Day Trip to Tarifa and Bolonia

Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain and Europe, is a small town in an area famous for wind- and kitesurfing. Like most places in Southern Spain, it is mostly visited in the summer months. But I absolutely love visiting during winter, when 99% of the people on the streets are locals and the climate is nice enough to enjoy a coffe and lunch in the sun, but wearing a jacket or at least a jumper. 

Bolonia is a minute beach town, famous for its roman ruins, and it's beautiful beach.  

The most striking thing about the area are the white sand beaches, the turquoise or intense blue colored Atlantic ocean and on a clear day, the breathtaking views of Morocco (which is a mere 8.9 miles (14.3km) away). 

So today, a mild sunday, my mom and I decided it was time for our first visit to the towns of Tarifa and Bolonia this year. 

First we walked through the old part of Tarifa, stopped for coffee in the sun and then headed over to nearby Bolonia for lunch and a quick stroll at the beach. 

Can I move in? Apparently behind the door there's a huge patio surrounded by antique furniture. Sigh! 

Tarifa. Old moorish city wall.

Old town Tarifa. 

The sign says "zapateria" (shoe repairs) 

Door to the town market.

Coffe in the sun - yum!

Funky street name

View of the Estrecho (Straight of Gibraltar) with Morocco in the background

Old ruins. As close as it gets to the ocean. I would have loved to see this building in its full glory. 

Empty coke bottles. Remnants of a busy summer. (Backyard of a restaurant in Bolonia)

Delicious olives to ease the wait for the food. 

Pan de pueblo (town bread made with corn)

Our friendly lunch companion.

Beach of Bolonia 

Footprint and marks of early morning rain.

Broken glass.  

This cute house is right at the beach. In the garden there were girls in a swing and playing badminton. Oh, and a donkey!!! Can I move in here instead?

Actually I wouldn't mind any of these options either. Especially with those nice neighbors :)

A big Sorry and a Good Excuse

Wow. I knew I had been slacking off with the posting, but when I just looked at the day of my last post, I couldn't believe it! Over a month without posting! What a messy beginning of the year.
I have had a lot on my mind lately, and time has been "swooshing" by me like crazy. Ever since the beginning of january we have been settling down here after our big move from LA. Rooms had to be re-decorated, a new car needed to be bought, bank accounts closed, others opened, etc. Even though we grew up here in Spain, it's taking some time to get used to how everything is done over here. Especially after living in the US for over three years. Not only the big picture: especially dealing with missing our very dear friends and the fact that skyping with a 9 hour time difference isn't as easy as it looks at first. But also tiny details, like shops closing from 2pm to 5pm for their lunchbreak, malls closing on sundays, dealing with the strange spanish voice overs at the movies, no starbucks or peet's in our little town, hell - I even miss shopping at trader joe's (more than I can officially admit!).
But anyways, all those thing's havent kept me from blogging. My biggest excuse is also the most amazing one. More life changing than moving halfway across the world. So, what has kept me from blogging you may ask? Well, it's more of a "who" has kept me from blogging! Well it's a little baby girl that has been steadily growing in my ever expanding belly for the last 6 months! She'll be arriving in mid May, and Mikki and I couldn't be more excited! So far I have had a super smooth pregnancy - and I'm already in the last trimester. The baby girl, Liv Nilsen Plange, has been kicking and turning ever since Christmas and it feels great to be surrounded by old friends and family, knowing how everybody is awaiting so anxiously her arrival.
Anyways here a a few highlights of the last month here in Marbella, Spain. I hope you enjoy them and I'll do my best to keep posting on a regular basis again. Maybe I'll share a few snapshots of the interior of our "new" old home.

Ta-dah! Lates belly shot (from last week) :)

The beach on a sunny sunday afternoon. On the horizon you can see Morocco, Gibraltar and Spain. 

Snow on the closest mountains

breakfast in town with my Mikki :)

Look at that tiny dog riding on the back of the bike!

A tasty refreshment after morning pilates

Lately I've been baking like crazy: here a chocolate version of the classic "bizcocho"

first roses in the garden

Finca

1. naked tree with dry red berries of some sort

2. orange tree bursting with fruit

3. persimmon

4. orange tree closeup

5 & 6. beautifully feathered creatures

So yesterday we decided that the weather was nice and dry enough to venture out to a friends finca. A finca is a spanish word for a rural piece of land, usually with some sort of building on it.
We spent the better part of the time picking bag fulls of oranges and clementines, marveling over the quantities of fruit, the smell and the taste, while having the juices dribbling over our chins and fingers.
We also scored some persimmons and some tiny little chirimoyas. Yum!
After we admired the feathers of the chickens, we headed to the small hill town of Istán, where we filled a bunch of water bottles with fresh spring water and headed into town to fill our orange filled bellies with something more substantial.
Oh, how I had missed these improvised day trips!

Home Sweet Home

So this is my first post from my new residence in Southern Spain. We survived the long travels, the moving stress, the sadness of saying goodbye to friends and the Christmas craze. Tomorrow is the last day of 2010. What a year it has been. Not a bad one, but definitely one of great changes and lots of endings. 2011 will be a life changing year for me, on many different levels, but more on that on a future post.
I thought it might be nice to show you a little of where I will start the new year. Mostly exteriors of the garden, I'll post some interior pics as soon as I'm done redecorating.
Hope you have a great and memorable transition into the new year, may it bring you joy and fill you with happiness, xx

View from the garden onto the Concha mountain (concha means sea shell)

Flowers blooming when in other places in the world all you can see is snow

My shadow in the pool

View from the garden onto town, we have our own oranges (and avocados!!!)

Some of our cohabitants bathing in the sun...

...others prefer the shade

some details of my new NIMO. headquarters

More details of the garden

Sunlight on the dishes in the kitchen (courtesy of Mikki)

This is what happens when my mom "improvises" a quick dinner - wow!

Breakfast

...and my breakfast companion ;)