It's all very hush-hush, but yesterday I was visited by a prospective candidate for the Chaplain's job here coming to look at the apartment as a preliminary to discussing the job with the church officers.
We did something I'd never done before, and visited the flat rooftop which contains clotheslines and afford an almost complete view of the bull-ring interior. Just the place to get a free view of any big summer spectacular concerts held in the arena. After an hour and a half of Q and A, we went for lunch at La Farola restaurant across the road. Then we walked around the Old Town, my first attempt at a comprehensive walking guided tour. We packed a lot in.
When we looked into the renowned Bodega El Pimpi, I noticed that a Cruz de las Flores had been erected on a wall of the internal courtyard. The bodega at the end of Paseo Reding has one also at the moment. This is a local custom every May, which I first came across in Nerja two years ago. Barrios, some public buildings and shops display a large cross decorated with flowers throughout the month which usually contains Ascension and Pentecost. Apparently there are competitions in some places to celebrate the most imaginative and artistic effort.
It was so good to have someone other than Clare or Owain, who have both stayed here, to share the pleasures of the place with. In Owain arrives on a late flight on the evening of Ascension Day for another 'chill-out weekend' as he calls it. Sun, sand and sleep, punctuated by good food and drink in his case. A pleasure for me.
Nobody came for the midweek Eucharist again this morning. As I sat there praying the Ministry of the Word, yet another class of teenaged school kids were on the Cemetery discovery trail outside, and the exuberant bubble of their voices percolated the peace of the sanctuary, together with the sound of resident blackbirds. Talking of which, I woke up very early yesterday, and heard the song of a blackbird coming into the apartment from afar. The sound wasn't coming from the alley outside, but probably from the rooftop above. The building's apartments enclose a central well to introduce a circulation of air and light to the interior. On this occasion, the sweet sound of daybreak was audible unexpectedly too.
There was just one newly arrived cruise ship in port to see on my evening paseo and it was moored at the Palmeria de las Sorpresas quay. It's a ship I recall seeing and photographing when I was here last July. The Bahamas registered 'Star Breeze' built in 1989, is another of those luxury super cruise ships, like the 'Seabourn Odessy' which I watched leaving port on Monday, although this one was two thirds the length at 130 metres, and with only 250 passengers instead of 450. Interestingly enough it was owned by the Seabourn Cruise company until three years ago when it was sold to Windstar Cruises.
I discovered that under its previous name 'Seabourn Spirit', it repelled an attack by armed pirates off the coast of Somalia in 2005, sustaining minor damage. Imagine coming home from an expensive romantic cruise with such a tale to dine out on! Nobody would believe you, if it hadn't been seen on the TV news earlier on. All part of the bizarre age we now live in, I suppose.
We did something I'd never done before, and visited the flat rooftop which contains clotheslines and afford an almost complete view of the bull-ring interior. Just the place to get a free view of any big summer spectacular concerts held in the arena. After an hour and a half of Q and A, we went for lunch at La Farola restaurant across the road. Then we walked around the Old Town, my first attempt at a comprehensive walking guided tour. We packed a lot in.
When we looked into the renowned Bodega El Pimpi, I noticed that a Cruz de las Flores had been erected on a wall of the internal courtyard. The bodega at the end of Paseo Reding has one also at the moment. This is a local custom every May, which I first came across in Nerja two years ago. Barrios, some public buildings and shops display a large cross decorated with flowers throughout the month which usually contains Ascension and Pentecost. Apparently there are competitions in some places to celebrate the most imaginative and artistic effort.
It was so good to have someone other than Clare or Owain, who have both stayed here, to share the pleasures of the place with. In Owain arrives on a late flight on the evening of Ascension Day for another 'chill-out weekend' as he calls it. Sun, sand and sleep, punctuated by good food and drink in his case. A pleasure for me.
Nobody came for the midweek Eucharist again this morning. As I sat there praying the Ministry of the Word, yet another class of teenaged school kids were on the Cemetery discovery trail outside, and the exuberant bubble of their voices percolated the peace of the sanctuary, together with the sound of resident blackbirds. Talking of which, I woke up very early yesterday, and heard the song of a blackbird coming into the apartment from afar. The sound wasn't coming from the alley outside, but probably from the rooftop above. The building's apartments enclose a central well to introduce a circulation of air and light to the interior. On this occasion, the sweet sound of daybreak was audible unexpectedly too.
There was just one newly arrived cruise ship in port to see on my evening paseo and it was moored at the Palmeria de las Sorpresas quay. It's a ship I recall seeing and photographing when I was here last July. The Bahamas registered 'Star Breeze' built in 1989, is another of those luxury super cruise ships, like the 'Seabourn Odessy' which I watched leaving port on Monday, although this one was two thirds the length at 130 metres, and with only 250 passengers instead of 450. Interestingly enough it was owned by the Seabourn Cruise company until three years ago when it was sold to Windstar Cruises.
I discovered that under its previous name 'Seabourn Spirit', it repelled an attack by armed pirates off the coast of Somalia in 2005, sustaining minor damage. Imagine coming home from an expensive romantic cruise with such a tale to dine out on! Nobody would believe you, if it hadn't been seen on the TV news earlier on. All part of the bizarre age we now live in, I suppose.
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