This week we took a 4-day trip, our first holiday since arriving in Spain almost 3 years ago, to the historic towns of Cuenca in the Castilla-La Mancha province and Albarracin in nearby Aragon province.

Cuenca is high up (956m) in the mountainous area of Serrania and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s origins date back to the time of the Moors, when a settlement was first established on a rocky outcrop surrounded by steep ravines and the churches, cathedral and many of the houses in the old town date back to the 12th century. As the town grew, its inhabitants found ingenious ways to make use of the limited space available within the fortified town and so built many storeys up and in some cases out over the edge to maximise the use of the land.

Our hotel was in an old convent and there are still several convents in use in the town. One of our most memorable moments was creeping quietly into the back of one of the many old churches we came across in the town and finding dozens of white-robed nuns knelt in prayer at their evening mass.

After 2 nights in Cuenca, we travelled across the  most stunning scenery we’ve seen since arriving here, stopping at the Ciudad Encantada (”enchanted garden”) – an area of  limestone rocks, eroded over millions of years into strange shapes.

Albarracin is also located high up (1172m) on a rocky outcrop formed by the meander of a river and is also classified by UNESCO as an artistic monument of world interest. We found it to be the most perfectly preserved example of a medieval town you could ever wish to visit, with narrow little streets of overhanging houses, surrounded by superb fortifications. Our hotel this time was in the 16th century “house of the brigadier’s wife.” We wandered around the narrow old streets, many only wide enough for a donkey, amazed at the age of all the houses and how the original timbers have survived. The next morning we climbed  high above town onto the walls of the castle for the most stunning views of our trip.

Truly a trip to remember!

See more photographs in the gallery or watch a slideshow set to music on Youtube.

The hours we keep in Spain are a lot more erratic than when we lived in the UK, for the simple reason that we no longer have to get up at a fixed time to go to work. Once a week, for example, we go to our local bar to listen to live music – outside in the courtyard  during the summer of course – which doesn’t finish until after midnight and when we go out to dinner with friends, it is just as likely to be a weekday evening and we won’t get home until the early hours. We’ve been wanting for some time, however, to watch the sunrise from the top of the mountains and this week we finally got round to setting the alarm early enough – 0500!

We drove up through the deserted streets of the villages in the Vall de Leguart, up beyond Benimaurell to a point – over 700m above sea level – that commands a view of the whole of our valley, down to the coast and out to sea. We saw a wild boar and a fox, having almost run over an owl sitting in the road very close to our villa. The temperatures during the day at the moment are over 35C and it is very humid. As a result, when it began to get light, we could see the mist lying in the valley and out at sea, there was a thin layer of low cloud. It was therefore nearly 0645 before the first spot of the red disc of the sun began to peep through the cloud and it was then over in a matter of minutes.

The experience was wonderful and we hope the photos below do it justice. On our way back down, the baker had just opened his shop in the village of Campell, so we stopped and bought a crusty loaf that had just come out of the oven. It was still warm when we got home and we sat on our terrace with a large pot of tea and some jam, and enjoyed breakfast like never before.

Last week was Celia’s birthday and she wanted to see the latest show at the Benidorm Palace. Although we went 2 years ago (have we really been in Spain that long?) and were prepared not to be quite so impressed this time, we were completely wrong.

The dinner was excellent, especially the steak, and we had a ‘ringside table’ again. The show, with new dance routines and new acts, was even more spectacular than last time and having now taken part in 2 pantos, we were able to admire the actual staging of the show, the lighting, the number of dancers involved (25-30 on stage at any one time) and the slick set changing. A thoroughly entertaining evening and a show that has more in  common with Las Vegas than Benidorm!

On Saturday 5th, we had a day out with friends and visited the Valor chocolate factory in Villajoyosa – chocolate being Celia’s second favourite indulgence after wine! After the tour of the chocolate museum, watching a video explaining the history of this family-run business and an explanation of the chocolate-making process, we were given a brief look at part of the factory and ushered into the shop, where plates of  delicious chocolate  were laid out for us to sample. Of course, we had to buy some chocolate to take home and had brought a cool bag  in anticipation. We walked around the back streets of Villajoyosa, which is a quite a poor town and not yet as developed as its neighbour Benidorm and  had lunch  in a restaurant overlooking the sea.

On the way home, we stopped in the town of Altea, which we had previously only driven through. We wandered up through the streets of the old town to  the wonderful old church on top of the hill, where we looked out across the bay and back towards Benidorm in the distance. Mass had just finished at the church as we sat in the main square enjoying a beer and we saw the old  Spanish ladies of the town returning home down the steep streets. A lovely old town which has not been spoiled, despite the tourists who flock to the hotels along the beach there.

We paid our second visit of the year to the Iris Garden at Marnes, nestled under the Sierra Bernia Mtns. near Benissa, and this time the flowers were out in full bloom. The colours were stunning and the scents from both the irises and roses were wonderful.

The garden was created by an English couple as a hobby and is now a business that involves creating new hybrids and selling irises throughout the world. As Christine Lomer says, “Marnes is our little bit of paradise on earth and we invite you to come and enjoy the panorama of the mountain landscape, the peaceful gardens and the iris blooming season.”

A little later than usual this year, the almond trees in the Jalon valley are finally out in full blossom. The valley is covered in a magnificent carpet of pink and white as far as the eye can see, contrasting with the green of the olive trees and the black of the vines, which have yet to start budding after having been pruned hard in the autumn. We drove through the valley today, marvelling at the depth of colour and the fullness of the blossom, yet to be blown away by the high winds we’ve been experiencing recently.

We drove on to Calp and walked around the huge Ifach rock and sat outside a cafe and enjoyed lunch in the sun.