luckily, it was much cooler now and the wasps were elsewhere, making the girls’ job a lot easier (so I’m told!) 😜

7.40pm: With wasps tamed (albeit taking a shine to Susan), Roy wore his Chef’s Hat tonight again and treated us to ‘Sapo en el agujero’ – aka Toad in the Hole – or as I like to call it (because it’s Spain): ‘Toad in the Olé’ 😩 (Apologies!) 🤣😂🤣😂

Fab food! Cheers, Roy! 👍

8.55pm: Movie Night! Tonight it was 2013’s Closed Circuit starring Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall. A thought-provoking movie and worth a watch (more details HERE).

It’s been another great day. The weather initially turned out warmer than the forecast, but the evening was the coldest we’d experienced since we arrived – definitely cardigan weather and long trousers!

10.20pm: Tomorrow, after Breakfast, we’re heading off to the city of Murcia – a good hour in the car heading east.

10.55pm: Sleep well, see you here tomorrow 💤💤

Tuesday, 4 November

7.05am: Morning Readers! 👍😊

A not-quite-so-dramatic sunrise this morning! 🙄

10.30am: Breakfast…

12.05pm: We headed for the city of Murcia (population, almost half a million!). At just over 100kms, the journey took about an hour. The road was a delight, hassle – and pothole – free!

1.30pm: Hello Murcia! Time for a nibble and after a short walk we passed Drexco Traperia.

Time for a wander…

The Cathedral

2.45pm: The first stone of the current constructionwas laid in 1394 when Fernando de Pedrosa was Bishop. Prior to that, work had been completed on the construction of the cloister, which now houses the Cathedral museum. Just over 70 years later, in 1467, work on the Cathedral was finally completed, and it was then consecrated. The interior is mostly Gothic in design, and it felt massive just wandering around.

Rio Casino de Murcia

AKA The Royal Casino, this is a Private social club & culture centre in a 19th-century building with an elaborate, grand facade. Built in 1847, it is open to the public for viewing, the slightly plain exterior gave way to something far more elaborate!

Consisting of The Central Gallery, The English Library, The Congresillo (elegant sitting room), The Ballroom, The Anteroom, The Ladies Room, The Arms Hall, The Tea Room, The Court and The Billiard Room – there’s plenty to see! And at just €4 each, it was a great place for getitng ideas for that next decorating project back home! 😮

We prepared to be wowed where, maybe not surprisingly, it’s one of the most visited places in the Murcia region, having been completely refurbed between 2006 and 2009.

3.15pm: Our timing was perfect! As we arrived, there was hardly anyone else inside, giving us plenty of opportunity for photos. But as we left, the coachloads began to arrive! The interior was absolutely stunning in every respect! 👍👍👍👍. More about it HERE.

Plaza de Las Flores

AKA Las Flores Square, this is considered to be one of the most outstanding and unmissable urban spaces in the old town. For us, it was simply great just to be wandering around in the sun.

3.30pm: Late afternoon and still mid-20s! Nice! There was plenty to discover here, and one of those locations where each visit would reveal something you hadn’t seen before. Beautiful! We stopped for a quick coffee, enjoying the warm weather whilst avoiding the ‘local entrepreneurs’ eager to sell us their wares! 😉

Paseo del Malecón

4.20pm: Nestled near the banks of the Segura River, this was another of today’s delightful walks. Highly manicured flower beds, together with a perfectly paved area for walking, eventually gave way to the rather imposing Heurto De Las Bombas – this historic entrance/doorway was the scene of a military confrontation in 1706.

5.30pm: That was fun! The weather held and we took a gentle walk back to the car and the journey ‘home’.

Another great day today! We’d not been to this City before – and we were impressed on many levels. It was very clean, easy to get about, plenty of places to shop and a wide range of Bars too! If you like your old towns with plenty of buzz and plenty to see, this is it. The old town was one of those places where it’s worth getting lost in! Yes, we’ll be back again someday soon for a deeper and longer look at this beautiful town. 👍😊.

6.25pm: A quick visit to the local supermarket for a spot of retail therapy and some snacks for tonight.

7.10pm: Home and just time for a quick ‘refresh’ before tonight’s movie.

8.10pm: On the big screen tonight? ‘Sliding Doors‘ (1998) starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah. By a vote of 3 to 1, we decided to abandon the film as it didn’t click with the majority! Instead, we switched to Apple TV+ and watched the first episode of ‘Down Cemetery Road‘ – verdict? EXCELLENT!!! 👍👍👍👍

9.50pm: That’s it for today. Tomorrow, a trip to Mojacar, about 1 hour south, by car. See you then! Nighty-night! 💤🥱💤🥱

Wednesday, 5 November

Morning all! 👍. Happy Wednesday!

10.00am: With Roy & Susan at their weekly Spanish Class, we enjoyed a late breakfast!

12.00 noon: We set off for the town of Mojacar, on the south-east coast of Spain. It took about an hour on the A-91.

12.43pm: Our first stop though, was Viveros alonso galera, just outside Antas – a humungous Garden Centre about the size of Northamptonshire!

Pretty much any flower or plant in all the sizes and in all the colours, as well as pots, pots and more pots! 👍. We treated Roy & Susan to something for their garden…

Mojácar

The town was an old Moorish settlement on the coast of Spain and about 90km from the capital of the province, Almeria. Today, it’s a modern seaside resort where temperatures can reach 40℃ in Summer.

1.30pm: We arrived in Mojacar to a slightly overcast blue sky, but it was still comfortingly warm at around 22℃. A quick look around the restaurant area revealed that they weren’t all open, limiting our choice. We settled for the unassuming Restaurante Bellavista. The beach wasn’t the prettiest we’ve ever seen but there were a few souls enjoying the experience including swimming in the sea.

3.23pm: A great meal with excellent hospitality! In fact, I think it’s possibly the friendliest eatery we’ve ever been to! It was busy and had attracted a lot of Brits, where, by the time we left, there weren’t many tables free at all. Meanwhile, outside, and back to reality, it still wasn’t particularly sunny, but we all felt that a walk along the seafront was in order to begin to burn off those excess calories! 😉

4.45pm: Returning to the car, on our way back to base, we decided on a nostalgic detour for Roy & Susan and we headed for Playa Los Cocederos – a small beach located between the Province of Almería, and the Region of Murcia.

Why nostalgic? This is where Roy & Susan first heard that they’d been successful in buying their current property here in Spain. Aww! 😍😍

5.10pm: Time to get back on the road.

7.01pm: After stopping off at Carrefour for some foody bits and bobs, we arrived ‘home’. It had been a long day – but in a good way! A quick wash and brush-up, and we were ready for the evening ahead.

7.45pm: On the box tonight? The second and third episodes of the rather excellent ‘Down Cemetery Road‘ (courtesy of Apple TV+) all helped along with a slice of cake and a cuppa!

It’s been another interesting day, and it was well worth the drive to Mojácar, just for the food – even if the weather didn’t quite live up to expectations. Although the town was pretty quiet today, it was easy to imagine how packed the area would be in the height of the Summer. The sheer number of seafront Restaurants confirmed that this destination was very popular.

Tomorrow, it’s another lazy one in the morning, and then we’re out for Lunch, heading to Meson Villarejo in Puerto Lumbreras, 30 km east – about 20 minutes away.

9.45pm: Sleep well! 💤💤. See you Thursday (it’s our last full day here).

Thursday, 6 November

Morning all! It’s our final full day here with Roy & Susan – we’re heading back to the Airport, and home, tomorrow morning ☹️☹️.

10.40am: As has become the norm this week, we enjoyed another lazy, relaxing breakfast where our next ‘fixture’ is Lunch, about 20 minutes away! It’s tough here! 😉

After Breakfast, it certainly wasn’t the weather for sun-bathing! There was now a strong, cold wind blowing that made it feel more like the UK. Maybe Mother Nature was getting us ready for our return? Instead, we turned our attention to the inevitable task of packing for our departure tomorrow ☹️☹️. We then caught up with episode 8 of Celebrity Traitors, so we’ll be totally up-to-date to watch the final when we get home (assuming we can avoid any spoilers appearing overnight).

1.15pm: We headed to Mesón Villarejo in Puerto Lumbreras for a late Lunch. Another unassuming entrance (that actually looked like we were about to visit someone’s house) gave way to a smallish dining area. What it lacked in size, it was about to make up for in variety, flavour and great service! 👍👍👍👍

1.33pm: We were the first to arrive (typical Brits) – as it only opened at 1.30! 😂. It soon filled up though!!

The food was excellent! (again!!), expertly arranged and most of all, delicious! 😋😋😋😋

Velez-Blanco

4.05pm: We headed back to base to pick up Evie and a top coat, then headed off to nearby Velez-Blanco – simply for the view and a wander around!

Ahh, I see now why we needed the coat! 🥶🥶. Just 30-or-so kilometres from the Restaurant and it was now just 11 degrees – a 9 degree reduction in the temperature!

It sure was cold! But worth it! It is only a small town (population just over 1900) but it had a strong ‘old town’ feel about it – even the Christmas Lights were up (but not on) making it easy to imagine a real community atmosphere here as the festive period got closer. Even Santa would have enjoyed the climate! Did I mention it was cold?!?! 🥶

5.50pm: Time to thaw out and head back to Roy & Susan’s.

6.15pm: Back at base, and time for a cuppa!

Possibly the last photograph of the holiday – the view from their roof! The vibrant coloured skies have been a constant feature of this holiday. Nice! 👍

7.00pm: For our TV treat tonight, we introduced our friends to episode 1 of the BBC series ‘Ludwig’ from 2024.

10.05pm: Well, that’s it for this break. Just time to finish the packing and then it’s 💤😴💤😴

Until the next time!

It’s been a great experience. We haven’t been to Spain for a few years and Roy & Susan were great at bringing us up to date with their modern culture and customs. A lot has changed since we last spent this amount of time here – and all for the better. It’s easy to see why they (and many other Brits) have made Spain their home where, by comparison, it left the UK lacking in many (many!) ways. We’ve made lots of great memories, found a new notch in the belt for my trousers (the restaurant food was outstanding!) and come to appreciate the modern ‘Spanish Way’. Wow! 👍😘👍😘

Roy and Susan (and of course, ever-faithful hound, Evie!), thanks for an amazing time. It was wonderful to see you again, and you were such fantastic hosts! We loved discovering this area of Spain with you and hearing all your news since we last met. Looking forward to catching up again before too long!

A five-star review on TripAdvisor is guaranteed! 😂😂