The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Doin' Nothin' In Nerja
Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation and this is a perfect place to do it. We may go exploring afield sometime ... but it wasn't today. The daily activities consisted of wandering the streets, figuring out where to have our next meal, siesta time ... and there might have been something else but it wasn't that important. Get the picture?
So we'll just have to let the photos do most of the talking.
This is what I saw when I looked out from one of the two balconies in our room this morning. We are staying at the Hostal Marissal located squarely in the center of the action in beautiful downtown Nerja. Not a bad deal for 50 euros a night!
Walk out the front door of the hotel and you are on the promenade to what is known as the Balcon de Europa ("The Balcony of Europe"), a rocky cliff extending out into the Mediterranean. It was once the site of a fort destroyed by the British during the Spanish Independence War. Then in 1885, King Alfonso was touring the area after a devastating earthquake and declared it the Balcony of Europe because of its impressive views.
On either side up and down the coast are lovely beaches tucked into small coves, many lined with beach restaurants. To the left of the balcon as you look out to the Med is Playa Calahonda. To the right is Playa El Salon and the Hotel Balcon de Europa. I was fascinated by the three distinct colors of the sea, I thought it might be due to changes in depth but I did not notice the same gradation today. 'Tis a puzzlement ...
The center of the action in Nerja is the downtown square and our hotel is on one corner of it. Everything we could want is within easy crawling distance ... including some of the most decadent gelato we have ever found, even including Italy!
We wandered around to some of the shops (Margene has an insatiable need for scarves) and hiked to a supermarket for supplies. Lunch was a few tapas for one euro each! Then an afternoon siesta. Dinner was pizza at El Patio -- good but nothing compared to what we had at Mamma Mia in Gibraltar yesterday!
All this with bright sun and a cool breeze. How was YOUR day?
© 2012 Restaurant Doctor
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