I haven't been on here since April! I wanted to wait until I had something new to tell you. Well, I have some news!!
Firstly, both of our friends have sold their homes in Turkey. They were very sad to leave but for both families, it was a decision that had to be made for health reasons. The beautiful country of Turkey will always be there and who knows, it may be possible to return for holidays in the future.
However, we are missing them very much while we still ponder over leaving Turkey ourselves and moving nearer to our own daughter. With this in mind and with our daughter sending me links to properties in Spain and links to Spanish language websites, we have decided eventually to look at Spain. We want to see if we can find an area where we could live for maybe 6 months a year and spend the other 6 months in Ireland.
In February I joined a house sitting website. I wanted to look for a house sit in Southern Spain. This would enable us to get the feel for the country. Even though we had previously been to Spain on holiday, I wanted us to get more familiar with it's daily living. Would we be content to live away from the sea and the beach or would we want to be near the sea and shops? Would we like to live in an area with many buildings around us? It is unlikely we would be able to afford a detached house with it's own pool and garden which we have in Turkey. We are willing to compromise because it will mean our daughter, family and friends will be able to get to us with just one direct flight and two airlines to choose from.
We looked at all of the house sits in Spain and eventually found one which was suitable to us. We applied for it and have been successful. It was to our advantage that we have plenty experience of house and pet sitting. Since 27th June we are taking care of a lovely villa with a cute little dog and cat.
The villa is located in the hills above Malaga. There is a bakery, vegetable shop and a pharmacy just a ten minute walk away. The supermarket is a 20 minute walk. The bus station is a 10 minute walk. We are getting plenty of exercise walking the dog twice a day. She is a lovely little pet and really easy to walk. We try to buy a few groceries every second day so we do not have to carry too much. We are missing our electric scooter. I'm doing an on-line Spanish course and so far I have managed to be understood while I do the shopping. The people in the shops are polite and friendly. The people we pass on the streets do not say "hello or good day" unlike Turkey where everyone greets you when you are out walking. It's just like Ireland and England in that way.
We walked downtown which takes about 35 minutes to get to the promenade and beach. There are some lovely boutiques and restaurants as you head down the hill. I had kept some money from last year's Christmas presents. I treated myself to a new dress. All the stock in the botique was from Paris so it was a real treat. I wore it on our day out to Fungerola. We had a delicious lunch at this lovely restaurant on a side street next to Hotel Angela. It's run by an Irish couple! No wonder the food was so good!!
The promenade in Marbella is called the board walk. It goes on for miles. We walked quite a distance before turning back. There are beautifully built hotels, apartment blocks and restaurants all along the boardwalk.
There is miles and miles of sand. There are restaurants right down on the beach. We haven't gone down on to the beach as yet because dogs are not allowed. We have been all along what is called "The golden mile" It's like a main street. Nice shops, lots and lots of them. Also beautiful parks with decorative stone seats and large trees providing much needed shade.
The buses go to all towns along the coast. We have visited Fungerola and Malaga city.
This photo shows part of the beach at Fungerola.
We've been to Puerto Banus and it's Saturday market. Just like Turkey with lots of stalls selling t-shirts, dresses, shoes and fancy goods. I bought another dress and top. Mr. D bought two very nice tee-shirts.
We've gone by bus to east of Malaga and seen towns, Rincon de Victoria, and Benajarafre. Plenty for us to think about. We are not going to rush into anything.
No decision will be made about a particular area. We are thinking it would be wise to rent first but for now we will concentrate on our day to day living and not think of the future. It's proving far too stressful.....
Firstly, both of our friends have sold their homes in Turkey. They were very sad to leave but for both families, it was a decision that had to be made for health reasons. The beautiful country of Turkey will always be there and who knows, it may be possible to return for holidays in the future.
However, we are missing them very much while we still ponder over leaving Turkey ourselves and moving nearer to our own daughter. With this in mind and with our daughter sending me links to properties in Spain and links to Spanish language websites, we have decided eventually to look at Spain. We want to see if we can find an area where we could live for maybe 6 months a year and spend the other 6 months in Ireland.
In February I joined a house sitting website. I wanted to look for a house sit in Southern Spain. This would enable us to get the feel for the country. Even though we had previously been to Spain on holiday, I wanted us to get more familiar with it's daily living. Would we be content to live away from the sea and the beach or would we want to be near the sea and shops? Would we like to live in an area with many buildings around us? It is unlikely we would be able to afford a detached house with it's own pool and garden which we have in Turkey. We are willing to compromise because it will mean our daughter, family and friends will be able to get to us with just one direct flight and two airlines to choose from.
We looked at all of the house sits in Spain and eventually found one which was suitable to us. We applied for it and have been successful. It was to our advantage that we have plenty experience of house and pet sitting. Since 27th June we are taking care of a lovely villa with a cute little dog and cat.
We walked downtown which takes about 35 minutes to get to the promenade and beach. There are some lovely boutiques and restaurants as you head down the hill. I had kept some money from last year's Christmas presents. I treated myself to a new dress. All the stock in the botique was from Paris so it was a real treat. I wore it on our day out to Fungerola. We had a delicious lunch at this lovely restaurant on a side street next to Hotel Angela. It's run by an Irish couple! No wonder the food was so good!!
The promenade in Marbella is called the board walk. It goes on for miles. We walked quite a distance before turning back. There are beautifully built hotels, apartment blocks and restaurants all along the boardwalk.
The buses go to all towns along the coast. We have visited Fungerola and Malaga city.
This photo shows part of the beach at Fungerola.We've gone by bus to east of Malaga and seen towns, Rincon de Victoria, and Benajarafre. Plenty for us to think about. We are not going to rush into anything.
No decision will be made about a particular area. We are thinking it would be wise to rent first but for now we will concentrate on our day to day living and not think of the future. It's proving far too stressful.....
